Himatsingka plans non-silk foray

BANGALORE: Himatsingka Seide, one of India''s largest producers and exporters of silk fabrics and yarn, is planning to get into manufacture of non-silk fabrics and high-end bed linen.
This is part of an effort to tap opportunities that will emerge with the end of the international textile quota regime on January 1, 2005.
The Bangalore-based company -- whose silk fabric is said to adorn the Buckingham Palace and celebrity homes around the world -- said it may invest over Rs 75 crore in phases, starting this year, in order to give a push to its proposed new lines of business.
Himatsingka Seide managing director Dinesh Himatsingka said the company, set up in 1988, had focussed on silk because this was outside the quota regime.
"Now that the quota regime is ending, we see big potential in other areas. We have a strong relationship with global furnishings brands, for whom silk is a small part of the business. We believe we can use that relationship and our design skills to successfully market our non-silk products," he said.
The entry into other fabrics will also enable the company to introduce products that are less expensive. Dinesh Himatsingka said the new products would be introduced simultaneously in the export and domestic markets.
The company, till recently a 100 per cent export house, has started retailing in the domestic market through a chain of premium stores called Atmosphere. There are three such stores now. The plan is to take this to about 15 in the next one year.