Bengaluru: Advent International, a global private equity firm, today announced the completion of the merger of its portfolio companies Dixcy Textiles Pvt. Ltd and Gokaldas Intimatewear Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of brand Enamor, to create one of India’s leading apparel and innerwear manufacturers. The newly merged entity will take the name of Modenik Lifestyle Pvt Ltd. and will be headquartered in Bengaluru.
“The merger of two well-established brands, Dixcy and Enamor is a historic moment for us. This is much more than creating a larger business. It’s about realizing our Vision of ‘Being the most preferred company for comfortable & fashionable essential clothing’, said Sunil Sethi, Executive Chairman of Modenik Lifestyle Pvt Ltd. “The merger creates a broad and complementary product portfolio of comfortable and fashionable essential clothing for all ages, income classes and genders at the right value and opens up expansion into attractive growth adjacencies.”
The merger of Dixcy with its strong distribution network, and Enamor with its strengths in style and product design, expects to accrue value for all stakeholders including consumers, employees, shareholders, and partners.
Modenik will have a strong portfolio of 5 sub-brands, including Dixcy Scott Originals, Dixcy Scott Maximus, Josh by Dixcy Scott, Slimz, and Enamor. Under one company, it is now in a very strong position to serve the consumer needs in both men’s and women’s categories of essential clothing, across the value chain i.e. economy, mainstream, and premium segments. Modeniks’s omnichannel distribution strategy expects to ensure that its products are available wherever the consumers buy – offline or online. It also has an exclusive licensing agreement with Levi’s to manufacture and distribute in India, which should benefit from the synergies of this merger.
For employees, the merger creates new learning and growth opportunities across the partnership. The company is investing in talent development through various learning and development interventions to support a digital-first culture, as it undergoes digitalization to accelerate growth and be future-ready at all times.
Sunil Sethi, who was the Executive Chairman of both the companies, continues in this position. Shekhar Tiwari, previously the CEO of Enamor, takes on the role of Chief Category & Operations Officer of the merged company. Modenik brings together the talented and creative professionals of both Dixcy and Enamor and now boasts a combined strength of 5,000, which includes 1,600 employees and 3,400 labor staff across its manufacturing operations in Tirupur, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Ludhiana.
Further to this, Modenik expects to unlock operating synergies through an integrated supply chain, advantages of scale in sourcing, distribution cross-play, and the combining of administrative functions. A transfer of best practices in manufacturing between the two businesses should enhance production and design capabilities and allow for a faster response to creating innovative products that are aligned with changing consumer preferences. The brands would be able to leverage the others’ distribution strengths where synergies exist, appoint more complimentary distributors or ask existing ones to expand, and unlock greater value from existing and new sources of supply.
As consumption grows, catalyzed by a shift in consumer preference to branded apparel, especially in innerwear, the partners expect to benefit from an expanded product portfolio from Modenik that spans price segments and demographics.
Modenik Lifestyle is 100% owned by Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity firms. Sahil Dalal, Managing Director at Advent International said: “We believe this merger will accelerate the momentum that was already underway by uniting two outstanding companies for greater scale and financial strength to lead the industry. We are excited to be a part of the new company’s continued success.”
“The merger is a great opportunity to realize the potential of this combination and to create a strong presence in the essential clothing category which has significant potential to grow. Our immediate focus is to expand the business into new geographies, product and packaging innovation, strengthen and expand distribution, both online and offline, in addition to building an inclusive culture and strong brand that employees are proud to be associated with,” said Sunil Sethi.
