Bonjour plans to increase manufacturing capacity
Bonjour plans to increase manufacturing capacity

In a category where brand loyalty is quite scarce, Bonjour, country's leading manufacturer and supplier of socks, is striving to become a recognised and preferred brand. Sweta Pal talks to Raj Kumar Jain, MD, Bonjour about the strategies the company plans to undertake, to be the market leader soon.

Sweta Pal (SP): Kindly elaborate on your India-centric strategy?

Raj Jain (RJ): Bonjour’s business model has traditionally been selling its brand through multi-brand outlets and large format stores like Lifestyle and others. But now we are gradually shifting to opening up our own exclusive stores to ascertain the brand name. We have opened our 5 exclusive stores in North India around 3 years back. By the end of this year we plan to add a few more stores in NCR.

SP: What is your expansion strategy? What investment is planned for the same?

RJ: The market is growing steadily and we are geared up for bigger businesses. In last decade, we have seen a growth of 22-25% and for 2013; we aim to achieve 40% growth. We are increasing manufacturing capacity by about 60% this year. And for this, we are opening up to a third plant for an additional capacity of 10-11 million. We are soon launching wellness-hosiery products. We have also created a separate plant for processing and dying various yarns. 

SP: Who is the target audience for Bonjour and how are you reaching them?

RJ: We manufacture socks (formal/ sports/fashion) for men, women and kids of all age groups, stockings, tights for girls and handkerchief largely for men. We have come a long way and are now one of the most dynamically versatile companies giving consistent quality and innovative products pan India. We are reaching our target audience successfully through presence in 8000 premium stores, multi giants across India along with our own 5 exclusive stores in North India in Noida, Ambala and Delhi. 

SP: Please elaborate on your retail tie-ups in India.

RJ: Bonjour is a success story with their presence in over 8000 premium stores, multi-brand outlets across India and has a significant global footprint too. Bonjour has also opened five exclusive stores in North India- Noida (2), Delhi (2) and Ambala (1) 

SP: In a category where brand loyalty is extremely less, how does Bonjour keep above the competition?

RJ: We focus on quality and innovation. We consistently create new products with latest technologies giving the world class experience to the consumer. Our main aim is to provide comfort in the most reasonable price. We use patented technologies producing hygienic products matching the most stringent global quality norms. The raw material is procured from the country's best spinning mills ensuring top quality spinning and who guarantee the spinning and dyeing. Each batch of products is tested by Bonjour's in-house lab before finally going into production. Known as the manufacturer of the most versatile and the largest range of socks, Bonjour is the most trusted vendor for some of the most reputed and well known garment brands and large format stores all across the globe. We are regarded as one of the most trust worthy brand enjoying unique reputation in the market for its quality and services. We are committed to be innovative and maintaining consistent quality. 

SP: Please tell us about your licensing tie-ups.

RJ: We have recently taken up the license for Doraemon. We will manufacture Doraemon socks for a period of 4-5 years under our brand name Bonjour for kids. We are the only brand having the license of Doraemon in socks category. This gives our brand an edge over others and helps us stand out. The age group to which this series will cater is 0-7 years. The price starts from Rs 70 upto Rs 85 depending on the size.        

SP: Where do you see your brand in five years from now?

RJ: With FDI opening up and with many multinational brands expected to come in India, we see ourselves to retain the tag of being the market leaders in the socks category in India, despite of all the competition. We will remain the most respected brand with design, versatility and innovation as the key tools.

 

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