Talking to analysts during the company’s earnings call on Friday, Arvind’s associate vice president corporate finance and head investor relations Satya Prakash Mishra said India now finds itself at the most disadvantageous position, with even additional sectors being brought under the tariff bracket from the US. The current 50% tariff level is perhaps the highest among the competing markets, he said.
“We had anticipated a further acceleration of volume shift towards India, including China plus one, driven by our neutral geopolitical stance. Three months on, the picture has changed completely. It’s almost a 180-degree turn and I’m sure we have not seen the end of it,” said Mishra.
Known for its textiles, fabrics and garmenting divisions, the company attributed a good second quarter of the year despite the challenging tariff situation to marquee clients and increasing diversification of the products.
The company said in its earnings statement that Arvind has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to navigate the evolving global trade environment — realigning its supply chain, expanding into non-US markets, optimizing costs, and maintaining strong customer relationships — to sustain competitiveness and profitability amid the ongoing tariff regime.
Punit Lalbhai, vice chairman at Arvind said, while the tariff pressure continues, and Turkey is also going to see the effect of tariffs, the company’s tariff mitigation measures are “gearing up very nicely, and we should see further improvement in our cost position driven through efficiencies and efforts.” “While the tariff pressure did compress margins, the cost optimization and efficiency measures we initiated in earlier quarters have targeted in structural and lasting savings, offsetting some part of this impact. Our approach has remained clear and consistent, stand by our long-standing customers,” added Mishra.
