A private equity firm known for its investments in core manufacturing and services sectors, The Chatterjee Group (TCG) is expanding into the consumer market with a focus on its textile division. The firm plans to relaunch its brand ‘Garden Vareli’ and expand its product lines.
This strategic shift to a business-to-consumer (B2C) model comes four years after MCPI, a TCG company, acquired Garden Silk Mills (GSML) through bankruptcy proceedings. That acquisition brought the once popular Garden Vareli brand of sarees into TCG's portfolio.
GSML is currently in the process of spinning off its textile operations into a separate company. The firm is staffing this new entity with personnel experienced in the textile sector. Purnendu Chatterjee, Chairman, TCG, states, the company aims to establish a global textile business centered around the Garden Vareli brand.
By the end of this decade, TCG aims to generate an annual revenue of Rs 2,000 crore, a substantial 20-fold increase from its current level. The company has commissioned Ernst & Young to conduct a study on the textile and fabrics, notes Debi Prasad Patra, Managing Director and CEO, MCPI, which recently marked its 25th anniversary in April. Beyond expanding its saree collection, the company plans to expand into dress materials, including SKD (salwar, kameez, and dupatta) ensembles, and related categories like accessories such as cosmetics and leather goods.
With the Garden business, TCG will operate across the entire value chain, from the raw material PTA produced at MCPI in Haldia, to yarn production at GSML in Surat, and finally fabric and finished textiles under the Garden Vareli brand, also located in Surat.
In future, the group plans to leverage Surat's established ecosystem, known as India's textile hub for synthetic fibers, to scale up the business, states Patra. The company is distinguished by its deep knowledge of manufacturing, he adds.
The company aims to establish exclusive Garden Vareli retail outlets in key locations and will also sell through multi-brand stores. Mahendra Singh Bhadoria, CEO, Garden Vareli, affirms, the brand will emphasize equally on digital marketing to connect with its target consumers. It will expand Garden’s product range beyond synthetic fibers to include cotton, silk, and various blends, he adds.
For its international expansion, Garden may initially engage in contract manufacturing for other brands to gain insight into market dynamics before introducing its own brand globally.
