Gautam Singhania-led Raymond has clocked a billion dollars in revenue for the first time in its 98-year history. It is now solidly in the black, with two successive years of growing profits after sinking into the red during the pandemic. In an interview with Business Today magazine, Gautam Singhania talked about the company's recovery after the pandemic, future plans, and more
Pummelled by the pandemic and lockdowns, Raymond saw some of the toughest times as sales of its traditional businesses- branded textiles, branded apparel, garmenting, high-value cotton shirting and engineering & auto components, plunged between 7% and 59%. The company’s bottom line slumped to a loss of Rs 297 crore
From the terrible slump, Gautam Singhania doggedly engineered Raymond’s recovery, by reducing costs, excess inventory and non-performing stores. He also hired a bunch of professionals in leadership positions. In FY23, Raymond’s net profits doubled and revenues notched up its highest-ever value of Rs 8,337 crore, making it a freshly minted billion-dollar organisation
“Vision is 20:20 in hindsight, but we built a real estate business, we built a full new team of people, we built a profitable business, you’ve seen four quarters of proper delivery, it’s all happened, not by chance,” Gautam Singhania told Business Today
Talking about the challenges faced by Raymond during the pandemic, Gautam Singhania revealed that there was a day when, for a group of this size, a private limited bank refused to roll over an existing loan of Rs 5 crore because it said it won’t get it back. "And we put our heads down, rolled up our sleeves and did what we had to do... The same people now stand in line looking for business again," he said
Talking about Raymond's tailor made apparel business, Gautam Singhania said, "Raymond is the only brand that we say, from the taxi driver to Mr Tata, everybody has it. Speaking on Raymond's real-estate business being just in Maharashtra, he said, "There’s enough work to do. Many builders who have gone across states have been extremely successful in their home state, but failed miserably in other states... There’s so much opportunity here, at least for the next five years."
Gautam Singhania has made it clear that expanding real-estate business beyond Maharashtra is not among his top three priorities. When asked about what his priority is, he said, "When you wake up in the morning, and you go to office… There’s only one- enhance shareholder value. That’s the only priority. Everything else falls from that priority."
When asked about what would his reaction be if Raymond's real estate business overshadows their core business, Gautam Singhania said, "So be it. What’s there to fear? It’s there to enjoy, because you look at the whole picture. If my cake is becoming bigger, which side is white chocolate and which side is dark chocolate, how do I care?"
Gautam Singhania is very bullish on India, and he thinks that India is on the right trajectory. "Execution is always a risk. This is a country where anything can happen. There are risks in anything, but you stay positive, focussed," he said, adding that India has got to grow. Raymond believes that the western world’s Chinaplus-one play will be beneficial not just for India as a country, but also for the company’s businesses
Being an industry leader, Gautam Singhania believes that India needs to have friendlier policies for export. "Labour is where we had an issue, which is an inherent long-term issue where we need to have a proper labour policy," he said, adding that it’s just a matter of tweaking it around
Speaking about whether Raymond being widely perceived as a B2C business is an advantage, Singhania said, "That’s okay. You don’t need to know what my industrial businesses are. It’s irrelevant to the public at large. Eventually, identity comes from your brand. There’s no Gautam Singhania; it’s Gautam Singhania of Raymond. Without Raymond, there’s no Gautam Singhania, let’s be very clear about it."