Innerwear maker Dixcy Textiles Pvt. Ltd is looking to raise nearly Rs 300 crore ($44.8 million) as growth capital from private equity investors, according to a media report.
The Mint newspaper reported, citing two people familiar with the development it didn’t name, that the company is likely to hire investment banker Avendus Capital to look for potential investors. The company, based in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, sells innerwear under the brands Dixcy, Josh and Scott.
An email query to Dixcy regarding the development didn’t elicit any response by the time of writing this article.
Founded in 1982 by first-generation entrepreneur Prem Prakash Sikka, Dixcy Textiles (earlier known as Prem Hosiery) makes innerwear and casual wear for men, women and children. It was converted into a private limited company in 2004. It also makes casual wear and winter wear under the Higgins brand.
As per its website, it produces 5,00,000 pieces a day and distributes through 1,20,000 stores across the country.
Dixcy competes with the likes of Page Industries Ltd, the licensee for the Jockey brand in India; Rupa & Co. Ltd, the owner of MacroMan, Frontline and Euro brands; and Lux Industries Ltd, the owner of Lux Cozi brands.
The innerwear market in the country has traditionally been largely unorganised. In the past few years, however, the organised innerwear segment has shown promising growth in both men’s and women’s categories.
According to a report by consultancy firm Technopak Advjsors, the Indian innerwear market was worth Rs 19,950 crore in 2014 and is estimated to grow at a compound annual pace of 13% to reach Rs 68,270 crore by 2024.
Not many deals have been reported in the men’s innerwear segment in the recent past, although some major retailers such as Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd and Pepe Jeans have decided to test the waters. However, e-tailers, particularly those catering to women’s innerwear, have attracted investors.
Last month, Bengaluru-based online lingerie retailer Buttercups Bras Pvt. Ltd raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Snapdeal’s former chief product officer Anand Chandrasekaran as well as existing investors Kanwaljit Singh and Manoj Varghese.
In the lingerie e-tailing segment, Bengaluru-based Actoserba Active Wholesale Pvt. Ltd, which owns Zivame, is the most funded player having raised $52.44 million till date. Some other significantly funded players in this segment include Noida-based Purple Panda Fashions Pvt. Ltd, which owns Clovia, and Mumbai-based MTC Ecom Pvt. Ltd, which owns Pretty Secrets.
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