Gautam Singhania talks about succession plan, says RCCL sale one of the best deals
Singhania said that he is "not going anywhere" when asked about potential succession plans.
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On Thursday, shares of Raymond Lifestyle (RLL), the demerged lifestyle business of Raymond Ltd got listed at Rs 3,000 per share on the BSE, in an IPO-less debut for the stock. On the NSE, the shares were listed at Rs 3,020 apiece. Recently, during a press conference, Gautam Singhania discussed his succession plans and how the sale of Raymond Consumer Care Limited to Godrej was one of his best deals.
Singhania said that he is "not going anywhere" when asked about potential succession plans. Raymond is also scheduled to demerge its real estate arm Raymond Realty next year, with Raymond Ltd to house its engineering business. He said that Raymond's companies will be "family-managed professional companies", adding that Raymond Lifestyle, for example, only has Singhania himself as a promoter-director, with a large body of independent directors on the board.
The Raymond Group Chairman and Managing Director, Singhania said the company has transformed to a greater extent post-pandemic. "We have put in the professional board as they will add significant value in the creation of the journey that I have stepped out of", and added, "God forbid if something happens to me, there's a competing set of people who can hold the baby because whilst it's a wealth creation, for the family, there's a wealth for millions of shareholders."
Singhania said, "I am sure 99 percent of the people failed to understand what an amazing deal that was and what it meant for Godrej and what it did for us. I have done many deals but this was one the best win-win deal that I have ever done. Sudhir Sitapati (GCPL managing director and CEO)is smiling to the bank, I am smiling to the bank. Raymond (RCCL) is a different company now and Godrej is very happy and what more!"
Godrej Consumer Products acquired Raymond Consumer Care (RCCL), in an all-cash deal of Rs 2,825 crore in 2023. Through this deal, Godrej became the owner of marquee brands such as Park Avenue, KS (deodorants), and Kamasutra. Notably, Park Avenue as a clothing brand remained with Raymond.
On Raymond's legacy, Singhania said, “There is no company like Raymond in the world. We go from fabrics to garments to export to various categories. We play in every segment of the society. From Rs 300 metre to Rs 10 lakh a metre, we are offering fabrics to the whole segment of society".
Singhania said Raymond Group has the target to open 800-900 stores over the next three years.
On the Bangladesh crisis, Singhania said the perception has changed against the country and people are wary of getting stuck. However, "We invested Rs 200 crore into enhancing capacity last year. The capacity is double-lined, so it's been a windfall for us," Singhania added.
Raymond reported a 26.7% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 57.04 crore in the first quarter ended June 2024. The company's revenue from continuing operations in the first quarter stood at Rs 937.65 crore, compared to Rs 473.37 crore in the year-ago period.
