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The branded apparel business of textile company Arvind Ltd had a promising listing last year. In 15 months, its valuation has fallen to a fifth. What went wrong?

For the Rs 7,142 crore Ahmedabad-based Arvind, a textile company that dates back to pre-Independence India, it was a moment to cherish. After two decades of hibernation since the late 1990s, when it was slowed down by an acquisition strategy seriously gone wrong, the company’s silver-haired chairman Sanjay Lalbhai, 66, was making a big splash. Lalbhai was listing the company’s branded garment company Arvind Fashions Ltd as a separate entity.
The move, five years in the making, couldn’t have had a better beginning. The stock’s price shot up so rapidly on its first day on the exchanges, 8 March 2019, …