Thermal innerwear to cost 20 per cent more

KOLKATA: Consumers will have to pay more for thermal innerwear this winter. The increase in excise duty, coupled with the volatility in yarn prices, has pushed up prices by 20%. However, the hike may not dampen demand. While overall sales growth is expected to touch 15%, the women's and kids categories are growing by 20% annually. The size of the thermal innerwear market in India is more than Rs 1,000 crore.

Since last winter, sales have been extremely good and there has been no leftover inventory of thermal innerwear. Manufacturers could not scale up production significantly this year due to a fluctuation in cotton yarn prices. Some expect the demand-supply gap will continue this year.

KB Agarwala, managing director of Rupa & Co, said: "Rains have been extremely good this year and we are expecting a chilly winter. Demand is hovering around 15-20%. The production phase is over now and we have already despatched products to wholesalers and retailers." He said production has been impeded by labour shortage.

The company markets its thermal products under the brand name Thermocot. The business contributes Rs 60 crore towards its total turnover.

Vinod Gupta, managing director of Dollar Industries, said demand is huge. "In the Hindi heartland, thermal innerwear is selling in volumes in anticipation that winter will be really chilly this year. The growth is around 20%. We manufacture thermal innerwear at our Kolkata and Ludhiana factories," he said. The Rs 396-crore Dollar Industries produces 25-30 lakh pieces of thermal innerwear a year.

Sanjay K Jain, joint managing director of TT Ltd, said the company was expecting a growth of 20% this year in thermal innerwear since stocks have dried up.