Raymond

We are vertically and horizontally integrated to provide total textile solutions for customers. The history of Raymond reads like an adventure book. It goes back to the end of the 18th century and is the saga of the Singhania family, a mixture of entrepreneurs, visionaries, daredevils and philanthropists. With a market share of over 60% in India, Raymond Ltd. is now the largest integrated manufacturer of worsted fabric in the world. The Singhania family was originally active in the banking business, but in the 1920s it began to take an interest in trading and acted as the sole selling agents for Kanpur’s three major textile mills. The next logical step was to venture directly into textile production, and this was accomplished with the start of a textile mill in 1921.Meanwhile, in the thick of the jungle near Bombay, a small woollen mill was being set up which, after changing owner a couple of times, eventually took the name “The Raymond Woollen Mills.” When the Singhanias were looking for new regions to establish their presence and new fields to invest in, they turned to woollen textiles. They found the woollen mill for sale on the outskirts of Bombay and Lala Kailashpat Singhania, grandfather of the current Chairman and Managing Director Shri Gautam Singhania, took over Raymond in 1944. The mill at that time primarily wove cheap, coarse woollen blankets and modest quantities of low-priced woollen fabrics. Fired by Lala Kailashpat’s spirit of enterprise, Raymond embarked upon a constant series of technical upgrades and modernizations, resulting in a superior quality of woollen fabrics.

In 1954, Lala Kailashpat Singhania handed over to his nephew Shri. Gopalkrishna Singhania, who set the pace for opening up new markets and adding value. One by one he began refurbishing the spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing divisions. He also took far-reaching decisions that would make Raymond not only a name in India but also a respected brand in overseas markets. In January 1980, Dr. Vijaypat Singhania, son of Lala Kailashpat Singhania, took over as Chairman of Raymond. Dr. Vijaypat Singhania led the group into diversification and transformed it into a modern, industrial conglomerate. During the two decades that he was at the helm, the group expanded to be 20 times larger than when he had inherited it from his predecessors. New areas such as polyester filament yarns, denim, cold rolled steel, latex prophylactics and chartered air services were added to the group’s activities.

Currently Shri. Gautam Singhania is the Chairman and Managing Director of the company and under his leadership, Raymond Group is vertically & horizontally integrated to provide total textile solutions for customers. Few customers globally have such a diverse product range of nearly 20,000 varieties of worsted suiting. Raymond manufactures the finest fabrics for the entire world, from wool to wool blended worsted suitings to speciality ring denims as well as high value shirting.

Raymond has also forayed into garmenting through highly successful apparel brands and has an expansive retail presence established through its exclusive chain of “The Raymond Shop” and stand-alone brand stores. Under the guidance from Shri. Gautam Singhania, Raymond has launched several new and exclusive products, most notably “The Chairman’s Collection” of suiting, a 220s pure wool and fine cashmere blend. A fabric so exclusive that very few mills in the world manufacture it. As we write, Raymond is weaving its high end qualities on 80 Gamma, 192 GamMax and 68 OptiMax and 24 Omniplus airjet machines.