Soon we will have 150 stores across 127 cities in the country and will add 50-60 stores this year: J Suresh

Following the long stint of bringing international brands in India, Arvind seems to be steadily expanding its presence in the consumer apparel space. The brand has recently launched its private label Arvind– Ready to Wear brand. The collection offers a wide array of work-wear, leisure, and ceremonial wear. Initially, the brand will be present in 150 stores across 127 cities across the country. Further, the company is adding another 50-60 stores this year. On e-commerce space, the brand will be available on Amazon and nnnow.com. Thus, talking about the brand's future move, J Suresh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited spoke to Indianretailer.com on the occasion of launching Ready to Wear brand in Mumbai.

What made you launch your private label brand Ready to Wear?
The motive is to build Arvind in the consumer space. Arvind is a very strong B2B brand, it has a good equity in the consumer mind, thus we want to create Arvind consumer brand. We already do Rs 600 cr of fabrics which we want to leverage with the Arvind brand name into ready-to-wear as well. This brand is not going to be the part of Arvind brands business, but it is part of Arvind Ltd.

What is the gap you found in the market?
Arvind comes up with a lot of innovations in the fabrics space and we could take it forward to the ready to wear space. Also, we don’t have any brand in the ceremonial space. All our brands are into formal wear or casual wear or denim segment. So with this brand, we want to focus on ceremonial space which is going to be unique.

The collection for men features linen blazers and bundis sewn to perfection, contemporary and elevated chinos, trendy fabric prints and a range of textured, soft and linen-blend summer plaids. The Spring Summer 2018 line features casual after-hour shirts, linens, textured 5-pocket chinos and more.

What is the USP of your brand?
In ceremonial space, we use a lot of Indian motifs and other elements which other international brands do not and this would be Arvind’s USP. Having said that we will also have work - wear and leisure wear, like any other brands. Also, in every season we want to come up with something new. We may venture into women wear under this brand. Arvind as a brand is known for trust and quality for many years and that is our strength. The brand makes available the best of ready to wear for men, through revolutionary four-dimensional tailoring in finely crafted blazers along with lightweight, wrinkle-free and dressed up options in workwear across categories.

True Blue is another brand we have launched, which is inspired by some of the Indian folklore.  We also have another brand called Creyate. So these are two niche spaces we have looked at to launch our own brand.

What could be the retail presence of this brand?
Currently, we are going to be at 150 stores across 127 cities in the country and we are adding another 50-60 stores this year. We are available on Amazon and through our e-commerce portal nnnow.com.

What is your target age group?
With this brand we are targeting 30-40 age group.

What is the financial expectation that you have with this brand?
Initially, we are aiming the brand to be Rs 50-60 cr and then, hoping it would move up to Rs 200cr. We anticipate the brand to do around 20 percent of the total revenue. Arvind Ltd. overall is Rs 7000 cr textile business of which, Rs 1000 cr will be of Ready to Wear. 

Around 10 per cent of our business comes from e-commerce portals and I guess that should be the ideal case. We are also integrating our offline and online retail channel for a seamless customer experience.

What was the total amount of investment for developing the brand?
Largely it’s Rs 15-20 cr marketing investment and not so much in terms of retail.

How do you see men’s ready to wear category evolving?
The Indian consumer is constantly evolving, and fashion needs are at the core of this evolution. Strong growth trends in the men’s ready to wear category coupled with the customers’ need for comfortable, fashionable apparel that delivers value and performance has opened up a significant opportunity that we are addressing with Arvind – Ready to Wear. Our integrated value chain capabilities from design to delivery and understanding of the Indian customer is a unique combination to deliver unmatched value to the discerning Indian male.