Ashapura Garments the 32-year-old company makers of the brand Winstone, now owns 37 manufacturing units with a production capacity of 7,000 trousers a day. Of these 5,000 are denim and 2,000 casual trousers. The company has developed
a fully integrated capacity in Mundra SEZ, Gujarat, where production will begin soon. Giving details, Bharat Vedant, CEO of Ashapura Garments says, “We have developed Asia’s No. 1 fully integrated manufacturing, cutting and washing plant at an investment of Rs 150 crores. The plant is spread across two lakh sq. ft. area. Production capacity will be of 20,000 pieces a day which will comprise of 12,000 pieces of basic as well as designer denims, 5,000 pieces of designer and basic casual trousers and 3,000 pieces of formal trousers.”
Since
its establishment Ashapura has been known for its designer denim. Elaborating on the product portfolio, Vedant says, “The year we entered manufacturing of denims, India was an importer of the denim fabric. We used to import denim fabric from Hong Kong. We started manufacturing casual trousers from 1991. And at the moment we manufacture men’s and ladies denims, men’s casual trousers, three-fourths, ladies denim skirts, ladies shorts, men’s denim jackets and men’s corduroy trousers. Soon, we will be manufacturing men’s casual shirts, formal shirts and T-shirts as a part of our product expansion plans.”
Men’s denim is retailed under the brand Foster Winstone and men’s cotton trousers is sold under the brand Foster. Foster start from Rs 500 and goes up to Rs 800 and Winstone starts from Rs 800 going up to Rs 1,200. The price of ladies denim under Foster begins at Rs 400 and goes up to Rs 600 and under Winstone it’s between Rs 600 to Rs 1,000. The brands are currently retailed through 2,000 retailers with company’s own distribution network having offices located in 16 states. “We supply to states like Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Ahead we are planning to expand our presence in Delhi and Northeast. We also supply to departmental stores like Benzers, Roopam, Options and Amarsons,” Vedant says informs. Also on the cards are EBOs in the next two years.
The company is also planning to launch an IPO in the next two years to raise Rs 700 crores from the market. Its current turnover is of Rs 250 crores and expects to reach to Rs 300 crores by the end of fiscal 2011-12.
