Jefferies has upgraded Welspun Living from 'Hold' to 'Buy' and more than doubled its price target from ₹125 to ₹260, while initiating coverage on Raymond Lifestyle with a ₹900 target. According to Business Standard, the global brokerage firm highlighted that India's textile industry is seeing a fresh opportunity as global brands look to diversify sourcing beyond China, while new trade agreements improve the competitiveness of Indian exporters. The coverage comes as Jefferies analysts believe India's textile industry could be entering a multi-year growth cycle driven by China+1 sourcing, improving tariff competitiveness, and a series of trade agreements reshaping global supply chains.
Welspun Living shares were trading around 2% higher on Wednesday, while Raymond Lifestyle shares were down around 2% in morning trade following Jefferies' initiation of coverage on both stocks. According to CNBC TV18, this market reaction reflects investor response to the global brokerage firm's positive outlook on India's textile sector. The contrasting performance highlights the different investment themes driving each company's prospects, with investors showing cautious optimism toward Welspun's home-textile leadership while remaining skeptical about Raymond's turnaround prospects.
Jefferies views Welspun Living as a global home-textile leader and compelling play on the home-textile export opportunity. As reported by Essential Business Intelligence, the brokerage expects the company to deliver a 14% revenue CAGR over FY26-FY29E, while margin recovery is projected to drive 38% EBITDA CAGR and 71% PAT CAGR during the same period. The company's integrated business model, scale, and strong customer relationships are seen as key competitive advantages. Jefferies expects ROCE to expand by around 13 percentage points to approximately 19%. According to The Economic Times, Welspun is one of the world's largest home-textile suppliers with products across bed linen, towels, rugs, carpets, flooring and advanced textiles, giving it an advantage as sourcing shifts away from China. The removal of import duties could allow Welspun to compete more effectively with suppliers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Jefferies describes Raymond Lifestyle as a value buy with an attractive risk-reward profile, supported by its leadership in branded textiles, strong distribution network, and fast-growing garmenting business. According to Essential Business Intelligence, following the demerger, Raymond has emerged as a focused lifestyle company. While recent performance has been affected by weak demand and execution challenges, Jefferies expects a recovery following management changes. The brokerage sees premiumisation, a turnaround in the apparel business and export-led garmenting growth as key drivers, with EPS expected to compound at 23% over FY26-FY29E. At around 6x one-year forward EV/EBITDA, Jefferies believes the stock's valuation remains attractive. According to The Economic Times, the brokerage believes the company offers a combination of stability from its branded-textiles business and growth potential from the turnaround of its apparel operations and expansion of garment exports. Garmenting is expected to be a key growth driver, with Jefferies forecasting an 18% revenue CAGR over FY26-29.
The India-UK free-trade agreement, effective from July 2026, has reduced tariffs of 4-12% on Indian textile products to nearly zero, while a potential agreement with the European Union from 2027 could remove similar duties and provide preferential access to an import market worth around $220 billion, as reported by The Economic Times. This trade liberalization is expected to significantly improve India's competitiveness in global textile markets. The brokerage expects supply-chain realignment, supplier consolidation and improving trade competitiveness to create a multi-year runway for Indian textile exporters, with the global textile and apparel market worth more than US$900 billion. According to Business Standard, the UK FTA cuts tariffs on Indian textile products from 4-12 per cent to near-zero, while a potential EU agreement could remove similar duties, materially strengthening India's export competitiveness. The brokerage noted that the UK FTA and a potential EU FTA from 2027 will provide India with preferential access to a $22 billion textile & apparel import market, where Bangladesh and other competing countries previously enjoyed tariff advantages.
Analyst sentiment remains positive on both stocks, with all 13 analysts tracking Welspun Living having a 'Buy' rating, while all four analysts covering Raymond Lifestyle have a 'Buy' call, according to CNBC TV18. This consensus among analysts reflects the broader market confidence in India's textile sector growth prospects. The positive analyst sentiment, combined with Jefferies' structural growth thesis, suggests sustained investor interest in both companies as they navigate their respective growth opportunities in the evolving global textile landscape. As per Business Standard, Jefferies has initiated Buy calls on Welspun Living and Raymond Lifestyle, citing improving growth prospects and attractive valuations. The brokerage highlighted that India is well-positioned to gain share as sourcing shifts beyond China, supported by its integrated fibre-to-fashion ecosystem, $37 billion export base, raw material availability, skilled workforce, and policy support.
