Khadi, No. 1: KVIC Expects Sales To Hit All-Time High Of Rs 3,200 Crore After Brisk Business In Recent Years

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) expects Khadi sales to touch an all-time high of Rs 3,200 crore this fiscal. Surging beyond Rs 1,081 crore in 2013-14, the sales of Khadi products in the country have been on an unbeatable growth path, registering a value of Rs 2,510.2 crore in 2017-18.

This amounts to an average yearly growth rate of over 30 per cent over the past four years, against 6.7 per cent over the previous 10 years, highlighted Vinai Kumar Saxena, chairman, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), in a conversation with Financial Express.

In 2017-18, the Khadi Gram Udyog Bhawan, a 20,000-square feet outlet in the heart of Connaught Place's Regal Building, alone sold products worth a record Rs 103 crore. Adding to its achievements, on three occasions between October and November 2018, its net daily sales breached the coveted Rs 1 crore mark, eclipsing the sales of most high-profile stores in the vicinity. The outlet’s success is a testament of the growing demand for Khadi products in recent years.

A massive push by this government (especially PM Narendra Modi), KVIC’s supply tie-ups with firms like Raymond, Arvind Mills and Aditya Birla Fashion in 2017-18, aggressive marketing and growing interest of public-sector enterprises for khadi products for employees are the biggest drivers of the sales, Saxena said.

Raymond purchased as much as 7.26 lakh metres of grey khadi fabric last fiscal, while Arvind Mills purchased around one million square metres of Khadi denim, reports Financial Express.

The corporate gifting segment initiated by KVIC and Khadi institutions have also been amassing interest with several public sector units placing big orders for Khadi products to gift to their employees. In 2017-18, they received orders worth Rs 46 crore from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Rs 43 crore from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) while they are expecting to clinch another Rs 11-crore deal with Oil India soon.

As many as 83,000 postmen across states will be clothed in Khadi uniform, as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the department of post is being finalised, said Saxena. This would add further thrust to the demand and consumption for Khadi products.

There are a total of 18 KVIC sales outlets (including seven main stores), while 1,942 Khadi institutions across states own 8,062 sales outlets of their own. Of these institutions 1,585 produce Khadi fabric and ready-made products, reports Financial Express.