Welspun India to see over two-fold rise in domestic business by 2026
Welspun India Ltd (WIL), a leading global home textile company and part of the $2.3 billion Welspun Group, expects a twofold increase in its domestic business from around Rs 650 crore last year to around Rs 2,200 crore by 2026, due to High demand in the Indian market and a better performing economy.
The company, which claims to produce every fifth towel in the US at the moment and also has a major market in Europe, experienced a slump in demand due to economic troubles in these regions last year. Over the last financial year, the company’s income fell by around 12% to Rs. 8,215 crore from Rs. 9,377 crore in 2021-22. From around 8 percent now, the company aims to increase India’s share of the product line to around 12-15 percent by 2026.
“Last year, the whole world was in turmoil. In terms of commodities, cotton prices went up more than 100 percent, container crisis and shipping disruptions also occurred. Now, the full correction is happening and it started in the last quarter of the last fiscal year. This year Q1 and Q2 will be a little better. If we talk about the US economy, it expanded by 2 percent and inflation fell by 5 percent, which is the lowest level in the last 22 months. Deepali Goenka, CEO and Managing Director of Welspun India, said, Certainly, we see all of this improving.”
However, at this time the Indian market has become the company’s bright spot. The company recorded a growth of around 30 percent last year in the domestic market and made around Rs 550 crore in home textiles, while its flooring business recorded another Rs 100 crore, taking the total domestic sales to around Rs 650 crore. Certainly, India will continue to grow. Our startup business is also doing well in India. We expect business in India to be around Rs 2,200 crore by 2026 where our domestic business will be from around Rs 650 crore last year,” Goenka added. Other than India, the regions the company is betting big on are Australia, Southeast Asia and West Asia.
Growth in the Indian market will be driven by the company’s ‘Har Ghar se Har Dil Tak Welspun’ strategy. At present, 31 percent of the global share of home textiles comes from the United States, 34 percent from Europe and 35 percent from the rest of the world. From about 49 billion US dollars now, the global home textile market size is expected to reach 60 billion US dollars by 2025. The size of the Indian home textile market is about 7 billion US dollars now. It is expected to reach $10 billion in the next four years. Home Textiles has a mixed bag of products and it will all depend on the increased demand in the Indian market.”