Overcoming challenges on the road to success  

By Ashok Kumar Todi, Chairman, Lux Industries

The biggest challenge in my career was to retain the values that my father had behind building Biswanath Hosiery Mills, from which the Lux Industries emerged, and to build a brand identity that would need no description. When I took over the reins of the company, it was but a mere set-up producing innerwear garments. 

The company was certified for ISO 9001:2015, validating its credentials to consistently manufacture quality products and is acknowledged as a Star Export House by the Government of India. In 1995 Lux Industries Limited was incorporated as a Public Limited Company, making Lux the flagship company of the group. The year 2001 was a monumental year for us as we launched our flagship brand, Lux Cozi.  

At Lux, we strive to produce quality products for customers through state-of-the-art equipment. The best quality machinery imported from various parts of the globe is used to manufacture the Lux brand of products. Both our updated machinery and superior raw materials have been housed in our project in Dankuni, West Bengal. Spread over 21 acres, it is one of the largest in Asia and also has an in-house processing unit. The machines we use are sourced from reputed leaders in the field like Mayer & Cie, Morgan Tecnica, Unitex and more. With hundreds of operators and senior technicians, we make sure that this equipment is performing at optimum capacity and cared for & maintained at regular intervals.      

At Lux, I make sure to maintain extensive and stringent quality controls across all production stages. The organization backend on the other hand runs on sophisticated SAAP which ensures that all procedures of manufacturing are well-documented and professionally managed.   

Over the years, the innerwear industry has graduated from a functional category to a fashionable one. Consumers now have personal preferences in colour, design, and style while choosing innerwear products. The innerwear industry, which was largely a part of the unorganised sector, is now shifting towards the organised branded industrialists. Lux being one of the leading organised companies in the industry, has enhanced its operating efficiencies and was well poised to grab the market share across the product categories.  

The top-tier machinery installed enables us to manufacture more than 34 crore garment pieces at Lux every year, the largest in the Indian innerwear textiles sector. The company is engaged in another expansion comprising cutting-edge equipment that will be commissioned during the current year. All the processes involved in manufacturing a perfect piece of garment, from product designing and cloth dyeing to accessories selection and the final packaging, everything is done under expert supervision in order to keep a check on the quality of the product.  

Apart from the advanced cutting and knitting machines, Lux sources the best cotton yarn from India and abroad to make the finest quality products. 

We have expanded our offices to the Middle-East, Africa, Australia, and Europe and export products to 46 countries. Over the years, I have ensured that Lux evolves from being an Indian company to worldwide exporters and prospers with a multi-continental presence. The company also solidified its e-commerce presence by forging marketing arrangements with prominent marketplaces like Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart, Ajio, and PayTM. The online presence has helped shift the company’s needle from a conventional male-centric positioning to a multi-gender relevance.  

Over the years, Lux Cozi has built an enduring brand image in the hosiery market with the sheer power of hardwork, efficiency, and dedication. With the rapid growth that the company has been experiencing, in both sales and profits, we are constantly expanding and innovating our products and production techniques while maintaining an uncompromising stance on comfort.  

Customer satisfaction was and will continue to be our top most priority. It was the sole fundamental on which the brand was founded. The brand Lux Cozi has evolved and emerged considerably larger than it was a few years before. The brand is more than the label on a specific product; it represents a consolidated recall not only for the specific brand that it represents, but also for all the brands of the company. The result is that ‘Lux’ has transformed from a product connotation to an umbrella assurance.     

In the current market, Lux is more visible than ever, staying on top of the consumer’s unaided recall. We are more potent, generating even more focused recalls related to attributes of reliability, superior price value, portfolio solution and respect-enhancing. I have always believed in the strength of marketing. Effective marketing and advertising connects us with people. The company positioned the product around a 100 per cent cotton positioning and naturalness, ideal for a tropical climate. Apart from using Digital OOH and huge format billboards, we have also paid attention to utilising the strength of social media platforms and print mediums. Signing Bollywood heartthrob Varun Dhawan as Lux Cozi brand ambassador is a part of the same ideology.   

At Lux, we see ourselves at the bottom end of a long growth curve. We don’t just see ourselves growing; we see ourselves growing at an attractive gallop, we see ourselves growing around superior realisations, we see ourselves extending from the usual inner wear to fashionable outerwear, and we see a deepening of our recall – If you need any respect-enhancing hosiery product, Lux will be able to provide.

I had a dream to make Lux a renowned brand that would export around the globe. Today, I’m proud to say that I have realised my dreams. But the fire is still ablaze, and I’m yet to reach the apex of my abilities.