Gautam Hari Singhania has stepped down as chairman of Raymond Apparel Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of fabric and apparel maker Raymond Ltd.

Though the decision has been taken to run the company more “professionally’’, Singhania will continue to be on the board of the apparel player.

Raymond Apparel has a portfolio covering four brands — Raymond Ready to Wear, Park Avenue, Color Plus and Parx.

A statement from Raymond said the board had appointed Nirvik Singh as non-executive chairman, apart from inducting Anshu Sarin and Gautam Trivedi as board members.

While Sarin has joined as a non-executive director, Trivedi comes in as an independent director.

“I have always believed in setting the highest standards of governance and have advocated to run the business professionally. I am delighted that Nirvik Singh has been appointed as non-executive chairman and I am sure that the company will benefit tremendously under his able leadership,” Gautam Singhania said.

Gautam had been in the news earlier for his tiff with father Vijaypat Singhania.

The development on Wednesday comes at a time Raymond Apparel has been expanding its retail footprint with focus on multi-brand outlets, enhancing in-house retail experience and strengthening its consumer engagement programmes across platforms.