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Bloomberg
Apparel maker Hela Clothing plans an initial public offering on the Colombo Stock Exchange within 12 months to raise capital for entry into North Africa and the expansion of its East African operations.
The Sri Lanka-based manufacturer for PVH Corp — the parent company of fashion brands Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein — will offload a 20% stake for $20 million, Chief Executive Officer Dilanka Jinadasa said.
Hela manufactures sleepwear and children’s apparel. An entry into Egypt’s $1 billion apparel market will help to boost the company’s revenue by about 11% to $250 million by the end of the financial year in March, he said. Hela will set up shop in the North African nation in the first quarter of 2022 and work with existing manufacturers, leveraging the country’s fabric mills, lace suppliers and mature supply chain to reduce lead times.
“You can ship to Europe between three to seven days, and to the US within about 10 to 12 days,†Jinadasa said.
Hela is scaling up its intimates business, which accounts for 70% of group revenue, and added more than 2,000 employees to facilities in Ethiopia and Kenya despite the coronavirus pandemic.