The Complete Man Is Changing

It may not have thrived, but the 90-year-old Raymond has survived, unlike many of its contemporaries. Now Gautam Singhania wants to make it soar.

- P.B Jayakumar

Gautam Singhania’s passion for fast cars is well known. The 50-year-old Chairman and Managing Director of the Raymond Group owns several of them. An avid racer, he became the first Indian driver to win a race in the Ferrari Challenge Europe Championship 2015. He had 10 podium finishes in the series despite two accidents – one, a gear box failure while rounding a corner at 160 km per hour, and the other when he was caught between two competitors outracing each other. Both times, thanks to the high level of safety in the vehicle, he escaped unhurt.

“Motor racing keeps me physically fit and agile, and mentally disciplined, focused and capable of split-second decision making,” he says. What about the accidents? “Like many other sports, motor sport is also dangerous,” he adds. “I believe in taking calculated risks, but not stupid risks.” The same philosophy seems to drive his business. Having taken over Raymond from his father Vijaypat Singhania in 2000, he has, in five years, brought many changes into the 90-year-old company, all risks of a kind, adding new verticals and introducing new varieties. He has also recruited a number of talented professionals at senior levels, led by Sanjay Behl, CEO of the Lifestyle Business since 2013.

And now, in a burst of action, the 90 year old organisation is undergoing unprecedented changes. It's being restructured to make it more nimble. Singhania is creating new business streams to convert cyclical revenue flow to round-the-year business. A digital initiative raymondnext.com is meant to counter the threat from e-tailers. And there is a new thrust on exports via its first international manufacturing plant in Ethiopia to avail export benefits to US and Europe.