Gokaldas Exports is considering the acquisition of BRFL Textiles, a fabric and processing company that it made an investment in June 2024. Gokaldas Exports’ vice-chairman and managing director, Sivaramakrishnan Ganapathi, stated that the business will make a decision regarding a complete purchase at some point during this fiscal year.
The action is in line with Gokaldas’ long-term vertical integration strategy, which aims to reduce lead times, increase control over fabric sourcing, and accelerate growth.
Although they make up a sizable portion of the supply chain, not all textiles and trims can be made internally. According to Ganapathi, having some control over it improves the company’s ability to service its clients.
Alongside this, supported by its highest-ever total revenue for FY ’25, the company hopes to stay in the US and grow its presence in the UK and EU.
“Currently, 5 per cent of our total revenue comes from the UK market. The India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) would take around a year to get off the ground, but we could shorten that time. Furthermore, we intend to grow in the EU market, which accounts for 7 per cent of our total sales. In the upcoming years, our revenue to the EU could triple due to ongoing negotiations for an FTA between India and the EU”, Ganapathi stated.
Diversifying its supply chain and sourcing has also been a priority for the business. “We currently have units in Ranchi and Madhya Pradesh, both of which are inexpensive places. In contrast to the South or Gurgaon, where worker availability is a problem, the goal is to utilise the local labour pools in those places. We are going where the workforce is instead of importing it because we tend to reach a labour saturation point in our southern factories,” he continued.
To boost capacity, Gokaldas has been building more facilities. According to Ganapathi, the business plans to open three more factories: one in Ranchi, Jharkhand; one in rural Karnataka (beyond Bengaluru); and one in Bhopal. “We’re not afraid to increase capacity. By early Q3, these new plants will be operational, and we will begin increasing our workforce. By then, the actual infrastructure will be finished,” he stated.
In the fourth quarter of FY ’25, Gokaldas reported a 19 per cent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in consolidated profit after tax, reaching Rs. 53 crore (US $ 6.2 million), up from Rs. 44 crore (US $ 5.15 million) in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The company’s consolidated total sales increased 27 per cent year over year to Rs. 1,035 crore (US $ 121 million).
