Fair Express Vol.21 No.2 by InsideFashion

DFU’s INSIDEFASHION VOL. 21 No. 02

Cloak & Decker A new brand from Monte Carlo

Rachit Creations 304 Pragati Ind. Estate, N. M JOSHI Marg, Mumbai - 400011. Tel.: 23075214/23098985 Mob. 9167467321/9324881292 Email: summerline87@gmail.com

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18 CONTENT 20 DFU’s INSIDEFASHION VOL. 21 No. 02

Cloak & Decker A new brand from Monte Carlo

CONTENTS:

24 Fashionscape 26 Fashion & Lifestyle 30 Brand Watch 37 Brand Retail

38 Cover Story - CLOAK & DECKER 42 Big Story 57 Section Story - FOCUS 60 IF Exclusive 65 Section Story RANGRITI/BIBA 72 Fashion Post 73 Section Story SLOGGI 74 IF Exclusive 82 Retail Outlook 84 Trends 85 Collections 87 Business News 91 Financial Results 95 Industry Byte 96 Subcription

DFU PUBLICATIONS Editor-in Chief & Publisher & CEO - Sanjay Chawla

Special Correspondent - Ajanta Ganguly

Director - Salil Chawla Mangaging Editor - Sujata Dutta Sachdeva

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- Abdul Hussain

VP-Corporate Communications - Shraboni Mukherjee Brand inputs / Interviews - Gurbir Singh Gulati

Editorial Asst. - Ranjit Kaur

Customer Relations - Sanchita Banerjee Bipasha Bhattacharya Prajakta Abhang

Graphic Designer - Anil S. Kadale

Editorial Team - Shubhangi Bidwe Narayan Subramaniam

Manohar Rajgurav

MUMBAI OFFICE: 38/314, Unnat Nagar 4, Off M. G. Road, MHADA Colony, Goregaon (W), Mumbai - 400 062. Ph: 022 2875 5181, 2877 2282, 3001 4700 e-mail: dfuif@yahoo.co.in / dfu@rediffmail.com DEHLI OFFICE: Salil Chawla, Business & Mktg: New Delhi - 110017, Mobile: +9193503 18639 e-mail: salildfu@gmail.com, salil@dfupublications.com All reproductions rights reserved. Owned & published by: Sanjay Chawla and printed by him at DFU printing division. Published and Edited by Sanjay Chawla at: 38/314, Unnat Nagar 4, Off M. G. Road, MHADA Colony, Goregaon (W), Mumbai 400 062.

24 FASHION SCOPE Manish Malhotra teams up with Blenders Pride for a limited edition box design

and dresses with delicate prints achieved by a zero-dye method to address the issue of water pollution. The Fashion Forward Fellowship describes itself as India’s first fashion fellowship which focuses on water stewardship. The fellowship’s panel of judges who chose Turakhia as the winner included Nonita Kalra, Nimish Shah, Tina Tahiliani, Akshay Tyagi, and Parmesh Shahani. Turakhia was awarded the fellowship from a group of eight hopefuls who all received mentoring on their sustainable fashion concepts.

esigner Manish Malhotra has teamed up with whisky brand Blenders Pride to create a limited edition box design to celebrate his 30 years in fashion. Malhotra has created an exclusive design for the Seagram’s Blenders Pride’s limitededition pack. The limited-edition pack reverberates with a contemporary design that represents glamorous curations, something that has been synonymous with my personal style for a long time. Inspired by the skilfully crafted smooth blend, the limitededition pack is adorned with intricate patterns with warm metallic accents and tones that build a sense of glamour and celebration. The pack embodies a seamless blend of fine craftsmanship that reflects Malhotra’s signature style of glam and romance. Malhotra has also launched his latest bridal and occasion wear collection featuring glittering sarees and lehengas. Named Nooraniyat, the collection is inspired by the craft technique of Phulkari and modernises the heritage technique by giving it a futuristic black and silver color palette.

Vaishali Shadangule showcased collection last day at ‘Paris Haute Couture Week’ Indian designer Vasihali Shadangule showcased her new collection on the last day of Paris Haute Couture Week. As per Fashion Network, Shadangule’s collection featured traditional hand-woven fabrics, like khand, to create asymmetrical silhouettes and pleated volumes. It fashioned fringes and airy sleeves with corsets and architecturally complex dresses. The collection included asymmetrical dresses shaped like butterfly wings, lush leaves and mermaids emerging from the sea with algae-strewn bodies, in a colour palette starting with unobtrusive whites and blacks. But veering further into violet, gold, maroon and blueish green.

Priyal Turakhia’s capsule collection to go on sale this year The capsule collection ‘Could Be’ launched by Fashion Forward Fellowship winner Priyal Turakhia for her brand Nirantar on The ReFashion Hub will go on sale later this year. As per reports, created with the aid of the Rs 1 lakh ($1,342.90) grant received as part of the Fashion Forward Fellowship prize, Turakhia’s collection is made using plastic waste. Turakhia worked with a group of artisans in West Bengal’s Siliguri to incorporate elements of single-use plastic into hand-woven organic cotton from Kutch. The collection features wearable separates

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26 FASHION & LIFESTYLE Footwear sector revenues to grow 23 per cent next fiscal: CRISIL

s per a CRISIL report, Indian footwear sector could see revenue growth of 2325 per cent next fiscal, closing in on pre-pandemic topline levels of Rs 70,000 crore. Footwear companies could rake in sales to pre-pandemic levels by next fiscal. In the current fiscal, sales in the category are expected to contract 21 per cent due to pandemic led-lockdown, and a shift to work from home that hit demand in the first half. The report estimates domestic demand to decline by 19 per cent this fiscal. Domestic demand, which accounts for 75 per cent of the sector’s revenue, rebounded third quarter onwards with the easing of lockdown curbs and helped by festive spending, CRISIL says. Revenues returned to over 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels for footwear manufacturing companies in Q3. They were expected to recover almost fully in the last quarter. The report, however, flagged sluggish exports as a concern as major export markets such as the US and Europe see fresh lockdowns. It expects the exports to decline by 25 per cent this fiscal.

Skechers launches D’lite range as #OriginalsKeepMoving

As a part of its #OriginalsKeepMoving campaign, lifestyle and performance footwear brand Skechers has launched a new collection titled Energy Racer in India besides expanding popular Skechers D’Lites range for women as well as men. The Skechers D’Lites range reflects the optimistic style sentiments evoked by the spring and summer seasons while Energy Racer range gives a trendy style boost to every wardrobe. The collections are a part of the #OriginalsKeepMoving campaign - a fashion movement that launched in Autumn/ Winter 2020 with Ananya Panday. The collections will be available at Skechers retail

outlets nationwide and online at Skechers.in. Since its launch in 2012, Skechers India has offered a wide range of its 3,000 footwear styles to men, women, and children across the country, besides apparel and accessories in nearly every category. The brand offers two specific categories of footwear – lifestyle and performance. Skechers lifestyle shoes are equipped with air-cooled memory foam. This feature perfectly contours to the foot while providing enhanced breathability, perfect balance and support when on the move. The brand’s performance shoes are incorporated with the GOrun technology that enables midfoot strike, cushioning and impact protection. GOwalk offers highrebound cushioning and is ideal for athletic walking.

Antar Agni launches new footwear collection made from surplus fabric Ujjawal Dubey’s clothing brand Antar Agni has launched a range of casual footwear made in-part from surplus fabric from the brand’s womenswear and menswear collections. Antar Agni’s maiden footwear collection launched on the brand’s dedicated e-commerce site with 10 gender neutral designs. The collection is minimalist but incorporates texture

to mirror Antar Agni’s deconstructed, modern aesthetic. Wrinkles and criss-cross shapes add a sculptural element to a highly paireddown designonotony.” Footwear in the collection is custom made is India and priced at Rs 11,700 per pair. The shoes are made from textiles including cotton silk and handwoven cotton and colors include white, teal, grey, and dusky pink.

Indo Count ties up with British designer Jasper Conran to enhance sleep experience One of India’s leading home textile manufacturers, Indo Count Industries plans to launch its Spring 2022 Bed and Bath Collection in partnership with British designer Jasper Conran. The range will be sold by the company under its Jasper Conran London brand. It will feature bold graphic prints, organic and supima cotton with a fresh and contemporary color pallette. A specialized end-to-end bedding provider, Indo Count is solely focused on creating all-encompassing sleep experiences. The company is the most preferred partner for some of the best-known retail, hospitality and fashion brands in the world. It creates the best sleep experience by controlling every aspect of the supply chain from product design and development through to branding and marketing. An established and respected fashion designer, Jasper Conran OBE is recognized within homewares sector for his longstanding partnerships with British homeware brands Waterford and Wedgewood. Jasper Conran, OBE, is a British designer. Having trained at Parson’s School of Design in New York, Conran launched his first womenswear collection in 1978 and was a founding member of the London Designer Collections – subsequently renamed London Fashion Week.

28 FASHION & LIFESTYLE Taapsee Pannu to be Vogue Eyewear’s new brand ambassador

ollywood actor Taapsee Pannu has been roped in as the new brand ambassador by Vogue Eyewear. Pannu will star in the brand’s new ‘Lets Vogue’ campaign for the Indian market. In her new role for Vogue Eyewear, Pannu will showcase the brand’s latest collection of glasses and sunglasses in an eclectic campaign. As the new face of Vogue Eyewear in India, Pannu will join the brand’s global portfolio of inspiring women. Pannu believes, Vogue Eyewear speaks to the young and vivacious women, who like to keep it real and believe in their inner selves. Vogue Eyewear was launched in Florence, Italy in 1973. The brand retails in India through a wide array of retail outlets online and offline including Tata Cliq, Lenskart, Nykaa Fashion and Flipkart, etc..

Nykaa Fashion launches new homeware segment

Multi-brand e-commerce platform Nykaa Fashion has launched a new homewear segment on its platform known as ‘Home Fashion’. The segment offers kitchen essentials, furnishings, décor accessories, bath products, among many other products. Nykaa has already onboarded homegrown and international brands such as Portico, D’Décor, Meyer, AA Living, Mason Home, Ellementry, Rosemoor, Décor Remedy, etc, Nykaa Fashion Home will also host specialized content, visual inspiration and videos to guide shoppers through the nuances of interior styling and handy hacksfor the house-proud. Launched in 2018, Nykaa Fashion is the retail arm for fashion and accessories of beauty major Nykaa and sells through its website and app. It aims to replicate the success of its parent firm Nykaa currently has over 80 stores across India and stocks over 1,500 brands in the beauty space.

Athiya Shetty , KL Rahul to be the new brand ambassadors for Numi Paris Bollywood actor Athiiya Shetty and cricketer KL Rahul have been named brand ambassadors by French eyewear brand Numi Paris. They will soon feature in a marketing campaign launched by the brand across various digital and social media platforms. Launched in 2019, Numi Paris is available in India through a dedicated e-commerce store.

with packaging made from recycled plastic. Arenette will be targeted at metros and Tier-1 cities first and then gradually will be promoted across smaller cities and towns. Luxottica Group said that the brand will be promoted through digital campaigns across social media platforms, on-ground activations and in-store promotions. With a starting price of Rs 3, 690, Arnette will be retailed across e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Tata CLiQ, Tata CLiQ Luxury, and retail stores in Delhi - NCR and Gujarat. The company is looking to take the brand to approximately 500 partner retail stores by the end of 2021. It will also be sold soon on AJIO, Nykaa, Nykaa Fashion and Myntra.

Gur forays into homewares with new rugs collection The brand plans to expand retail footprint in India through presence in multi-brand retail outlets. It has also partnered Hotstar for the broadcast of inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final to be played between India and New Zealand, and as part of this association; the campaign shall be aired across the medium through the duration of the big-ticket event. The brand’s name means a ‘new me’ and it aims to emulate a Parisian aesthetic.

Luxottica to launch street style eyewear brand Arnette in India The local arm of Italy’s premium and luxury eyewear company Luxottica is launching street style eyewear brand Arnette in India. The brand is targeted at young millennials and Gen Z customers. In 2019, Arnette launched its first sustainable collection made with bio-nylon, and by 2021, around 70% of its collection is eco-friendly, using both bio-nylon and bio-acetate material. The brand claimed that all its products come

Entrepreneur and designer Pernia Qureshi’s sustainable womenswear brand Gurhas stepped into homewares market with a collection of rugs produced in collaboration with rug specialist, House of Rugs. The Gur x House of Rugs collection retails on Gur’s e-commerce store and features a range of rugs in natural hues and abstract designs. The brand has also launched a new website with dedicated segments for different aspects of sustainable fashion and an e-commerce store. The website features an all-new design and advanced features for shoppers. The site features information on the various Global Organic Textile Standard-approved fibres and fabrics Gur uses in its production including hemp, organic cotton, rose fabric, milk fabric, aloe fabric and banana fabric. The site aims to serve as an education tool on sustainable textiles, as well as showcase and retail the brand’s garment and accessory selection. The brand also recently launched the third drop of its summer collection ‘Gypsy Heart’ exclusively on its new online store, the brand announced on Facebook. The collection features painterly patterns, hand embroidery, organic textiles, and several loose, monochrome pieces. The collection has a bohemian, relaxed feel with numerous pieces suitable for work-from-home scenarios.

30 BRAND WATCH Bengaluru’s brand penetration per capita higher than Mumbai: Kearney

s per a Kearney report, Bengaluru’s brand penetration per capita is higher as compared to Mumbai, thus making it attractive for retailers. Manoj Muthu Kumar, Principal, Kearney, says, despite a lower population, Bengaluru has a higher per capita income and much higher level of spending and consumption in key sectors like apparel, footwear, food and groceries, electronics etc. Level of awareness and affinity towards organized retail and e-commerce is also much higher in the city though it offers lower rentals. More recently, Bengaluru was also named the most livable city in the country, within a pool of cities with a million plus population. In a recently revealed Ease of Living Index 2020 by the ministry of housing and urban affairs, Bengaluru emerged as the most livable city in the million plus population category in 2020. The index tracked the potential and attractiveness of over 800 Indian cities for various organized retail categories such as apparel, jewellery, electronics, footwear, food and grocery etc. Kearney’s Index rates each city on a variety of parameters that contribute to the overall retail market attractiveness of a city including economic, demographic, consumption, infrastructure, and ease of operations parameters. In addition to retail attractiveness, the index also factors penetration of modern trade and consumer adoption to e-commerce adoption within these cities.

Collaboration, digital first strategy will help connect with millenials: Crocs India

Crocs Inc is a world leader in innovative casual footwear for men, women and children with more than $1 billion in annual revenue. The company offers several distinct shoe collections with more than 300 four-season footwear styles. All Crocs shoes feature Croslite material, a proprietary, revolutionary technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight, non-marking and odor-resistant qualities. The brand was incepted in 2002 and has sold more than 200 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries around the world.

Sumit Dhingra, Vice President & General Manager-India & South East Asia, Crocs says, new collaborations and a digital-first marketing strategy will help Crocs strengthen its connection with Gen Z and millennials in India. Having successfully navigated the COVID-19 crisis, Crocs now aims to expand its retail footprints by negotiating better commercials at prime locations. As per Freepress Journal, the brand plans to launch global concept stores to offer more classic and personalized products to consumers. It also plans to expand its sandals and clogs range in India besides extending its Jibbitz shoe range. Globally, Crocs plans to launch its Balenciaga Crocs 2.0 as a part of its Spring/Summer collection.

HRX to launch sports and fitness category JActive wear brand HRX will enter the sports and fitness category in collaboration with Flipkart. The brand expects the category

to contribute 15 percent to total revenues, says Afsar Zaidi, Co-founder and CEO. It currently focuses on the apparels category which contributes 60 percent to its revenues while the footwear segment contributes 35 per cent and accessories contribute 5 per cent to overall revenues. In the apparel category, the male and female breakup has shifted from the 70:30 ratio to 65 percent and 35 percent, currently, adds Zaidi. The footwear category got the maximum traction last year, unlike in previous years when the category saw a gradual increase in the percentage it was garnering in overall HRX sales.HRX also launched wireless audio devices last year. This year, it plans to enter three categories. It has partnered a brand called Noise to launch tech products. It also plans to foray into the grooming and nutrition categories.

Only India collaborates with Disney for a Mickey Mouse collection

Bestseller’s apparel brand Only India has launched the Only x Mickey Mouse’ collection in partnership with Disney. The collection includes a printed street wear range for women. It features garments including shorts, skirts, shirt dresses, and t-shirts, all with relaxed silhouettes and featuring Disney’s Mickey Mouse character. With oversized logos and scribbled art-style designs, the collection is both youthful and bold. Following the continuing trend for lounge wear, the collection is designed to transition from working from home to running errands. The collaborative collection is priced from Rs 1,699 and has launched on Only’s India e-commerce site and in Only stores across the country. Only India currently has 54 brick-and-mortar stores and 289 shop-in-shops spread across the country as well as its dedicated India e-commerce store and presence on multibrand online platforms. The brand, which describes itself as one of the leading denim brands in Europe, is sold in over 4,500 stores worldwide. Only is run by fashion business Bestseller which was launched in Denmark in 1975 and is today present in 46 countries, including India.

32 BRAND WATCH Puma extends partnership with Yuvraj Singh

lobal sports brand Puma has extended its partnership with former Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh. As per Business Insider, Singh will now be the face of Puma Motorsport in India and showcase his passion for fast cars and sports-inspired fashion. With this, Singh will also join the brand’s global league of legends like Thierry Henry, Boris Becker and Usain Bolt. Globally, PUMA is associated with Scuderia Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, BMW M Motorsport and Porche Motorsport. With India being one of the biggest markets for PUMA motorsport, the brand looks to capitalise on the growing demand for street style products inspired by performance gear. Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, Puma India & Southeast Asia says, Singh’s relentless courage and indomitable attitude perfectly embodies the spirit of the brand. Whether it’s his sporting exuberance or his sense of style, Singh has always been a role model of innumerable Indians. His love for F1, fast cars and orientation towards sportsinspired fashion makes him a perfect fit to represent Puma’s motorsport collection in India.

Myntra launches sustainable kidswear brand ‘Ed-a-mamma’

Lingerie brand, Enamor expects e-commerce to contribute 30 per cent to its business this year. has navigated through the past pandemic year, by enhancing consumer shopping experiences online, rooting its communication on digital platforms and carrying forward it’s ‘fabulous’ positioning in its everyday collections. Its latest campaign, #FabulousEveryday carries forward the brand’s ‘fabulous’ messaging from the past few years. The campaign is running extremely well and was seen by 26 lakh visitors after being rolled out. The brand’s approach is to follow the consumers and adapt according to where they are. During the lockdown, it focused a lot on WFH and launched its loungewear or athleisure collection, emphasizing the importance of being comfortable while working at home. The brand also focused on lingerie, its wash care, choosing the right lingerie, etc. Enamor is currently seeing a lot of demand for shorts, track pants and t-shirts. It expects athleisure to contribute to at least 20 per cent of its business. The brand has an everyday range, where it competes with the likes of Jockey. It also offers a premium and the fashion range that competes with brands like Triumph, Wacoal and Amante.

Alia Bhatt to be the new face of Aurelia

Myntra has launched ‘Ed-a-mamma’, Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt’s sustainable kidswear brand on its platform. The brand offers over 200 natural fiber-based t-shirts, tops, shirts, skirts, dresses, etc for both girls and boys. The garments are made with natural dyes and non-plastic buttons. The tags are made from responsibly harvested FSC certified paper, and the nickel free metal trims. The brand also offers an organic T-shirt range that meets GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). Each product is delivered to the customer along with a pouch, referred to as a ‘potli’ made from fabric scraps, in which there are seeds that children can choose to plant. Kidswear is one of the highest growing segments on Myntra, registering over 2X growth from the previous year. The e-commerce platform houses over 1lakh kidswear styles from over 250 leading brands. The launch of ‘Toys’ last year, has further enhanced the attractiveness of the category on Myntra, making it a one-stop-shop for a variety of needs in the segment.

High Street Essentials to launch in international markets High Street Essentials, the parent company of clothing brands FabAlley and Indya plans to launch its brands into new international markets including Germany and Australia

through online tie-ups and focusing on online expansion in the near future. This year, High Street Essentials will launch its brands on Germany-based online platform Zalando. The business has also partnered with Australia-based online platform Iconic to retail in the region. The business recently began retailing its clothing lines in Dubai on online platform Namshi, in Southeast Asia with Singapore-based business Zalora, and in the US with Amazon. The company has decided to hold its expansion of brick-and-mortar stores due to the pandemic. It plans to increase its store count from the current 33 to 50.

Enamor expects e-commerce to contribute 30% to overall business this year

Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt has been roped as the new face of ethnic wear brand Aurelia by women’s apparel maker TCNS Clothing Company. Aurelia has always promoted effortless styles. It encourages women to choose their own representation of beautiful, says Anant Kumar Daga, Managing Director, TCNS Clothing. The brand is available both online and offline through over 220 exclusive brand outlets and presence in 1,000 plus largeformat stores across 150 cities across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Mauritius. Its mission is to increase brand accessibility via brand presence at various points through associating with different sales channels. The brand aims to become the leading brand in Indian wear segment and celebrate the effortless beauty of womanhood. Starting from a basic to occasion-ready, casual to formal, day to night, Aurelia adopts a fusion approach that is a combination of modern silhouettes with the perfect mix of traditions and culture.

34 BRAND WATCH Fabindia launches new initiative for COVID-affected artisans

thnic wear and lifestyle brand Fabindia has launched the ‘Artisan Relief Fundraiser initiative in partnership with 10 brands to raise funds for artisans suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FabIndia has collaborated with brands Okhai, Swaravow, A Tiny Mistake, KharaKapas, Suta, Bare NecessitiesZero Waste India, Forty Red Bangles, RangSutra Crafts, Gaatha- a Tale of Crafts, and Allthatgrass to raise funds for artisans. The brand is running a fundraiser on GiveIndia’s platform. FabIndia has identified crafts people and artisans across India who require financial assistance and has chosen a group of around 1,500 families and clusters to receive aid. The brand plans to give Rs 5,000 directly to each family through GiveIndia. FabIndia has also launched a range of products to respond to new consumer needs during lockdown. Besides its new range of loungewear, the brand has begun retailing detox programs, cleaning supplies, and face masks.

Rajkummar Rao roped in as brand ambassador for bewakoof.com

RajkummarRao has been roped as the brand ambassador for bewakoof.com Known for his different and eclectic choices whether movies for big screen or OTT, Raohas done thought-provoking roles like Newton and Shahid to horror comedies like Stree and Roohi and heart-touching films like Bareilly Ki Barf. He is the most loved actor cutting across demographics and geography. bewakoof.com is known for being unique as it too challenges set norms without being preachy. Launched in 2012 by Prabhkiran Singh, the online brand has become the fastest growing youth brand and is backed by marquee investors like IvyCap and Investcorp. The company sells 20,000 units of apparel and accessories a day and has a customer base of over 10 million. The marketing campaign will see Rajkummar flaunting a range of quirky tees from Bewakoof as he makes the statement, ‘Puraane boring kapdo se banani doors hai, mere dost, thodi bewakoofi zaroori hai.’

Turtle ropes in Shreyansh Innovations as creative agency Apparel brand for men Turtle has roped in Kolkata-headquartered Shreyansh Innovations as its creative agency. As part of the mandate, Shreyansh Innovations will handle the creative duties for mainline as well as digital and has already started working on different campaigns for the brand’s collections.

wear for global markets. As per a Daiji World report, having over 1,000 handloom weaver societies, the cooperative plans to move away from selling traditional sarees due to declining demand. The department is planning to target the high-income groups and urbanites. It is in the process of getting certification for its organic products to attract customers from all the age groups. It is also in the process of preparing more organic dyed products. The raw materials for the organic cloth lines will be purchased from Pollachi and surrounding areas. The organic children wear and other new products from Co-optex will hit the market either during Diwali or Pongal depending on the certification it gets. Co-optex is also planning to market the product in Western countries as well as in the Middle East, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Indian diaspora in these countries, as well as the local populace will be targeted in a high voltage campaign in the near future.

Myntra’s handicrafts brand grows by 2.5 times during the pandemic

Shreyansh Innovations has worked with brands such as Lux, Emami, Aqualite, PS Group, 11 Wickets, among others. In over 25 year journey of Shreyansh Innovations, the agency has successfully completed creative works for over 250 real estate projects across various cities. Having worked with the finest developers and with an extensive team dedicated only for real estate works, Shreyansh Innovations growth in this sector is inevitable. Their contribution in any project starts right from project planning until the development is sold out.

Co-optex to foray into organic wear for kids The Tamil Nadu handloom weavers cooperative society Co-optex plans to foray into manufacturing and supply of organic

Myntra’s art and handicrafts brand, ‘Taavu’, witnessed 2.5 times growth during the pandemic since its inception The Bangalore based firm, which works with over 10,000 artisans is likely to associate with 5000 more artisans this year. Myntra had launched Taavi as a homegrown Indian art and handicrafts brand in 2019 and has been associated with the artisans through it. So far, the brand has tied-up with over 10,000 artisans and continues to explore new partnerships and opportunities across the country. Taavi is helping the artisan community by steadily processing fabric orders so that they can continue to safely work through the lockdown and prepare the bulk fabrics, giving them a financial cushion. It has also worked out a system to expedite the payments cycle to 10 days as opposed to the industry norm of 45 to 60 days while relaxing delivery timelines.

36 BRAND WATCH Trent to continue focusing on differentiated brands

rent will continue its focus on building out differentiated brands and accelerating reach through stores and digital platforms, says Noel N Tata, Chairman. The company expects demand to rebound strongly from the second quarter of this year. Favorable demographics, increasing per capita, disposable incomes and growing consumption will help it return to a strong growth trajectory, despite uncertainty over near-term outlook, he says. In FY21, Trent expects certain prospective store locations to face temporary challenges in timely construction/opening. The company will continue to pursue growth by leveraging its association with Tata Cliq and its two websites. Committed to pursuing accelerated expansion, Trent will continue to monitor existing stores and refresh the portfolio through multiple initiatives including absorption/ refurbishment of brand diluting stores. In FY 21, the company reported a 25 per cent decline in consolidated revenue to Rs 2,592.96 crore from Rs 3,485.98 crore in FY20.

KVIC launches new babywear and handmade paper slippers range

summer and manufactured from plant-based textiles. Littleens’ new line of sustainable loungewear features western and ethnic style sets for girls and boys with a mix of plain hues and whimsical patterns. Garments in the collection are made from plant-based fibres including orange peel, rose petals, soya, banana peel, aloe vera, lotus stem, and bamboo. By using these textiles, the brand minimizes production waste in an ecofriendly manner and the fabrics are soft and comfortable to wear, especially for children. MitaliBhargava, Founder, Littleens says, the primary and essential goal of Littleens is to achieve a healthy coexistence between humans, animals, and the environment. The brand develops products using sustainably farmed materials and mention who made these clothes for you, in what condition they were made. Therefore, highlighting the social aspects of creating a fully ‘sustainable’ collection. MitaliBhargava launched Littleens in 2020 and also plans to launch a couture gifting range in the near future. The brand’s goal is to achieve a carbon positive production process.

MensXP launches new lifestyle brand for Indian men

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched khadi babywear and handmade paper slippers. The new products were launched by the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Narayan Rane at Khadi India’s flagship showroom in New Delhi. V K Saxena, Chairman, KVIC says, developing new innovative products to support rural and traditional industries and livelihood of Khadi artisans has been the constant endeavour of KVIC. KVIC has priced the Khadi cotton babywear at Rs 599 per piece while the slippers will cost Rs 50 per pair. The newly launched products are currently available exclusively at KVIC’s New Delhi outlet and website. The products are expected to be rolled out across Khadi stores in the country over the next few months.

platforms Amazon, Flipkart, etc. It expects to generate revenues of Rs.300 crore in the next three years. Earlier, the company had announced excellent Q1FY22 results (Unaudited) with total revenue jumping from Rs. 3.19 crore in Q1FY21 to Rs. 12.08 crore in Q1FY22 and PAT turned positive from a loss of Rs. 5.65 crore in Q1FY21 to profit of Rs. 1.74 crore in Q1FY22. Earlier this year, the company had also completed a bonus issue of shares.

Libas Consumer Products launches new innerwear brand NSE listed Libas Consumer Products has launched inner ware segment Brand - KNG. The company is diversifying into men’s innerwear, women’s intimate wear (organic fabrics), nightwear, casual wear, etc. which will move the company forward as it looks to be placed as a peer competitor to leading brands. The company is present on e-commerce

Kidswear brand Littleens forays into loungewear Children’s wear brand Littleens has forayed into loungewear with a collection titled ‘Yesteryear Worlde. As per Fashion Network, the collection is designed for staying home this

Lifestyle platform, MensXP has launcheda new brand to offer affordable yet stylish fashion to Indian men. Known as ‘Fraternity’, this fuss-free everyday lifestyle brand is crafted for contemporary and confident young men. It hosts a select range of collections for every season and occasion. The brand has already launched a new collection of color block cotton tees, canvas espadrilles, 6-layer protection masks, and backpacks. Angad Bhatia, Founder & CEO of, MensXP says, the brand Fraternity is rooted in the idea of brotherhood and a sense of camaraderie and belonging for the new age young adults. The brand exudes comfortable confidence and has a modern classic vibe that’s perfectly in line with the fashion needs of the modern Indian man. The brand plans to launch some new collections in apparel, footwear and fashion accessories in the next few months.

BRAND RETAIL Apparel brands plan store expansion by FY21-end

s per a new report by brokerage firm Anand Rathi, rise in clothing sales, especially innerwear has encouraged brands to add more retail stores across the country. Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail plans to add more 300-400 lifestyle stores in the current financial year, extending the access of retail stores to more consumers in the country. By the end of FY21, it had 2,379 stores in India. While the retail outlet added 383 new stores during the year, it also shut down 247 unavailable stores. Pantaloons is planning to set up 60 more retail stores. As of now, Pantaloons is catering the clothing demand of people from 346 stores. Similarly, TCNS Clothing will also be adding 60 additional stores along with VMart expected to bring in 40 more retail stores in FY22. More people shopped for new apparels, innerwear and footwear in 2021 than last year. During the last quarter of FY21, apparel stores witnessed almost 100 per cent recovery. Retailers saw near normal consumer behavior during January- March this year; fresh merchandise was also launched by the brands during the three-month period. Not just apparel retailers but recovery was also seen for footwear brands. Footwear companies like Relaxo and Khadim witnessed a shift of consumers to opt for value-formoney footwear. The demand among people to buy new footwear also returned to normal during the January-March period, but this was also disrupted by the Covid-19 second wave lockdowns.

Myntra new store attracts over 70 fashion and lifestyle brands

Online fashion retailer Myntra’s new retail initiative ‘Myntra for Earth’ has attracted over 70 leading fashion and lifestyle brands over the past six months. The new store offers an immersive and engaging shopping experience for truly ‘sustainability-inclined’ conscious shoppers. Nearly 62 per cent of the visitors to the ‘Myntra For Earth’ store are women, with metro cities contributing about 40 per cent of the overall visits to the store. People of all age groups are seemingly conscious about their fashion choices and their impact on the environment in varying degrees. However, those in the age group of 21 to 35 are contributing the highest to the growth of the ‘Myntra For Earth’ store. Myntra is working towards scaling the number of brands in the store to 2x by the upcoming quarter while adding another 4000 styles to the existing assortment. The store hosts a variety of brands and collections across major categories. These include H&M, Mango, Unnati Silks, Bharatsthali. The other brands include Kama Ayurveda, Forest Essentials and Fab India. Myntra Fashion Brands featured on the platform for their conscious collection include Taavi, Roadster and Ether.

Donear Group to launch D’Cot, its upmarket brand outlet in Mumbai

Donear Industries’ retail brand D’Cot is set to launch an exclusive upmarket store at Bandra, Mumbai. Spanning 700 sqft, the store will offer a wide range of apparels and fabrics. The product range will include T-shirt, jeans, trousers, jackets and accessories. The store will also offer premium range of fabrics from OCM and luxury fabrics from Moda Beilla range. The fabrics will be inspired by global trends and combine casual and comfort wear with formal wear. The D’cot Store epitomizes a new way forward for the brand and will help it address the needs of a metropolitan man with exquisite fabrics and garments, says Ajay Agarwal, Executive Director, Donear Group. Akash Motwani, AVP, D’Cot adds, the brand plans to increase its EBO count to 500 in the next two years. It has successfully introduced innovative streetwear in vibrant colors, designs and patterns. The products combine style and fashion with panache.

38 COVER STORY

Cloak and Decker forays into women’s wear, plans more retail expansion

“The pandemic has given us an opportunity to work on our shortcomings and create specialty products for both niche and value-focused customers,” opines Alok Jain, Vice President, Cloak and Decker, the new sub-brand from Monte Carlo Fashions. The brand has just launched a new range of long coats and cardigans for women and jackets for men. Most garments are made from cotton rich poly fabrics that not only retain their original sheen and drape but are also durable.

Revolutionizing the branded garments segment Cloak and Decker mostly targets customers in the middle and lower middle income groups. The brand revolutionizes the branded garments segment by offering clothes starting from as low as Rs 399. The product line encompasses all categories including T-shirts, lowers, bermudas, etc for summer and sweatshirts, tracksuits, jackets, long coats, sweaters or cardigans for winters. “We make everything to satisfy the needs of our consumers,” affirms Jain. After strengthening its position and making a mark in the men’s category, Cloak

• Forayed into women’s wear with a range of long coats and cardigans • The brand targets middle income group consumers • Present in North and East India, plans to tap the West and South India markets • Plans to introduce a rejuvenated version of its classic collection • Present in MBOs plans EBOS in future and Decker is now making a splash in the women’s apparel category. It has added several new segments besides launching a new accessories range offering caps, mufflers etc. Launched with a vision to create

a niche market focusing on the economy class, Cloak and Decker has spread its wings across the nation. The brand has 70 distributors who handle marketing operations pan India.

COVER STORY “We make everything to satisfy the needs of our consumers.” Launched with a vision to create a niche market focusing on the economy class, Cloak and Decker has spread its wings across the nation. The brand has 70 distributors who handle marketing operations pan India. Caution, the key to future growth “These days, middles class consumers wish to buy well known brands at realistic prices. People have become extremely cautious while spending money as the threat of third COVID-wave continues to loom,” explains Jain. Therefore, brands need to focus on customer’s needs, inventory management and distribution activities, he cautions. They cannot ignore the buying potential of customers in smaller cities. Despite COVID-led uncertainties, Jain expects the upcoming season to be good for the fashion industry as companies are

making limited stocks. Yet, a lot depends on the timing and duration of third wave, he says, advising brands to be cautious and focus on limited inventory, pruned retailer list and strong financial distributors.

Beating COVID blues with retail expansion A pan-India brand, Cloak and Decker mainly focuses on the Northern and Eastern markets including Delhi, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam. It is slowly spreading its wings in Western India as well. Currently, present in over 500 direct and 1,000 indirect MBOs, the brand also plans to set up EBOs in future. Expansion plans include tapping Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh markets. The brand has also tapped the South India market by appointing distributors. Its retail operations are mainly controlled by distributors though the brand also has an online presence. In future, Cloak and Decker aims to add new product categories in men’s and women’s segment. It also plans to introduce a rejuvenated version of its classic collection by adding hairy yarns to it

Alok Jain, Vice President, Cloak and Decker

42 BIG STORY

‘Our new collection embraces the concept of individualism’ European high street brand Jack & Jones, is present in India for over a decade. Incepted in 1990, the brand has a retail footprint in over 60 cities across India. Known for its trends-driven offerings in denim, the brand has created a strong recall value amongst consumers within a short span of time, elaborates on the company’s product offerings, its latest innovations and retail spread. What is your latest collection for the upcoming season? The A/W’21 collection offers four different ranges under our sub-brand. Named Core- Off Grid, Vintage-The Lone Ranger, Originals-90’s Love and Premium- Gangster in LA, these collections highlight the distinct personalities of our consumers. They embrace the concept of individualism by innovating with details and shapes in the garments. Their verbose prints and concealed patterns give the garments an outdoor and technical look. Their earthinspired colors explore unexpected shades that give them a futuristic look.

Elaborate on your latest product innovations. We have launched a sustainable denim

range made with responsibly sourced cotton through Better Cotton Initiative. Our denim products are washed with recycled water and have zero fresh water usage. Our garments are mostly made from cotton blends and recycled polyester while undergarments are made from modal fabrics. Their colors range from autumn hues like burnt orange, amber, grey and black to different shades of blue, etc. We have also adopted a smooth ‘phygital’ retail model that incorporates various technological concepts like virtual catalogues, AI enabled smart mirrors and convergence of offline and online channels. These concepts help consumers virtually browse through various products offerings, minimum personal contact and choosing their preferred mode of shopping.

JACK & JONES

“We have launched a sustainable denim range made with responsibly sourced cotton through Better Cotton Initiative. Our denim products are washed with recycled water and have zero fresh water usage. Our garments are mostly made from cotton blends and recycled polyester while undergarments are made from modal fabrics. Their colors range from autumn hues like burnt orange, amber, grey and black to different shades of blue, etc.”

consumers vary between teenagers and young adults. The brand recently launched the Jack & Jones Junior range for young boys aged 4 to14 years. The products are priced between Rs 799 to Rs 15,999 and span various menswear categories like T-shirts, shirts, jeans, outerwear, suits, footwear, etc

What are your key offerings?

Elaborate on your retail spread.

A pioneer in street style garments and denim in India, Jack & Jones offers latest denim trends that provide a perfect mix of comfort, fashion and individuality. The brand also offers other products such as accessories, shirt, T-shirt, pants, shorts, winter wear, trousers, blazers, suits, accessories, footwear and lounge wear/ inner wear. The target

Jack & Jones has a retail space of over 2 lakh sq. ft. across India. We are present in over 60 cities including Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Surat and Ludhiana. Our retail network spans 74 stores and 525 shop-in-shops across the country. Our brand is also available on www.jackjones. in and with leading online partners.

What safety initiatives have you adopted? Bestseller launched its first safety-oriented campaign in October last year. Known as the ‘Seal of Safety’, the campaign represents the highest level of safety protocols in our brand stores. All our stores are equipped with coronoguard that attacks and disables 99.9 per cent COVID-19 virus keeping the store environment secure. Additionally, we have installed UV-C wardrobes at our stores. All our garments are sterilized before and after every trial for a safe shopping experience. We also have 100 per cent vaccinated staff at all our stores.

What are your future plans? Jack & Jones continuously strives to bring the best international fashion across all menswear categories. We recently launched the Jack &Jones Junior range to offer a similar set of high on fashion styles and denims to younger age group.

44 BIG STORY

‘We aim to reduce lead time and achieve faster turnaround in production’

Popular France-based men’s ready-to-wear brand Celio Future Fashion addresses customers’ innovation needs through multiple initiatives across different categories. Launched in India in 2010, Celio has not only introduced innovative fabrics but also innovative styles and fits. Some of its latest innovations include: jeans that don’t fade; soft denims; water repellent jeans; new blends and techniques; sustainability. Satyen P Momaya, CEO, elaborates on new offerings and future expansion plans.

CELIO What is your new collection all about? Inspired by nature, our A/W’21 collection focuses on new innovations and trends. It highlights the importance of sustainability with its new color blends, fittings and designs. The denim range has been sourced from best mills across the world while the trousers range is styled as per athlesiure demands. The shirts range offers new fabric blends and knitwear has been styled with new collaborations and licenses.

Could you trace the brand’s journey? Celio was founded as a men’s ready-towear brand in 1985 in France. The brand has over 1,330 stores in 46 countries. We are a leading brand in France with 83 per cent assisted awareness. Our stores in France record 56 million visitors per year while the e-commerce site is visited 1.5 million visitors annually. In India, Celio has over 700 stores along with a strong digital presence across own and leading e-commerce portals. The target is male customers in the age group 25 to 35 years across premium and super premium categories.

What is your take on value engineering in present times? Value engineering is the need of the hour as input costs have increased

and lead times reduced. The industry alongwith all stakeholders need to adapt digital platforms to forecast future demands.

What are the key fabric trends for the season? Cotton remains the key fabric. However, a lot of new blends have been launched including Tencel, modal, lyocell, viscose and poly blends. Moreover, there is growing demand for abstract and floral prints on light base.

What is your retail footprint in India? We are present across all metros and Tier I cities in India. Our retail spread includes 67 EBOs and a presence in over 700 MBOs. Currently, we are focusing on large format stores and shop-in shops besides expanding our EBO network. All retail channels hold equal importance for us and we aim to expand our presence online.

Your future plans? We aim to reduce lead time and achieve faster turnaround in production. We will continue to expand our ominchannel strategy with greater focus on personalization. Our existing product portfolio will be expanded with the addition of athleisure as a new category.

Satyen P Momaya, CEO, CELIO

“We will continue to expand our ominchannel strategy with greater focus on personalization. Our existing product portfolio will be expanded with the addition of athleisure as a new category.”

46 BIG STORY

‘Our brand has helmed some of the most ground breaking innovations’ Pepe Jeans was launched in London in 1973 and entered India in 1989. The brand offers the most varied denim range though it has also diversified into casual wear for men, women and kids. The product range includes accessories, footwear and innerwear for men. Winner of numerous awards and accolades, Pepe Jeans is recognized globally for its unlimited creativity. Manish Kapoor, CEO, expounds the brand’s products, retail spread and future plans. Trace the genesis of your brand. Pepe Jeans was incepted in 1973 in London by Indian entrepreneur Nitin Shah with his two brothers Arun Shah and Milan Shah. The brand aimed to manufacture jeans with original labels. It soon came to be known as one of the most successful jeans brands in Britain. The Indian subsidiary was launched in 1989 to create some of the most exciting denim styles. It later transformed into a complete casual wear brand for men, women and kids. The brand also offers a full range of accessories, footwear and innerwear for men.

What are your latest innovations? Since inception, Pepe Jeans has helmed some of the most ground breaking product innovations in the industry. Recent innovations

include Wiser Wash -- a range of denim that support sustainable and responsible fashion. These denims are washed without using the traditional pumice stones and toxic chemicals. Yet, they are able to achieve the same bright contrasts and abrasions. Another innovation is the True Fresh range of denim that use a revolutionary technology to neutralize odorcausing bacteria on contact. These denim can be worn multiple times without washing. The third Powerflex denim range is made with a fabric having dual-core technology that helps create higher elastic fabrication with minimum 60 per cent stretch. This helps the denim stay in perfect shape and ensures ultimate comfort to the wearer. Perfect for athletic, sporty and outdoor enthusiast, the Gymindigo range of denim uses a technology to combine joggers’ comfort.

Tell us about your key products. We offer Powerflex, Gymindigo, Heritage, Wiser wash, Stretch X & Soft Flex and Shiruku range of denims. Our products target young fashion forward individuals in the premium segment. We have also launched a new subbrand called Beat London by Pepe Jeans that offers vibrant and fresh denim ranges at competitive rates. Our brand in India is represented by Bollywood actor Siddharth Malhotra while our global ambassador is Brooklyn Beckham.

Highlight your achievements over years. Pepe Jeans has been recognized and awarded across various industry forums. In 2019, the brand won India Fashion Awards

PEPE JEANS

Manish Kapoor, CEO

2019 - Images Most Admired Fashion Brand of the year: Kidswear; and India Retail Awards 2019 - Marketing/Advertising Campaign of the Year (Retail). The brand also won the coveted ‘The Economic Times Award for Best

Lifestyle Brand 2017-2018’ as well as ET Now Global Awards Retail Excellence 2018 for Retailer of the Year – Fashion & Lifestyle; and ET Now Global Awards Retail Excellence 2018 for Retail Innovation of the Year.

“Our products target young fashion forward individuals in the premium segment. We have also launched a new sub-brand called Beat London by Pepe Jeans that offers vibrant and fresh denim ranges at competitive rates.”

48 BIG STORY

‘Our denim range is made with just one glass of water’ Driven by the desire to deliver everything from hi-street denim trends to fashion staples, Spykar has been offering superlative products and great fits to customers since 1992. The brand is now venturing into product licensing with Charlie Chaplin and Einstein-inspired collections in the pipeline. Sanjay Vakharia, CEO, elaborates about the brand’s plans, the new launches and retail network. Highlight your upcoming season.

collection

for

We are launching a new range of sustainable denim products made using approximately one glass of water. These garments have been made without using any harmful chemicals, and area available in young and vibrant colors with subtle hues. Both the jeans and other denim garments in this range are available in a mix of dark, mid and light washes in trending fits. The collection focuses on three unique themes: Gamescape: This involves the infusion of digital technologies in physical products. It includes the use of sporty details and electric colors in the garments. Beachcomber: It blends the utilitarian look with artistic details to enhance the perpetual holiday theme. Homespun: This blends global prints and

SPYKAR

Sanjay Vakharia, CEO

“Our latest product range mixes a variety of patterns, cuts, prints and washes. The range focus on the athleisure and offers joggers, graphic shirts, regular and cropped T-shirts, trendy woven and denim shirts for both men and women. The jeans in this range are crafted from knitted denim while joggers are made in indigo dyed denim fabric.” patterns with the idea of ease and comfort. It inspires consumers to live in harmony with nature. Prints used in this theme include nature inspired abstracts, multi-colored and tonal floral prints. The theme also favors artisanal and folklore inspired countryside prints.

What are your innovations?

latest

product

Our latest product range mixes a variety of patterns, cuts, prints and washes. The range focus on the athleisure and offers joggers, graphic shirts, regular and cropped T-shirts, trendy woven and denim shirts for both men and women. The jeans in this range are crafted from knitted denim while joggers are made in indigo dyed denim fabric. The color palette of our latest range caters to a wide consumer base. It includes a mix of bright and subtle hues alongwith earthy tones and pastels. The range includes cottonbased fabrics that have natural comforting properties, absorbing qualities and durability factors. These products mainly target young, fashionable and bold men and women in the age group 18 to 35 years. The denim are priced between 1,999 and Rs 6,499, the shirts are priced from Rs 1,799-Rs 3,099, T-shirts from Rs 1,049-Rs 1,899 while accessories are priced in the range Rs 299-Rs 4,000

Elaborate on your retail network Spykar is available in 250 stores across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Delhi NCR, Gujarat and Maharashtra. We are also present in over 1,500 MBOs and 600 large format stores across India. By 2023, we aim to open 30 new stores across North and South India.

What are your expansion plans? We plan to launch new Charlie Chaplin -themed merchandise carrying many different images including Chaplin’s own sketch and signature printed on T-shirts, Chaplin’s quotes, etc. We also plan to launch an Einstein inspired collection in coming months. In 2020, we launched a new product category ‘Underjeans’. These respond to fashionconscious individual’s innate desire for appealing and individualistic innerwear.

50 BIG STORY

‘Our upcoming collection will focus on comfort and durability’ Monte Carlo the lifestyle brand from Oswal Woolen Mills was launched in 1984. Earlier, perceived as a winterwear brand, Monte Carlo has gradually evolved to become a seasonless lifestyle brand. The brand went public in 2013 with an IPO that was oversubscribed eight times. Going forward the plan is to launch a new collection with minimalist design approach. Sandeep Jain, Executive Director, elaborates on the collections, retail operations and future plans. Give us a peek on your upcoming collection? Our upcoming collection will focus on comfort and durability. Made with high-quality yarns, the collection will adopt a minimalist design approach. The daily wear range will be designed with hi-tech and performance-focused fabrics for greater durability and versatility. The beauty range will offer simple and consumer-targeted garments. Though the collection will offer minimum cuts, its neck and sleeve styles will be enhanced. It will blend style with comfort through extended ribbed cuffs, rib detailing and tonal contrast trims for outerwear. The color palette will have new core colors like bold graphite, jade green, lazuli blue, bloodstone red along with lower-impact unbleached tones over optic white.

What about the A/W 2021 collection? The theme for A/W is ‘conscious clarity’ that embraces the beauty, innovation and opportunity that comes from living with less after pandemic. Inspired by traditional tile designs, the collection uses micro-checks, twills and jacquard plaids to create tiled geometric and irregular spaced stripes. It comes in seasonless colors including lazuli blue, jade green, bloodstone red and golden harvest yellow. The A/W 2021 collection offers five innovative ranges: Ultra Warm Range: This includes sweats and jackets with embedded rechargeable heat pads to provide body warmth in extreme temperatures.

Featured Range: Introduces neck pillow jackets/sweatshirts and music hoodies for extra comfort while travelling. Athlesiure: This is defined by yoga wear in two-way stretch and loungewear in sherpa fabrics. Luxuria: This collection has been crafted from luxurious fabrics. Designed in an Italian studio, the range offers exotic designs and international styles that cater to classy tastes. Anti-viral range: It’s made with special chemicals to control the growth of bacteria and virus.

What are your latest innovations? From yarn to fabrication, Monte Carlo constantly innovates with its designs, fabrics

MONTE CARLO

MONTE CARLO A/W COLLECTION -2021 • ULTRA WARM COLLECTION : Introduced Sweats & jackets with embedded heat pads which eventually could be charged with power bank to provide body warmth in extreme temperature. • FEATURED COLLECTION : Introduced Neck pillow Jackets/Sweats & music hoodies to give extra comfort while travelling. • ATHLEISURE: Yoga Wear in 2 way stretch fabrics and ultrawarm collection in antipilling and Sherpa fabrics in loungewear redefined our athleisure collection.

Sandeep Jain, Executive Director, Monte Carlo

The theme for A/W is ‘conscious clarity’ that embraces the beauty, innovation and opportunity that comes from living with less after pandemic. Inspired by traditional tile designs, the collection uses micro-checks, twills and jacquard plaids to create tiled geometric and irregular spaced stripes. It comes in seasonless colors including lazuli blue, jade green, bloodstone red and golden harvest yellow.

• LUXURIA COLLECTION: The collection is made from luxurious fabrics and elegantly crafted. Designed and style in Italian studio, these exotic designs and international styles would force you to pamper yourself and keep you class apart. • ANTIVIRAL COLLECTION: Monte Carlo will be launching anti viral collection which is processed with special chemicals. These are effective in controlling growth of bacteria & infective virus on contact.

and styles. We adopt latest technologies to create consumer-focused garments. Our latest innovation include, helo yarn and Wool blends of polyester and nylon to create dynamic, functional and performancedriven fabrics and products. We are also working with 3D knitted garments and Inverse plating (I-plating technology) in segments like sportswear, casual wear and track suits.

Tell us about the key product lines and bestsellers. Our product range includes woollens, jackets, sweatshirts, tracksuits, shawls,

T-shirts, shirts, trousers, denims, ladies tops, kidswear, athleisure wear and accessories. Our products target all sections of the society and are priced between Rs 800 to Rs 40,000.

What is your retail spread? We have 294 EBOs, 1,300 MBOs and 800 large format stores across North, Central and East India. We are exploring the Southern and Western markets to expand into leisure and sportswear categories. We also plan to expand our outerwear segment

52 BIG STORY

‘Our offerings have constantly set new benchmarks for competitors’ Set up in 1992, Mufti has redefined menswear over the last 29 years. The brand was initially named ‘Mr Mister’ after the American rock brand of the same name and their hit single ‘Broken Wings.’ Later the name was changed to Mufti, to denote non-uniform wear. Kamal Khushlani, Founding Director, traces the brand’s journey, its offerings and future initiatives. Trace your brand’s journey since inception. Since opening our first store in 2008, we slowly expanded our retail footprint to 100 exclusive brand outlets across India by 2010. Together, these stores generated a turnover of over Rs 100 crore, which doubled by 2012. In 2017 we launched our own footwear line.

Elaborate on your product range. From stretch jeans, introduced in 1999 to knitted stretch ‘Denim Deluxe’, we offer the best in comfort, style and patrons. Our offerings have constantly set new benchmarks for competitors. From shirts to T-shirts to jeans to outerwear, we offer complete wardrobe solutions, be it through our vintage and military inspired Authentic Casual range or the everyday Relaxed Casual range, the everyday city inspired

MUFTI

Kamal Khushlani, Founding Director

“From shirts to T-shirts to jeans to outerwear, we offer complete wardrobe solutions, be it through our vintage and military inspired Authentic Casual range or the everyday Relaxed Casual range, the everyday city inspired Urban Casual range, or the sporty and ever-comfortable Athleisure line” Urban Casual range, or the sporty and evercomfortable Athleisure line.

What is your retail footprint? Embodying the spirit of Mumbai, Mufti symbolizes its intrinsic ‘work in progress’ nature. The brand makes a conscious effort to build, reflect and reconstruct itself like the city. Our stores incorporate elements that are unique to Mumbai’s

Architectural, social and cultural identity tetrapods placed along the city’s coastline, manholes covering roads, digital stickers on railway station or ceiling fans installed in local trains. Our trial rooms are inspired by the lifts used at construction sites that further reinforce the ‘WIP’ concept.

What are your latest offerings? Our passion for fragrances has led to the launch of a new perfumes range known as f Eau de Parfums. Named after iconic parts of Mumbai, this range weaves Mumbai’s undying spirit into its badges or prints. Through this range, we aim to deliver Mumbai’s global and contemporary flavor.

54 BIG STORY

‘We aim to assert our presence across the world with new collections’ Initiated in 1972-73 as Bhawani Textiles, Dollar Industries has a market presence of over four decades. The company is listed on both the NSE and BSE stock exchanges and has a market share of 15 per cent in the organized segment. Dollar Industries is now looking at revamping its brand logo and operations. Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, elaborates on these initiatives and the company’s future plans.

DOLLAR

Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Dollar Industries

“We have penetrated the overseas market, and are as the highest selling innerwear brand in the UAE and the Middle East. Now the aim is to assert ourselves in the rest of the world with new market defining collections.”

What are your product offerings? Our product portfolio comprises a varied range of products for men, women and kids. It can be divided into five broad categories: Dollar Man, Dollar Woman, Dollar Junior, Dollar Always and Dollar Thermals. We offer over 102 shades of well-fitted leggings for utmost comfort. We have also diversified our Missy range of innerwear to add outer wear. Our products cater to consumers in the age group 18-45 years across varied income groups from economy to premium class.

Tell us about your latest innovations. Dollar Industries believes, ‘Change’ and ‘Innovation’ are two main keys to success. The brand continues to introduce new and improved version of products based on latest global trend. Recently we installed a 4 MW solar plant at our Tirupur unit as a part of our green mission. We also launched a new athleisure/comfort wear range that blends quality with affordability.

What are the key fabric trends for the season? Dollar Industries has constantly adapted to changing fabric trends from cotton to supima cotton to Micro Modal fabric to Egyptian cotton. Our MLM Software helps curate innovative patterns and styles as seen from the bold graphic prints in our Force Designer T-shirts, pop colors, shiny waist bands and abstract patterns in briefs and trunks.

Elaborate on your retail spread We gave an extensive presence across 29 states and operate in over one lakh MBOs across the country. We have also penetrated the overseas market, and are as the highest selling innerwear brand in the UAE and the Middle East. We have operations across Middle Eastern countries including Oman,

Basra, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria and UAE. Now the aim is to assert ourselves in the rest of the world with new market defining collections. We also have an inhouse e-commerce platform known as Dollar Shoppe besides a presence across all major e-commerce platforms.

Which do you think is the most important retail channel? We have a strong offline presence with 97 per cent of our sales generated via brick and mortar stores. However, digitization has been the key during the pandemic. We recognize the potential of online/e-commerce platforms, and are therefore, strengthening our e-commerce operations.

What are your expansion plans? Our research and development teams continue to map changing consumer trends. With the pandemic giving rise to the new work from home culture, demand for athlesiure has grown exponentially. We aim to expand Dollar Woman range and foray into the brasserie segment.

56 IF EXCLUSIVE

‘Our new collection promotes evergreen formal styles for men’

Karan Goyal,

stablished in 1993, Richlook India redefines men’s formal styles with innovative shirts, trousers, suits and jeans. The brand is sold through 55 retail outlets across India and is available on all renowed online channels including Myntra, Snapdeal, Homeshop18.com et al. Karan Goyal, Business Head, elaborates on the company’s products, retail spread and future plans.

Business Head Richlook

“Our A/W ’22 collection is all about comfort and warmth. It mainly comprises winter wear in warm fabrics and high GSMs. It also includes trousers and denim in evergreen styles and comfortable fabrics. Besides, shirts in basic and fashion styles are a part of this collection.”

out with friends and family. The denim range has been designed with basic cuts, making it easily washable. Topwear includes a range of slim fit shirts.

Elaborate on your current product profile Incepted as a shirts brand, we have gradually ventured into denim and suits in the last three years. Our product range include: shirts, trousers, denim, T-shirts, winter wear, suits, blazers, wool and blend sweater, accessories, etc. We plan to launch travel trouser as a part of our A/W’22 collection. Targeting 25-35 year

olds in the middle income groups, our shirts are priced between Rs 900-1,400 while trousers are priced Rs 1,200-Rs 1,500. Denims start from Rs 1,600-2,500 while suits and blazers are available in the range Rs 3,500-Rs 9,000. To save costs, we adopt lean manufacturing techniques without comprising quality.

What is your retail spread? What is your new collection for the upcoming season? Our A/W ’22 collection is all about comfort and warmth. It mainly comprises winter wear in warm fabrics and high GSMs. It also includes trousers and denim in evergreen styles and comfortable fabrics. Besides, shirts in basic and fashion styles are a part of this collection. Inspired by working man, the collection promotes elegant evergreen formal styles for men. The casualwear range has been designed to give customers an opportunity to break free from their busy schedules and hang

We are available at all leading metros and Tier I & II cities through 63 EBOs and 50 MBOs. Our major business comes from offline stores though we are expanding online as well. This year, we increased the share of online operations in our overall business by 2 per cent. We retail online through own website www.richlook.in and are present on all major marketplaces including Myntra, Ajio, Amazon and Flipkart.

What are your future plans? We plan to open 25 franchise owned and franchise operated stores across India this year besides foraying into East India and Northeast India.

VOL 21 No. 2

Focus Jeans Emerges as a promising brand

44 FOCUS JEANS

Focus Jeans marches ahead as one of the most promising B2B brands

lending style with perfection and comfort, Focus Jeans launches new fashion trends every season. Incepted at the beginning of the 21st century, from a humble beginning the brand has expanded to over 4,500 outlets today. As Yogesh Kuruba, Director of Focus Jeans says “Professional approach to brand building and marketing has helped us emerge as one of the most promising brands in the B2B segment

Making a style statement Focus Jeans offers over 250 styles along with different shades and fittings. Its product line comprises classic jeans, trendy (baggy fit, mom fit, wide legs, straight leg, and boot cut). The brand’s products are classified into various categories like Classicss, Fashionable, Premium, jackets, formals, lounge wear, kids wear, to name a few.

FOCUS JEANS

Spanning across markets Focus Jeans caters to all kinds of geographies without distinction. It collaborates with other companies to fuel expansion plans share its journey with like-minded partners. The target customers are women in the age group 15 to 35 years with specific focus on 18-32 year-olds. The brand’s customers are loyal, conscious and seek good quality. Most of them are spread across metros, suburbs, towns, mini metros and Tier I and II cities.

23 57

60 IF EXCLUSIVE Riding on online sales, Madame aims for three-fold growth in three years Desperate times call for desperate measures. Fashion brands are trying to survive the ongoing tough times by shifting their business online and incorporating consumer feedback into operations. They are also stepping up their online training facilities for specific retail capabilities, says Akhil Jain, Executive Director, Madame. Creating skilled teams to provide great brand experiences remains their primary focus today, he adds. Pre-COVID, online shopping just formed 2 per cent of Madame’s sales. But, now this has increased to 10 per cent. Jain expects this to continue and aims to boost the brand’s online experience through investments in highend technologies. Madame also launched an online platform to offer customers new ways to explore themselves through fashion. Jain says, daywear, summer essentials have emerged as the new quarantine wardrobe while loungewear and activewear are also saw an uptick in demand.

Focus on high-end technologies Companies adopting advanced technologies are succeeding in creating a benchmark in customer interaction. However, brands need to upgrade their commercial and social relationships, said Jain. He also advises agencies to reflect on businesses’ weak points and highlight strategies for improvement through effective consulting. He believes technology-enabled business trends will stimulate future growth of the industry and advises brands to introduce convenient, accessible and safe shopping options. His brand Madame closely engaged with customers throughout the pandemic which helped boost sales in Tier II and III post lockdown.

Sustainability and digitization by 2030 Eco-friendly, Madame’s innovative designs help minimize textile waste. The brand aims to be 100 per cent environmentally friendly and a carbon-negative company by 2030. Last year, it launched an exclusive online shopping website glamly.com to provide personalized shopping experiences. The brand also has a wide distribution network in India with over 700 points of sales. Jain says, digitalization allows companies to reduce losses by accelerating production

of best-sellers. It also helps process a large amount of data both from within a firm and externally. He informs, many manufacturing units obtain individualized customer data to personalize the product design, service and sales process. Madame maintains its market position by launching innovative and experimental styles. Its operational model enables the brand to tap into potential of its regional consumers, enabling it to achieve double-digit growth year on year, excluding 2020. The brand witnessed significant growth in online sales during the pandemic period of 2020 with a major contribution was from Tier II and III cities like Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mohali, Noida, Jammu and Shimla. In the next three years, Madame aims to fly higher with three-fold growth through online sales.

62 IF EXCLUSIVE “Our Shirts & Trousers revolve around several interesting concepts and promises to offer a global fashion statement” Known for standardized fits, superior quality, a wide range and ‘fashion-right’ styles in its segment, Duke has been conferred with the president award; three national awards, i.e., Excellent Quality Readymade Garments, Outstanding Entrepreneurship, and Quality Garments; crowned with Indian Power Brand at the USA and many more. The brand has got these awards for its innovation, product quality, a most preferred apparel brand, and inspirational leadership who has shaped and continue to shape India’s hosiery industry.” Take us through Duke’s latest collection? Trendy Casual dressing with fashion sense is the main mantra of Duke Collection. Inspired by the Fashion Culture of Southeast Asian Islands. These Islands’ Climate defines what an ideal summer Fashion should be like. This collection comprises various new age styles making a mark in the fashion market. Duke has launched an exciting fashionable collection of various styles, colors, and sizes. The range includes a complete array of fine-crafted 100% cotton shirts, Formal trousers, denim’s, and accessories involved with a unique and creative design process for everyday wear and special occasions. Brand’s cool and edgy style is embodied throughout its latest collection, featuring fun that blends high functionality with bold fashion statements.

Please share some concepts and innovations about your collection? Duke Shirts & Trousers revolve around several interesting concepts and promises to

offer a global fashion statement and can be worn either to work or casually. . The range caters to the needs of young men by offering a range of clothing for daily office wear which can double up as smart casuals for an evening out after. This range showcases bright and effective colors in formal Shirts which have a slim fit & Regular fit comfort, finely detailed garment, and these shirts provide the comfort and convenience of cotton, and yet are easy to maintain. There are button-up shirts, Casual check-in slub textured, Woven in a cavalry twill, Printed on an oxford base, Cotton-linen, Dobby, Print shirts that get cotton or poly-cotton fabrics in breezy tones that set the mood for those who love to go casual. On the other hand, Trousers have an elastic waistband with drawstring for a snug fit. Tapered design for a streamlined fit, Flat Front, Narrow fit & hidden detail inside the waistband. Apart from these, Duke Denim’s trends are all about the smart and fashionable dressing and handcrafted to deliver a distressed, mended, and long preserved look. The product line consists of basic jeans, Straight Fit, Comfort fit, Boot-cut fit, and Ankle fit. A combination of durability and versatility are key elements of our new denim collection.

An insight on the new range? “The new range represents our continued commitment to delivering our valued customers a complete range of products under one roof that offer sophisticated and bold designs, robust features, and meet the needs of the on-thego consumer. With a strong focus on fashion and style, Duke caters to the young cosmopolitan Indian, offering them the season’s latest trends and catering to their ever-

Kuntal Raj Jain, Director

“The new range represents our continued commitment to delivering our valued customers a complete range of products under one roof that offer sophisticated and bold designs, robust features, and meet the needs of the on-thego consumer. changing fashion needs. Every piece has the special ‘sparkle of looking for a trendy and stylish range that is synchronized with international designs, fashions, and quality. Duke is a value for money brand, and our mission is to make available international designs and styles at highly reasonable prices.”

Retail presence First in Ludhiana in 1966, the brand has continues to connect with customers online, big chain stores and across the brand’s more than 4000 MBOs and 400 EBOs nationwide.

IF EXCLUSIVE

Raymond looks to be future-ready with focus on casualization, digitization A strong believer in the adage, never waste a crisis, apparel brand Raymond Lifestyle has set itself on a mission to make a positive impact on the society through its innovative offerings. Led by Joe Kuruvilla, CEO the brand introduced many best-in-class products besides launching new sustainability initiatives last year which helped it achieve a fantastic performance in the fourth quarter. The company also redefined its offerings by pivoting a mixed portfolio including casualwear brands such as ColorPlus, Parx, etc. It recently launched a new wedding collection that included more ethnic rather than western garments.

Aiming for a global digital network

A less dressier range of formalwear Armed with a strong set of ethics, product, quality and manufacturing, Raymond has built a great reputation in the market. The fantastic set of trade partners has helped the brand become a stronger voice in the fashion industry. In future, the brand aims to revamp formalwear offerings by introducing a less dressier range of clothes, Kuruvilla informed.

Raymond also aims to digitally connect its network of 10-11 manufacturing units across the world to cater to the needs of global consumers. One of its major goals is to convert the 1,500 brick-and-mortar stores into 21st century stores. This would help online consumers click and collect their clothes from a nearby store or get them delivered. Working for European markets earlier, Kuruvilla had realized consumers were looking for complete solutions rather than just products. At Raymond, he focused on product innovations using tools and automation. The amalgamation of technology with consumer insight along with the adoption of mind-to market strategy helped the brand innovate faster during difficult times. He aims to leverage these technologies to transform Raymond into a 21st century company.

To cash in on growing demand, Reliance Brands has introduced distance selling through Zoom, Whatsapp chats and video chats, etc. This helps the company recreate the theatre experience and showcase products lying at the store. Mehta points out, since last year, there is over emphasis on e-commerce. His company is currently experimenting with live streamed commerce for limited edition merchandise. It is also reopening pop-ups besides engaging in cross-selling.

64 IF EXCLUSIVE ‘The industry is slowly regaining lost position’ Aeromen, the exclusive men’s wear brand from M K Enterprises was established in 2010. It offers men’s semi-casual and formal shirts. The brand recently expanded its product basket with the sports, business, power, dress range. Manoj Prajapati, Brand-in-Chief, elaborates on the new collection and other offerings from the brand. Manoj Prajapati, Brand-in-Chief

“The perfect fits and cuts of Aeromen products enable men to customize their personal styles for a flawless casual look.” Elaborate on your latest offerings. Earlier known for semi-casual and formal shirt, we have expanded our range with sports, business and power dressing shirts. Our current portfolio includes chequered, strips and plain shirts for men between 18-60 years. Prices of these shirts vary between Rs 520- to Rs 850. Aeromen’ unveils fresh-new collection every season. The products are made with high quality fabrics including 100 per cent cotton, linen, denim, Tencil, monza, twill giza cotton, etc. Their perfect fits and cuts enable men to customize their personal styles for a flawless casual look

Elaborate on your retail operations. MK Enterprises has made Aeromen’s presence felt across the country with stores in all major states and metros. Most of our stores are located in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Our manufacturing unit in Jogeshwari, Mumbai undertakes 100 per cent in-house production through our fashion designers, production personnel and staff.

What are your views on the current industry scenario? The garment industry has taken a setback due to continued COVID-19 induced lockdowns. Business has slowed down. However, it is slowly regaining lost ground.

VOL 21 No. 2

Rangriti from Biba Affordable prices for the large consumer segment

BIG STORY

‘Our revamped brand identity includes trendy and fashionable outfits’ Synonymous with pretty women in Punjabi, homegrown ethnic wear brand BIBA was launched in 1988. In the last 33 years, the brand has grown from a ‘home grown’ product into a national ‘brand’ capitalizing on the retail boom in the country. Today, it is known as the largest Indian wear retail chain in the country. In 2015, BIBA launched a fashion value brand called Rangriti to enhance its presence at lower price points and cater to a large consumer segment that purchases from the unorganized Tier II and III markets. Siddharth Bindra, Managing Director, expounds on the brand’s products, markets and future plans. What are your new collections for upcoming season? Our upcoming collection introduces a wide range of styles in categories ranging from work wear to fusion to everyday wear and occasion wear. We recently revamped our brand identity to include trendy and fashionable outfits alongwith ethnicwear. Our new collection offers work from home range, BIBA chic range, accessories, fusion sets, athleisure, loungewear, designer wear, etc.

Elaborate on your product range We have been a leader in ethnic suits and kurtas category for the last few years. The designs and prices offered in this range are fantastic. We have also launched a new work from home/work wear and dresses collection. Our Biba Girls range, targeting the 2-15 years age group, continues to be in high demand. We have also added categories like footwear, jewellery, wallets/bags, nightwear to our portfolio, and are working on some exciting launches.

Who is your target audience? Our target audience includes urban middle class women spanning all ages and professions including homemakers, working women and college students, etc. We also

RANGRITI/BIBA

Siddharth Bindra, Managing Director

“The combined retail network for Biba and Rangriti spans 400 EBOs pan India. Of these, 140 EBOs are located in North India, 98 in South India, 77 in East India and 85 in West India. We are also available in over 600 large format stores such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Pantaloons, Reliance and Central and on major online platforms like Myntra and Amazon. Our new brand Rangriti has 110 exclusive stores in India and we plan to add another 150 in the next two years.”

cater to girls in the age group of 2-13 years in our kids collection. Our products are priced in the mid-segment and range from Rs 999-Rs 25,000.

What is your retail spread? The combined retail network for Biba and Rangriti spans 400 EBOs pan India. Among these, 140 EBOs are located in North India, 98 in South India, 77 in East India and 85 in West India. We are also available in over 600 large format stores such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Pantaloons, Reliance and Central and on major online platforms like Myntra and Amazon. Our new brand Rangriti has 110 exclusive stores in India and we plan to add another 150 in the next two years. We have an aggressive expansion strategy in place for both Biba and Rangriti.

What are your initiatives achievements over the years?

and

BIBA pioneered Bollywood merchandising in India with its first integration in ‘Na Tum Janno Na Hum,’ followed by other exclusive partnerships with blockbusters movies such as: Devdas, Baghban, Hulchul, and Bhoothnath. We have also received numerous awards from organizations like Shoppers Stop, Myntra, Images Group for being the ‘Most Admired Women’s Indian wear Brand’. Our founder & chairperson Meena Bindra was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by CMAI and Franchise India for her contribution to the apparel industry. I was felicitated with ‘The Tycoons of Tomorrow’ by Forbes in 2018.

68 BIG STORY

‘Comfort and elegance go hand in hand at Soch’ Since its launch in February 2005, Soch has been offering fashionable ethnic wear for Indian women at affordable rates. Based out of Bengaluru, the brand has 137 stores across 53 cities. It is increasing its footprint in Tier II and III cities besides expanding in Tier I cities. Manohar Chatlani, Managing Director, talks about the brand’s offerings, new collections and retail spread. Tell us about your collection for the upcoming season. We aim to capture evolving fashion trends to celebrate festivities. Our new launches include clothes that make a fashion statement through their timeless appeal, elegant charm and beautiful colors. They include everything from saris, to salwar suits to lehengas and kurtas to satisfy a women’s changing fashion needs. Soch launches multiple themes for every occasion in every season. The product range encompasses casual, evening and occasion wear for a complete wardrobe solution.

What are your innovations?

latest

product

Comfort and elegance go hand in hand at Soch. We use soft and breathable fabrics to enhance our customers’ body shapes and

SOCH

Manohar Chatlani, Managing Director

“We aim to offer affordable and timeless fashion to reflect evolving trends. Currently, we are focusing on light and comfortable fabrics in bright colors. We have launched an entire range of super stretch pants in our work from home category.” camouflage their pain areas. The neck styles and side slits in garments are designed to enhance comfort. The color palette is tweaked to suit Indian skin tone and make one look fresh and elegant.

Is your brand working on value engineering to be more realistic in present times? We aim to offer affordable and timeless fashion to reflect evolving trends. Currently, we are focusing on light and comfortable fabrics in bright colors. We have launched an entire range of super stretch pants in our work from home category. These have been engineered to provide extreme comfort with least maintenance and enhanced fashion quotient.

What are the key fabric trends for the season? Our collection comprises multiple fabrics ranging from cotton to georgette to muslin to soft silks, linen chanderi and shifflis etc. The prints and embroideries in this collection have been selected on the basis of silhouette and occasion. We refrain from using bold prints. The prints and embroideries used in this collection highlight the elegance of designs and colors. Our range includes elegant hand embroideries made with rare embroidery techniques like pearls embedded in zardozi loops and knot and sequence work.

70 IF EXCLUSIVE ‘Our festive collection celebrates life’s happy moments amid present times’ Tracing its origins from the Sanskrit word Devi, Shree offers well-priced, comfortable, everyday ethnicwear for woman. It is an in-house-brand of New Delhi-based ethnic wear manufacturer and distributor SHR Lifestyle. Sandeep Kapoor, Chairman and Managing Director, elaborates on the brand’s upcoming collection and future plans. ornamental and geometric designs. We also merge ornamental motifs with geometric prints. Our color palette is pastel, white and subtle hues.

Elaborate on your retail network. We are primarily operational in Northern Indian cities like New Delhi and Punjab. Our first store opened in New Delhi, in 2015. Currently, we have 95 stores spanning 50,000 sq ft pan India. We aim to take our store count to 200 in the next two years. We also have a strong online presence through our web portal www.shreelifestyle.com We aggressively promote this website on all offline channels. It is not only user-friendly but also easily accessible, and responsive.

What is your new collection? Titled ‘Khuski ke 100 bahane’, our A/W’21 collection is scheduled to be launched on August 9, 2021. The festive collection celebrates life’s happy moments amid uncertain times. It offers a mix of handmade pre-festive, semi-festive and festive ranges. Inspired by togetherness, nature and hope, the collection reflects the positivity created by increased vaccinations in consumers’ minds. The silhouettes are a mix of plain and festive outfits with minimal embellishments like Kanchan and Philauri ranges. The Kantha Katha range popularizes popular stitches of the fashion industry.

Are you planning any changes in your business model post COVID? The pandemic has significantly altered consumers’ behavior. There is greater inclination towards online shopping. To cater to changing requirements, we are exploring e-commerce platforms, store-to-door deliveries, kiosks, and WhatsApp shopping.

Is your brand working on value engineering to be more realistic in present times? Since inception, we have offer complete value for money options to our consumers.

Sandeep Kapoor,

Chairman & Managing Director

“We offer kurtis and kurtas, ethnic sets, salwar kameez dupatta sets, tunics, dresses and bottoms. We plan to venture into the ready-tostitch category.” The minor details in our garments such as pockets, side locks and safety stitches, help maximize their value. Most of our garments are made with natural, breathable fabrics like LIVA, cotton, rayon, etc, making them easy to wear and versatile. These garments are low to maintain and can be easily washed at home.

What are your product categories?

What are your future plans?

We offer kurtis and kurtas, ethnic sets, salwar kameez dupatta sets, tunics, dresses and bottoms. We plan to venture into the ready-to-stitch category.

We aim to expand into the Tier III, IV and V cities towns of India

What are the key fabric trends for the season? We primarily focus on skin-friendly and comfortable fabrics. The most preferred fabric is cotton. However, we also offer outfits in rayon, blends of cotton and polyester, blends of polyester and silk, etc. The prints on these fabrics are a fusion of geometric with floral,

JUST FEEL Clothing Co. Unit No.103, 1st Floor, Pacific Plaza,Garage Gaily, Dadar (West), Mumbai - 400 028. Tel.: +91-22-2438 9393. E-mail : justfeelclothing@gmail.com Website : justfeel.in

72 FASHION POST JADE by Monica & Karishma launches store in Los Angeles

retaining its roots in the Indian textile industry. The brand aims to known as a lifestyle fabric store and a one-stop shop for all fabric needsclothing and home. It recently completed an interior refurbish project in Goa-Amrapali House of Grace, run by Simran Singh.

Designer Agnik Ghosh launches capsule range ‘Dwandwa’ under Agnik Kolkata’s S/S’21 collection Designer Agnik Ghosh launched a capsule collection ‘Dwandwa’ (the conflict within) under his brand Agnik Kolkata’s summer 2021 collection with a fashion film by Anirban Mondal.

he brand JADE by Monica & Karishma has launched a new store in Los Angeles. The brand has been designing and creating ensembles for brides in the US for a while now. Its ensembles are handcrafted using the EkTaar and kasab techniques and are very versatile. They can be adapted beautifully into modern styles. Launched in October 2008 by designers Monica & Karishma, JADE is today synonymous with discreet luxury and dynamic harmony. Their passion to create timeless pieces representing the traditional Indian crafts in a distinct and refreshing new avatar sets their creations apart. JADE by Monica & Karishma has ,over the years; redefined the bridal couture in India with its avant-garde and ethereal designs. Its bridal collection — A Summer Memoir features masterfully hand-crafted gorgeous pieces that primarily pay attention to comfort, functionality and ease of movement, without compromising on style

Designers Meesha and Trisha Khanna launch first apparel collection Designer Meesha and Trisha Khanna, founders of Meesha Scarf, have launched their first apparel collection through their new venture Studio 23. Studio 23 has launched with a dedicated

e-commerce store. Its maiden womenswear collection features sarees as well as kaftans, separates, and wrap dresses in graphic, retro prints. Aiming to be as sustainable as possible, the brand manufactures clothes by using scraps. Inspired by their family’s ‘Shop No 23’ in New Delhi’s Shankar Market, the brand plans to expand its product lines while

The collection mixes traditional aesthetics and craft techniques with subversive details. The multi-media launch also celebrates the centenary of director Satyajit Ray. The collection is accompanied by photo and video campaign based on the film Devi by Satyajit Ray that talks about religious dogmatism, superstition, pain, sorrow, conflict within a woman. The collection has a colour palette of classic red, black, and hints of beige. The story of Devi is told through the mixed media embroidery on both the womenswear and the menswear and traditional designs are reimagined for a modern audience through these innovative details. A notable piece is a 17th century bishopsleeve blouse which has a cut-out at the back which uses, “crystals and aari technique on a silk net to mimic a skin that has been peeled off, for the word Devi to be written on it. Agnik retails its collections through its Instagram account and is currently online only.

VOL 21 No. 2

Sloggi from Triumph Known for its incredible comfort

20 SECTION STORY

Sustainable fabrics, incredible comfort highlights of Sloggi’s new collection 

Sloggi’s new Oxygene Infinite of bras are made with 3D-knitted spacer fabrics.



The brand’s apparels are sold under Sloggi Zero Feel, WOW comfort and Oxygene Infinite ranges



Sloggi’s active wear label, Sloggi mOve offers comfortable active bodywear



On the anvil is a range of swimwear-Sloggi Shore collection



Sloggi’s upcoming collection is made from sustainable and comfortable fabrics



The brand plans to set up over 1,000 consumer experience points in the next two years.

SLOGGI

ith innovations at the heart of all its products, bodywear brand Sloggi recently launched the ‘Oxygene Infinite’ range of bras for women. Made with innovative and super stretchable 3D-knitted spacer fabrics, these bras are feather-light yet highly supportive. Their refined layering with innovative fishnet lamination eliminates the need for wires, using molded cups enhance silhouettes and invisible ultrasonic seams to give them a light and airy feel. The Sloggi range of bodywear is known for their incredible comfort. “The brand studies people and their bodies in a real, everyday context before introducing innovations like a core-spun body wear range or laser cut technology to eliminate the need for elastic waistbands,” notes Santosh Sivaramakrishnan, Commercial Director, India and Sri Lanka, Triumph International. Sloggi launched in 1979 by the Triumph Group is known as the best-selling briefs brand in Europe. It also offers multi-faceted intimate apparel ranges for both men and women across Europe, Asia, the US and Canada.

Unique range of intimate wear Sloggi’s intimate apparels are sold under three unique ranges: Sloggi Zero Feel, WOW comfort and Oxygene Infinite range. As Sivaramakrishnan expalins, “The Sloggi Zero Feel range was launched in 2015 in Japan while the WOW comfort range of bras was launched in 2017. Featuring the brand’s Fleximesh® technology, this range removes the need for underwire in bras. In 2018, Sloggi also launched its first global campaign ‘Unfasten Yourself,’ to introduce the Zero Feel line across the world. This was followed by the brand’s first unisex campaign to advertise its Zero Feel range for men and women, in 2019.” Sloggi offers innovative bodywear for both men and women under its core label. The label is split into two ranges: Originals range offering the brand’s bestsellers; and Blue Label featuring latest innovations. “Another unique offering from Sloggi is the ultra-premium range, ‘S by Sloggi’,” reveals Sivaramakrishnan. “The range offers products made with high quality materials and sophisticated workmanship. Sloggi also has an active wear label known ‘Sloggi mOve’ that offers the world’s most comfortable active bodywear,” observes Sivaramakrishnan.

Innovations for the upcoming season For the next season, Sloggi has expanded its original product range by adding more global bestselling collections. For women, the brand has introduced modernized Zero Feel Lace range that is completely seamless and softer than earlier. Maintaining its earlier

“For the next season, Sloggi has expanded its original product range by adding more global bestselling collections.”

“The brand studies people and their bodies in a real, everyday context before introducing innovations like a core-spun body wear range or laser cut technology to eliminate the need for elastic waistbands.” Other ranges such as the Zero Feel, and GO and Start feature Lycra FreeFit fabrics that help these garments retain their original fit and shape. Sloggi’s Shore collection has been designed with Repreve’s super-stretch fibers made from post-consumer recycled bottles and linings made from recycled bottle polyester. Its color palette includes rosy blush tones, earthy mineral hues and classic blue shades.

Omni-channel retail the way forward

Santosh Sivaramakrishnan, Commercial Director, India and Sri Lanka, Triumph International

comfort and 360 degree stretch, the range offers the same zero restrictions, zero seams, zero wires, and zero skin marks as the original Zero Feel range. Sloggi also launches the Go Allround range of body essentials for women. Super soft and super comfortable, these bodywear essentials come in a single size from XS to L. The bras, briefs and shirts in this collection are made from MicroModal fabric with ultra-flexible seams. For men’s collection, Sloggi has teamed up with Movember men’s health charity launch a special, limited-edition collection including GO Mini, Hipster and Short series. Its all-time favorite ‘Start’ series is being revamped with high quality fabrics, simple flattering cuts, and all-round comfort. Also on the anvil is a range of swimwear. Known as the Sloggi Shore collection, the range has been made with smarter and more sustainable materials. It features one-piece bathing suits and top and bottom co-ordinated sets in bold prints and fresh colors.

Sustainable fabrics for ultimate comfort Bold and free-spirited, Sloggi’s upcoming collection is made from sustainable and comfortable fabrics. Its Go Allround range is made with Tencel regenerated from wood cellulose and boasting of high breathability. The range also features apparels made from organic cotton certified according to International Organic Agricultural Standards.

With a pan-India presence, Sloggi’s parent company Triumph available in all leading metros and cities. Its distribution spans over 75 cities with over 1,000 points of sale. The company also has a significant online presence across all major e-commerce platforms. “Sloggi now aims to set up over 1,000 consumer experience points in the next two years. It also aims to open 10 retail outlets this year besides expanding its presence in large format stores.” The brand has a presence on Amazon and plans to retail on Myntra and other major platforms. The vision for next two years include, strengthening its omni channel footprint by unleashing digital operations.

74 IF EXCLUSIVE ‘We plan to make our products more technical and premium’ Driven by the values of trust, quality and excellence, Bodycare Creations has emerged as a force to reckon with in the innerwear market. Incepted in 1992, the company today enjoys the distinction of being country’s leading manufacturer and supplier of kids’ undergarments, infant wear, thermals and loungewear for the complete family. Sanjay Davar, Managing Director, expounds the company’s latest innovations, collections and future plans.

Sanjay Davar, Managing Director

What are your new collections for the upcoming season? For the upcoming season we cater to the needs and preferences of New Age customers. The collection blends trendy color palette with minimal detailing to boost their overall personality. Our latest collection complements varied body shapes and explores different types of silhouettes and sleeping bras. It uses soft cotton fabrics for a cooling while the light and pastel shades help infuse a sense of positivity in customers’ minds to make them feel happy. It blends basic silhouettes with the brand’s traditional working ideologies. We will also launch theme-based and seasonal collections as per requirement. Some of our collections are either directly or indirectly influenced by our competitors’ and help update our product offerings. What are your bestsellers? Bodycare creations product basket includes the complete range of basic, modern and stylish bras with cut and sews, molded, PU foam cups. Our products cater to the needs of customers between 16 and 55 years. We also serve plus size customers. What are the key fabric and color trends for the season?

This season, we have used 100 per cent cotton, cotton blends, cotton Lycra, spun Lycra, combed cotton, polyamide and also some imported fabrics. These have small floral as well as placement prints. The color palette includes light and pastel shades. Elaborate on your retail spread. We operate through EBOs, MBOs and large format stores in metros and semi-metros. Around 85 per cent of our sales are generated from offline stores while the remaining 15 per

“For the upcoming season we cater to the needs and preferences of New Age customers. The collection blends trendy color palette with minimal detailing to boost their overall personality.” cent are generated though online operations and institutional sales. What are your expansion plans? We aim to update ourselves to customers’ evolving preferences and make our products more technical and premium. We plan to adapt to changing market demands. We plan to add retailers, distributors and MBO & LFS’s channels to increase our visibility, reach and availability across India. Another plan is expanding into the premium lingerie segment.

76 IF EXCLUSIVE

‘Our new socks range blends sensibility with sophistication’ Established in 1987, brand Mustang whose name was inspired by Hollywood classic Ben Hur is a leading socks manufacturer in India. Led by Naazneen Katrak, Co-Founder, the brand caters to fashion needs of customers across gender and age groups. Lubeina Shahpurwala, Partner, shares detail about operations, retail spread and upcoming collections. Elaborate on your product portfolio. Catering to the needs of the entire family, Mustang offers socks for men, women and newborn babies. We also offer health and compression socks for people with diabetes, blood pressure, swollen feet, wide calves and circulatory problems. Our socks are a reflection of our teams who nurture the entire process with extreme love and care.

What are the new innovations in your products? Since its inception, Mustang has been constantly innovating to cater to changing market trends. We aim to make socks an essential fashion commodity for every occasion, and develop new products every day. Our manufacturing process enables us to not just introduce new designs and patterns but also widen our distribution network. Keeping with changing times, we have adopted new trends like online shopping, digital and contactless payments, etc. These help us contain the virus spread while continuing with regular operations.

What is your collection for the upcoming season?

Lubeina Shahpurwala, Partner

“Since its inception, Mustang has been constantly innovating to cater to changing market trends. We aim to make socks an essential fashion commodity for every occasion, and develop new products every day.”

The new collection focuses on fashionoriented youth and offers vibrant colors, designs and patters. The socks in this range are designed to help customers achieve their personal best. They have been designed to balance sensibility with sophistication with the use of good materials, processes and performance.

Elucidate on your retail spread. We are present in 8,000 MBOs across India. We also have a presence in the Middle East and UK, and have recently entered the US market. We also have tie-ups with various e-commerce portals to match the growing trend of online shopping.

What are your future plans? We aim to grow our distributors’ network and establish presence in Tier II and III markets.

78 IF EXCLUSIVE

‘We aim to launch an international range of kids and infant innerwear’ Driven by the values of trust, quality and excellence, Bodycare International has emerged as India’s leading innerwear brand. Launched in 1992, Bodycare International manufactures and supplies kids’ undergarments, infant wear, thermals and loungewear. Its pioneering products have helped revolutionize the Indian innerwear space.

ith Satish Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, helming the company, the brand has gone on to be counted among India’s top five innerwear brands. It Bodycare International is known for its stylish products that reflect the sentiments and aspirations of urban consumers. Mithun Gupta, Director, elaborates on the company’s operations and future plans.

Throw some light on your collection for the upcoming season. We launched a new anti-viral themed range of apparels for infants and kids. The range revolves around Disney and Avengers characters. It also includes a range of anti-viral masks for men and kids. For Autumn/Winter 2021, we have focused on orange infused red tone and Mandarian red colors. Conforming to present times, the collection incorporates anti-bacterial and anti-viral vibron

technologies. It is mostly made in cotton and cotton-blends with a vibrant color pallet.

What is your current product range? We mainly offer innerwear for infants and kids, and apparels and thermals for the entire family. Our products target high middle-income groups and are priced between Rs 80 to Rs 999. Innerwear and thermals are some of our best-selling products.

What is your retail network? We mainly focus on North India market and have over 5,000 retailers. Our presence

Mithun Gupta, Director

“For Autumn/Winter 2021, we have focused on orange infused red tone and Mandarian red colors. Conforming to present times, the collection incorporates anti-bacterial and anti-viral vibron technologies.”

spreads between 15,000 MBOs, 15 EBOs and 120 large format stores. Besides the North, we have a strong presence across East and West India and aim to penetrate Tier II and III cities in South India soon.

What are plans for the future? We plan to set up 50 EBO’s by 2023 besides expanding our current production capacity. We also aim to launch an international collection of infants and kids innerwear.

NATESH TRADERS PVT. LTD.

336, Ashish Industrial Estate, Gokhale Road (South) Dadar (W), Mumbai - 400028. Tel.: 30421922, 24331922

80 E-TAIL Government to incorporate filer mechanism for imported goods on e-commerce platforms

he government proposes to incorporate a filter mechanism to identify goods based on country of origin and suggest alternatives. This will enable the government to ensure fair and equal treatment to domestic manufacturers and suppliers on the e-commerce platform. The government has also proposed a “Fall-back liability” for every marketplace e-commerce entity in order to ensure that consumers are not adversely affected in the event where a seller fails to deliver the goods or services due to negligent conduct by such seller in fulfilling the duties in the manner as prescribed by the marketplace e-commerce entity. E-commerce has seen strong growth in the country amid the pandemic as containment measures introduced millions to the convenience of online shopping, and prompted seasoned online shoppers to buy more. Social distancing compulsions, massive smartphone base and reliable broadband have galvanized e-commerce uptake beyond metros, deep into smaller cities and towns.

Snapdeal, FICCI FLO to launch online program for women entrepreneurs

E-commerce major Snapdeal plans to help women-led small and medium busineses in the country take their businesses online. The e-commerce company has signed an agreement with FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) to launch an online program to help women entrepreneurs take the online route. The program will be open for all FICCI women members, artisans and NGOs associated with FICCI Flo Centres across its 17 regional centres across India. As part of the programme, Snapdeal will conduct online training, workshops, and help these entrepreneurs become sellers on its platform. Ujjwala Singhania, National President, FLO says, FLO aims to economically empower women and enable them to join the digital bandwagon to promote their businesses. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry’s (FICCI) has earlier partnered with e-commerce giant Flipkart to help small businesses across India grow through e-commerce.

Flipkart raises Rs $3.6 bn to expand e-shopping in India to take on rivals Ecommerce major Flipkart has raised $3.6 billion to expand online shopping in India and take on rivals like Amazon, Reliance Industries (RIL) and the Tata Group. Flipkart’s latest funding, was led by Canada’s CPPIB, SoftBank Vision Fund along with participation from existing backers like Singapore government’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Qatar Investment Authority

and Walmart, post which the company is has now been valued at over $37.6 billion. This is the first time Flipkart is raising capital from external investors and SoftBank is making a comeback in its cap table after having sold its stake to Walmart in 2018. SoftBank had invested $2.5 billion in Flipkart and sold its stake to the US retailer for $4 billion. The fresh capital will be used to expand operations and gain market share at a time the Indian online retail market is seeing

rapid adoption aided by the pandemic. Flipkart will look to deploy investments in grocery, fashion and consumables along with deploying funds to enhance its supply chain and logistics network.

Former Myntra CEO to build brands for online retailers Ananth Narayanan, Former CEO, Myntra, plans to build brands for online retailers like Amazon.com Inc. and Flipkart that would tap into India’s growing e-commerce market. Narayanan’s goal is to build technologyled ‘House of brands that’s ready for e-commerce age, built from India but for the global market”. The startup aims to acquire 50 brands over three years and build the expertise to scale them. He said they’re looking for profitable brands in segments like home, personal care, beauty and apparel that are doing $1-10 million in revenue.

Narayanan, his latest venture, Mensa Brands has already raised $50 million from the likes of Accel, Falcon Edge Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and others. Mensa Brands joins the growing club of startups such as Global Bees, Bzaar, GOAT Brand Labs, 10club among others, that are trying to replicate the success of Thrasio in US.

Chumbak’s online business shows significant growth during pandemic The online business of Chumbak, a Bengaluru-based lifestyle and home décor brand showed significant growth during the pandemic.

The brand posted revenues of Rs 40 crore for the financial year 2018-2019 and is currently eyeing a significant double-digit growth year-on-year and a triple-digit growth on the online front this year. The online home décor and lifestyle brand also on-boarded Bollywood actor Sara Ali Khan as its first brand ambassador earlier this year. Chumbak, which operates on both offline and online front, is famous for its joyful fashion as well as home décor products. Due to the difficulty on the online front, Chumbak has now devised an omnichannel strategy to boost sales. Around 45 Chumbak stores across India will now be linked to the website. Customers can shop on the website and the goods will be supplied from one of the stores so that customers can return or exchange from the stores if at all they are not satisfied with the product. The company will stabilize at 50-60 percent of the businesses coming via the online route in the next few years as per projection.

IF INSIGHT STYLE FEATURE

Jagdish : 9869707575 Gala No. 9, S.K.R. Compound, Opp. Ganesh Mandir, Station Road, Mahim (E), Mumbai - 4000 07. E-mail : positiveenergy924@gmail.com Website : www.positiveenergy.co.in

82 RETAIL OUTLOOK Second COVID wave to delay fashion retail recovery to 2023: ICRA

omestic ratings agency ICRA expects the second wave of coronavirus infections to delay the retailers’ recovery to FY23. The agency expects revenues in the industry to grow by 23-25 per cent on a low base in 2021-22 which would not be sufficient to get the business performance back to the pre-COVID-19 levels Sakshi Suneja, Sector Head said, retailers are expected to continue with cost cutting measures in FY22 supporting their operating profit margins (OPM) at around 4.1 per cent in FY22, though these may remain lower by around 2.50 per cent from FY20 levels. De-leveraging of balance sheets will improve credit profiles of retailers in 2021-22 as compared to the year-ago period. However, these will remain weaker than the pre-COVID-19 levels, Suneja added. ICRA expects retailers to invest Rs 2,400 crore in capital expenditure in 2021-22, largely on store expansions that got deferred as a result of the pandemic. The pandemic has also spurred the adoption of online retailing in India, with most of the retailers reporting more than 50 per cent jump in online sales in the first nine months of the fiscal albeit on a low base, leading to increased proportion of online sales within the overall mix, said Priyesh Ruparelia, Co-Group Head.

Second COVID-19 wave hits apparel retailers badly: RAI

Recovery of apparel retail to continue in FY22: Ind-Ra

The COVID-19 wave and subsequent restrictions imposed by several states have led to significant decline in apparel sales in India, shows a survey by Retailers’ Association of India (RAI). Conducted among 63 participants pan-India, the survey highlights the pain lockdowns have brought for retailers across India. The sharpest decline was seen among retailers of sports goods, which reported a 66 pre drop in business in April 2021 compared with April 2019, followed by footwear and beauty and wellness retailers. Consumer durables and electronics businesses declined 31 per cent in April 2021. Retailers in west India reported 72 per cent drop in business during the month while those in east India reported the least impact on business. North India businesses declined by 45 per cent while those in South India dropped by 40 per cent compared with April 2019.

Ratings Agency Ind-Ra expects the recovery of the apparel retail sector to continue in FY22, on back of improving consumer confidence, resumption of store expansion by organised players and prospects of the vaccine rollout. As per reports, the ratings agency expects part of the cost rationalization measures undertaken by retailers during the pandemicled crisis to be sticky and sustain even after achieving business normalcy starting FY22, thereby structurally improving the margin profile of apparel retailers. Ind-Ra also expects the pace of expansion to accelerate in FY22, as the organized segment continues to gain market share from the unorganized segment along with an improvement in the operating environment and resumption in store rollout from 3QFY21, with particular focus on Tier II plus cities. Furthermore, the ratings agency cited that while retailers have been pushing omnichannel

offerings for the past few years, the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, forcing retailers to think broadly and invest more rapidly in them. In addition, the agency said with the survival phase following the pandemic now completed, the focus has shifted towards revival and growth.

India’s readymade garment sector to grow 15-20 per cent this fiscal: Crisil

India’s top ratings agency, Crisil Ratings expects the readymade garment sector will grow between 15-20 per cent compared to the earlier anticipated 28-33 per cent pushing back achieving pre-pandemic levels by nearly a fiscal year. While domestic demand had started recovering in the second half of the last fiscal, the reimposition of curbs has slowed down recovery. Hetal Gandhi, Director, Crisil Research says, the second wave has affected sales of ‘value’ or affordable garments, which is the fastestgrowing segment. However, with vaccinations and case-loads decelerating, domestic sales are likely to grow by 14-18 per cent this fiscal compared with a 24 per cent contraction last fiscal. Similarly, exports of readymade garments are expected to grow in the range of 18-22 per cent compared with a 16 per cent contraction last fiscal, because of improving discretionary spending in the US and Europe, the ratings agency added. Therefore, overall growth outlook for the sector is estimated to be in the range of 15-20 per cent. Reduction in promotion and travel expenditure is expected to improve RMG makers’ operating profits by 75-100 basis points (bps) on-year to 5.5-6 per cent this fiscal. Their working capital position is also expected to rebound close to pre-pandemic levels this fiscal, helped by prudent inventory management and normalisation of the debtor cycle, the report adds. Kiran Kavala, Associate Director, Crisil Ratings adds, extension of lockdown beyond the first quarter will impact domestic readymade garment sales, while resurgence of infections in key export markets will need to be monitored.

RETAIL OUTLOOK Contribution of big cities to India’s retail growth declines: Kearney

s per global management consulting firm Kearney, contribution of big cities to the growth of India’s retail industry is declining, as consumption patterns have changed over the last decade. The smaller cities, including Surat, Jabalpur, Raipur, Mangalore and Faridabad are emerging as the growth centers with their own consumer preferences. This is especially evident in the share of luxury retail spending, which grew from around 9 per cent in 2013 to 55 to 60 per cent in 2018 in non-metro cities, says Siddharth Jain, Partner, Kearney. Around 65 per cent of the leading apparel e-commerce platforms’ revenue, for instance, currently comes from Tier II and smaller cities. Several Tier II and Tier III cities boast favorable conditions such as unaddressed demand for organized brands, lower rentals and manpower, increasingly dense populations and growing disposable incomes. Between 2006 and 2017, Tier II and smaller cities received five times more investments, too, in retail infrastructure than tier 1 and metro cities, the report said.

Raymond expects business recovery to take mid-term time frame

India’s leading player in suiting and shirting Raymond expects recovery in the segment to take a ‘mid-term time frame’, primarily driven by occasion- and celebration-led dressing along with ongoing vaccination. In its latest annual report, Raymond said, it expects a modest growth in the fabric business with increasing competition from ready-made garments, besides low traction for the near term in the exports market due to the pandemic. The brand’s sales of branded textiles in 2020-21 declined nearly 46 per cent to Rs 1,572 crore, as against Rs 2,917 crore of 2019-20. Sales at its four differentiated brands - Raymond Ready to Wear (RRTW), Park Avenue, ColorPlus and Parx — declined by 71.8 per cent to Rs 457 crore in 2020-21 as against Rs 1,619 crore a year ago. Raymond is facing challenges such as low consumer sentiments, heavy discounting by players to clear old inventory including on e-commerce marketplaces, and extended end of season sale (EoSS). Alluring price cuts are also mounting pressure on margins, it added.

Besides, retail operations of the company, which operates in several formats including The Raymond Shop, exclusive brand outlets for its in-house brands, was also “majorly impacted” due to the lockdowns in H1 FY202021, Consumer demand for the company’s products picked up in the second half with Unlock-1, festivities, EoSS and wedding season. Besides, it is also facing round-the-year sales promotions and deep discounting by e-commerce marketplaces. The company also operates in tools and hardware and auto components segments. These segments delivered high growth rates both in terms of revenue and Ebitda margins. Its realty business emerged as the new core of the company Raymond’s consolidated revenue stood at Rs 3,648 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2021. It had a revenue of Rs 6,578 crore in 2019-20.

Rents in India’s most iconic retail hubs decline

A study by Anarock Retail of average rentals of iconic retail hubs reveals a 17 per cent drop in rents for India’s most expensive retail real estate, the Khan Market in New Delhi, and upto a 10 per cent decline for Bandra-Linking

Road and Fort areas in Mumbai. Prolonged lockdowns and local restrictions, combined with reluctance of the public to go to physical stores and malls, led to brands cutting down their physical retail presence, says the report. The only major metro that showed an upward trend was Hyderabad, where areas like Gachibowli, Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills saw an uptick. According to Anarock, the average monthly rentals across major high street retail markets corrected between 2 and 30 per cent. The average monthly rentals at Khan Market declined from Rs 1,200 per sq. ft. last year to as low as Rs 1,000 per sq. ft. Rates in other posh Delhi hubs like GK-1 M Block market dropped from Rs 350-400 per sq. ft. to Rs 300-350 per sq. ft. Rates in Bandra, Mumbai fell from Rs 1,000 to Rs 750-900 sq. ft. while in Park Street and Camac Street, Kolkata, they fell marginally. The decline was more acute at Garihat Rash Bihari Avenue, where rates fell from as high as Rs 260 to as low as Rs 160.

Second COVID-19 wave leads to decline in high-street rentals in India

The second COVID-19 wave and a rapid surge in COVID cases has led to a decline in retail rentals in high-street markets of Kala Ghoda, Bandra Linking Road and Fort Road in Mumbai, says a new report by Anarock Property Consultants. As per this report, several prominent high streets in India have witnessed reduced monthly rentals over the last year. The current average monthly rents in Kala Ghoda, Fort Road range between Rs 450-500 per sqft each whereas in Bandra Linking Road they range between Rs 750-800 per sq ft. Last year was also transformative for many industries. One of the country’s largest GDP contributors and also the largest employment generators, the real estate sector underwent a turbulent change, it adds. . The report expects demand for commercial units to remain subdued during FY2022 owning to rising work from home and shared workspace culture. The outlook for malls too continues to remain negative due to limited footfalls and growing popularity of e-commerce.

84 TRENDS Apparel brands launch new initiatives, collections to attract customers

o attract consumers, apparel and lifestyle brands have introduced a clutch of initiatives besides launching new comfortable clothing ranges and expanding online presence. Forever New plans to launch a relaxed and casual line this summer for consumer’s working from home. The company’s sales from online operations account about 25-30 per cent of its overall business. The brand alongwith Marks & Spencer also offers steep discounts of up to 50 per cent, online. United Colors of Benetton plans to launch its own portal by July-August 2021, as part of its expansion strategy. Its online business accounts for around 20 per cent of its turnover. The company expects to grow by15-20 per cent in the next two-three years, says spokesperson, Benetton India Label Ritu Kumar which has launched ‘Label Basics’ range to cater to demands of workfrom-home, athleisure wear. The price of the range begins from Rs 1,500 and targets younger consumers. The company has also launched ready to wear brand Aarké to tap into the mid segment of women’s wear. During the second COVID wave, brands plan to allocate a significant percentage of their marketing dollars on digital platforms, with most of them investing anywhere between 60-70 per cent on the medium. They also plan to concentrate more on comfort and lounge wear, says Uniqlo India spokesperson. The brand has introduced the Shop-from-Home service to deliver products to people in more than 17,000 pin codes across the country. Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder and Director, Elephant Design, advises high street fashion brands to tap into specific trunk shows in outdoor spaces, launch special ranges for work from home and also introduce more natural fabrics.

Decline in formalwear sales boosts casual wear segment in Q1 FY21

An 81 per cent fall in formal wear sales during the first quarter of FY21 has led to acceleration in options for casual wear. The rise of work-from-home (WFH)trends has encouraged formal wear brands including Raymond, Van Heusen and Peter England to launch new casual wear collections. These brands are also focusing on digitizing the customer experience by going D2C. They are also incorporating 3D technologies in their manufacturing besides innovating with spandex fabrics, says Prashant Agarwal, CoFounder and Joint Managing Director, Wazir Advisors. Raymond has launched a virtual shopping experience through WhatsApp and Zoom video calls, with a concierge service for tailored garments from the comfort of consumers’ homes. Its readymade segment is focusing on comfort and casualisation by incorporating cotton-based fabrics.

ABFRL’s Van Heusen recently launched a sub-brand, Denim Labs, to sell more T-shirts, denim shirts, jeans, casual jackets and casual shirts. Bombay Shirt Company too, has launched two brands: Cityof, a casual wear shirt brand; and Korra, a denim brand. Launched in the second half of 2020, the company’s online sales doubled this year, says Akshay Narvekar, founder and CEO, Bombay Shirt Company. Brands see this trend of shifting from formalwear to casual/ semicasual as ‘temporary’ because the pandemic may not change buying behavior overnight. According to Wazir Advisors, in FY19-20, the formalwear market was pegged at Rs 1,400 crore and next year onwards, the segment is likely to grow between 8-10 per cent over the next four years.

Women’s innerwear sales rise five times on demand from smaller cities

A Increased demand from Tier II and III cities has boosted women’s innerwear sales almost five times. A May 2021 report by consulting firm RedSeer says, the women’s

innerwear market in India currently stands at $7 billion and constitutes 9 per cent of total apparel market. More consumers in smaller town such as Salem, Dindigul, Erode, etc are moving to online platforms to buy innerwear due to closed shops and rising work from home culture, says the report. Brand Zivame generates 90 per cent of its business from its digital platform. Of this, 50 per cent business is generated from Tier III and IV cities like Panchkula, Udaipur, Vellore, Bareilly, Siliguri, Bhatinda, Agra, and Nagpur. Demand for the brand’s innerwear items like comfy bras and underwear and multi-purpose sleepwear and loungewear is increasing, says the report. About 30 per cent of women’s innerwear market in India is driven by the metro cities. RedSeer expects, the online female innerwear market is expected to reach around $11$12 billion by 2025. Enamor’s core lingerie business has increased to 25 per cent of total business on the back of online sales. Online lingerie store Clovia’ sales of innerwear and ancillaries grew 95 per cent from October 2020 to May 2021. The brand is seeing an increased demand from non-metros since the last few months, adds Pankaj Vermani, CEO.

Myntra expects lingerie and loungewear sales to increase in 2021

Fuelled by an increasing demand from metros and Tier II and III cities, online fashion retailer Myntra expects the lingerie and loungewear segment to grow exponentially in 2021. The category witnessed a record 300 percent growth in 2020 and is expected to see more growth during upcoming season sale. The category witnessed more interest from consumers during the pandemic due to the rise in ‘work from home’ and option of ‘discrete delivery’ provided by the e-tailer. The category continued to witness strong growth during April and May this year, despite the severe second wave. It grew by 200 percent yearon-year during this period. Myntra currently houses over 30,000 styles, from about 200 leading brands in the lingerie and loungewear category. Some leading brands on the platform include: Enamor, Amante, La Senza, Triumph, Dressberry and Marks & Spencer, etc. About 60 percent of demand in the segment is generated by metros and Tier I markets, although Tier II and III markets have a significantly higher growth rate.

COLLECTIONS Uniqlo collaborates with Maiko Kurogouchi for new loungewear collection

lobal apparel brand Uniqlo has collaborated with Japanese designer Maiko Kurogouchi to expand its loungwear range in India. The brand has launched a new collection titled Uniqlo and Mame Kurogouchi’ that features Uniqlo’s ‘Airism’ and mesh bras and panties, as well as bra-tops. It also includes tops, loose trousers, and jumpers, which bridge the gap between loungewear and casual wear, giving the collection a relaxed, natural feel. The range combines Kurogouchi’s modern feminine aesthetic with the brand’s signature basics with 3D knit and ‘LifeWear’ technologies. Its color palette of rust hues, black and neutral mixes with subtle details like slits in trouser legs or curved necklines. Loungewear sales have increased dramatically in India since the onset of the pandemic and continued to increase in popularity during the second wave. This new collection by Uniqlo reflects the increasingly global outlook of Indian consumers.

Madame launches Tom & Jerry inspired collection

This iconic fashion range consists of a wide variety of casual pieces such as tees, jackets, shorts, dresses and jumpsuits – a complete range for the modern, whimsical woman who fancies a touch of mischief inspired by her childhood. This collection aims at seamlessly reintroducing the iconic trends of puffed sleeves and elasticated hems into modern everyday wear to create a look that is effortlessly trendy and sits perfectly between the past and the present. The color palette of this range is derived by subtle, classic winter hues such as dusty pink, cream and mauve. The collection retails for Rs. 1,199 to Rs. 2,999, making it accessible to women with any budget, low or high.

Style Island launches debut Spring/ Summer 2021 collection

Leading fashion brand Madame has launched a new Tom & Jerry inspired collection. The collection has been launched in collaboration with Warner Bros. It is an ode to the hilarious cat and mouse ‘frenemies’, and showcases a selection of edgy graphic tees and denim pieces featuring the timeless cartoons. Madame’s Tom & Jerry collection is a visual representation of 90’s nostalgia, featuring a collection of striking, edgy graphic tees and denim fashion pieces featuring the two of the most timelessly playful cartoon characters to ever exist.

Women’s fashion brand Style Island has launched its first Spring/Summer 2021 collection for the Indian market. The collection offers workwear, casuals, and party wear clothes including shirts, blouses, dresses, jumpsuits, playsuits, skirts, shorts, pants, and co-ord sets.

Seeing a huge potential in the Indian market, Style Island plans to rapidly expand presence to cater to the needs of customers in cities across India. The brand aims to help women explore and express their personal styles by providing them with high-quality apparels, state-of-the art artisanship and customized style advice by stylists, says Malika Mehta, Co-founder and CEO. The brand also offers a one-of-a-kind career opportunity for women to earn from the comfort of their homes by joining Style Island as consultants. The brand currently sells exclusively through its website with pan-India delivery

Louis Philippe launches new range of anti-viral face masks India’s leading premium menswear brand from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Louis Philippe has launched a new range of antiviral face masks to offer protection against viruses and bacteria. Considering the ongoing pandemic, the brand has introduced unique and first-of-its-kind 10-layer Anti-Viral mask range with an objective to offer maximum protection and safety to consumers. Christened Louis Philippe UltraProtect Double Defence, this newly introduced range of face masks has been created in India, using the Swiss anti-viral technology HeiQ Viroblock. The HeiQ Viroblock fabric is specially infused with virus resistant properties to ensure safety by inhibiting the persistence and growth of viruses and bacteria on its surface, as tested by AATCC 100 and ISO18184 global standards. Louis Philippe UltraProtect Double Defence masks constitute a 5-layer mask and 5-layer filter panel. The 5 layers in each mask are made of two layers of premium cotton for comfort and three layers of melt blown for high filtration (in accordance to ASTM F 2101 tested in government approved laboratory). The fabric used is treated with HeiQ Viroblock which results in destruction of the possible contamination by viruses and bacteria on fabric providing utmost protection. Both the mask and filter are washable and recommended to be reused up to 30 gentle laundering. Louis Philippe UltraProtect Double Defence masks offer twice the comfort as well other than protection and safety due to its ergonomic design. The mask comprises a nose clip for a firm fixture, confirming zero leakage which also helps in preventing fogging on the glasses making it super convenient for people wearing spectacles and sunglasses. This mask comes with softer ear loops, making it easy for users to wear it for longer duration without any discomfort.

86 COLLECTIONS Biba launches new kurta range with Liva Fluid Fashion omen’s ethnic wear brand Biba has launched a new range of kurtas and sets in collaboration with Aditya Birla Group’s sustainable textile brand Liva Fluid Fashion. This sustainable range of ethnic and fusion wear separates ‘Stylised Duets’ made with Liva Fluid Fashion textiles. The collection features a mix of subtle geometric-style prints and traditional and nature-inspired motifs. It fuses a relaxed silhouette with subtle details such as draped elements and mixed prints for a wearable look. The garments have been manufactured using Birla Cellulose fibres which come from renewable and natural materials. The business uses a closed-loop process for its manufacturing process which it describes as “responsible manufacturing” and its textiles are fully biodegradable. The business also has a transparent supply chain, available to view via a QR code, and aims to aid fashion businesses make their collections more sustainable. Biba had partnered Flipkart’s fashion arm Myntra and participated in its ‘End of Reason’ sale. The brand is also currently promoting its athleisure range with a series of yoga content on its Facebook page

Zodiac launches five-piece mask set Zodiac has introduced an exclusive 5-piece mask set with a carry pouch that has been crafted from the finest Egyptian Giza 86 longstaple fiber cultivated in the fertile region on the delta of the river Nile. This grade of fiber produces a silkier, glossier and extremely lightweight cotton fabric that has been woven in a fine 60’s count making the fabric permeable and offering easy breathability. This GIZA 86 fabric is then given a ‘Silk Protein Finish’ which makes the masks very soft on the skin. The double fabric layer construction offers base level safety and the masks are washable up to 30 times. Available in elegant checks and stripes, these are the stylish gentleman’s perfect accessory for dressing up in the new normal. This 5-piece mask set is priced at Rs 1,499/Zodiac Clothing Co is a vertically integrated, trans-national company that controls the entire clothing chain from design, manufacturing,

distribution to retail sales. With a manufacturing base in India and sales offices across India, UK, Germany and USA, ZCCL has almost 2,500 people in its fold. The company operates a 5000 sq ft Italian inspired design studio at its Mumbai Corporate office which is a LEED Gold certified building. ZCCL has 3 premium, menswear brands, each clearly positioned to address a specific target consumer. ZODIAC for the classic yet contemporary male’s corporate wardrobe, ZOD! Club Wear for the trendy, fashionable male and Z3 for the man who does not need to wear a tie to work. The brand is retailed across India at premium prices through over 100 company-managed stores and 1200 multi – brand retailers.

Donear Group ramps up production of anti-viral fabrics Donear Group is ramping up the production of its revolutionary anti-viral fabrics under the brand Grado. The Mumbai-headquartered group is expecting demand to rise with the upcoming festive and wedding season. Rajendra Agarwal, Managing Director, Donear Group says, the group is expanding production of its Neotech anti-viral fabrics to supply to businesses/brands and the export brand. It believes demand for its fabrics will be a bounce back in the foreseeable future and the group will focus on product innovation, building channel strength and diversifying both in terms of business and product. The group is also conscious about the concept of sustainability and is devoted to making the most of the resources at its disposal. It has an effluent water treatment plant in its Amritsar factory premises and headquarters in Mumbai has been constructed based on Sustainable Development Guidelines ensuring the best use of space and energy with the lowest energy impact.

Donear Industries has production capacity of around 55 lakh meter per month with latest technologies and machinery at Surat. Donear group has different textile brands under its portfolio including Donear, GBTL (formerly GRASIM Suitings), Graviera, OCM to name a few; and D’Cot & Donear NXG apparel brands with positive cash flow.

DuPont collaborates with JayaShree Textiles for new fabric collection DuPont India has collaborated with JayaShree Textiles to launch a fabric collection made with DuPont Biomaterials Sorona, a sustainable, partially bio-based polymer. For this collection, both companies blended linen and partially bio-based Sorona fibers to create garments with exceptional stretch and recovery, luxurious drape and a smooth, soft hand feel. Sorona fibers offer many technical and performance benefits, including incredible softness, stretch and recovery, and inherent stain resistance without the need for topical treatments. The fibers have been certified by USDA as an OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 product. A unit of Grasim Industries, JayaShree Textiles has revolutionized the Indian textile market by popularizing linen in India. The company makes the finest, most fashionable linen using advanced European technology and high-quality flax sourced from Belgium and France. DuPont is an inventor of groundbreaking fibers such as nylon, Lycra and rayon. Its Sorona brand — made from 37 per cent renewable plant-based ingredients — offers a high-performing, responsibly sourced material option. Fibers made with Sorona polymer are currently used in various apparel applications, including athleisure and athletic wear, insulation, swimwear, outerwear, suiting, faux fur, etc.

BUSINESS NEWS

GoColors, Manyavar, Fabindia line up IPOs worth Rs 6,000 crore

ndian fashion companies have lined up IPOs worth over Rs.6,000 crore in coming months. The first of these is being launched by women’s wear brand GoColors which is preparing to go public to raise Rs.800-1,000 crore. The brand joins apparel retailers such as Manyavar and FabIndia, which have lined up their initial share sales to bolster their balance sheets, provide an exit to investors, and tap market appetite for such stocks. Fabindia Overseas also plans to launch an IPO worth Rs. 3,000 crore by the end of this year. Ethnic wear brand Manyavar, owned by Vedant Fashions, has started working on a proposed initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs. 2,000-2,500-crore. Owned by Go Fashion (India) and founded in 2010 by Vinod Saraogi and Prakash Saraogi, GoColors is involved in retailing women’s bottom-wear products. Sequoia and private equity firm ICICI Ventures own 42-43 per cent stake in the company. The company plans to raise some fresh capital from the IPO, which will be used to expand its retail presence as well as for working capital requirements. The investors will also sell part of the shares through the IPO. The share sale is expected to happen in the second half of the fiscal.

Campus Activewear to launch Rs.2,000 crore IPO next year

Sports and footwear brand Campus Activewear plans to launch a new IPO worth Rs 2,000 crore next year on a valuation of Rs 10,000 crore. The Campus management is currently negotiating with investors for the IPO. It has received support from private equity fund TPG Growth and the Havells Group’s QRG Enterprises. The company expects promoters and existing investors to dilute a part of their holdings in the issue. Launched in 1997, the Delhi-based company has 20 manufacturing facilities, at various locations. It has a retail network of over 20,000 outlets and a strong online presence with availability on its website and leading e-commerce platforms in India. In recent years, the flagship brand Campus, has emerged as the largest domestic sports and casual footwear brand in India. The company’s products are available via an expansive pan-India network of over 15,000 multi-brand retail stores, company-owned exclusive outlets and e-commerce portals.

Bewakoof.com eyes Rs 1,000 crore revenues in 2 years, forays into new categories

Youth-focused D2C brand, Bewakoof expects revenues to grow to Rs 1,000 crore in the next two years as it adds new product categories and strengthens its retail presence across various digital platforms. The company, which currently has annual sales of about Rs 300 crore, has launched ‘Cosmos’ to tap into the fast-growing beauty segment in India. Bewakoof also has a range of collaborations with Marvel, DC Comics, Looney Tunes, Star Wars, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, and Disney brands for various fashion products. Under the Cosmos brand, Bewakoof plans to launch 43 products ranging from day and night creams to aftershave, bath salts, and serums on its platform as well as online marketplaces. The company has been researching various beauty concoctions available in the market and has identified gaps that it can fill in by using minerals and giving it a twist with natural ingredients.

Slowdown of organised retail to impact their credit quality: CRISIL Revenue growth in India’s organized retail sector is expected to slowdown to 15-20 per

cent against the earlier projection of 35 per cent, says CRISIL. Temporary store closures, restricted mobility, and curtailed discretionary spending will be the main reasons for this slowdown. The report estimates operating margin of apparel retailers to remain moderate at 4-5 per cent for this fiscal, compared to earlier expectation of 7-8 per cent. Retailers may have to take recourse to additional debt to plug near-term cashflow mismatches, which could impact their credit quality. CRISIL-rated apparel retailers are expected to be better placed due to strengthen balance sheets, supported by equity raise of Rs 2,000 crore made last fiscal. To clear inventory and attract footfalls, retailers may offer higher discounts, especially during initial months of store reopening, and this could impact profitability. However, renegotiation of rental arrangements and trimming of employee cost, which together account for 20 per cent revenue, will help keep operating margin at 4-5 per cent this fiscal, a slight improvement over 3-4 per cent last fiscal, but much below the pre-pandemic level of 9 per cent.

Vardhman Textiles awarded at National Kaizen Circle Competition Ludhiana-based Vardhman Textiles was awarded with numerous awards at 4th CII National Kaizen Circle Competition 2021. The group’s Budni unit Vardhman Fabrics was adjudged as the best innovative Kaizen for quality as well as the first runner up in the category of best Kaizen for utility & energy management. Another unit Auro Weaving Mills, Baddi (HP) was declared as the second runner up in the best Kaizen for safety improvement category while Auro Spinning Mills, Baddi (HP) was the first runner up in the category of best Kaizen for safety improvement. Auro Textiles II was declared as the second runner up in the category of best Kaizen for safety improvement.

88 BUSINESS NEWS Reliance Brands to buy 30% stake in Label Ritu Kumar

eliance Brands plans to buy 30 per cent stake in apparel brand Ritu Kumar. The Reliance Retail-owned company is in reportedly in talks to buy the stake held by Everstone Capital along with a major share held by the promoter in the fashion house. The fashion house owns four brands including RI, Label, and Ritu Kumar Home. The 50-year-old company has been trying to raise funds for some time. Reliance is scouting for brands to acquire to strengthen its offering in the segment in which it is directly pitted against Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. The deal will give an exit to Everstone from the designer brand which operates over 84 physical outlets across India. It had invested Rs 100 crore in the New Delhi-based fashion label in 2014. Reliance Brands markets several premium brands in India such as Burberry, Bally, Gas, Kate Spade, Diesel, Brooks Brothers and Steve Madden among others. The acquisition of smaller rival Genesis Luxury gave it sway over other high-end brands such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, Paul Smith among others.

Reliance Industries to buy majority stake in home fashion brand ‘Portico’ Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries plans to buy a majority stake in home fashion brand Portico. The fastemerging brand is owned by the Creative Group that manufactures and sells bed and bath products through its own stores as well as other online and offline retailers.

In February last year, Reliance had said it would acquire a 37.7 per cent stake in Alok Industries for Rs 250 crore, after it bid jointly with JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co for the bankrupt textile manufacturer. Despite its relatively late entry into the market, Portico India swiftly made up for lost time and is currently ranked as the Number 2 player in the country. Its main prowess continues to be in the bed and bath segment but is rapidly becoming a formidable player in home and interiors too. Portico also has operations in New York, but that entity is not part of the deal negotiations.

ABFRL invests in Finesse managing Brand ‘Shantanu & Nikhil’ Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) has acquired an additional 7.69 per cent stake in Finesee, a company involved in managing the business of brand Shantanu & Nikhil. ABFRL earlier owned 51 per cent stake in the ethnic wear company. Its recent acquisition has increased total stake in Finesse to 58.69 per cent. Incorporated in 2007, Finesse International Design runs bespoke ethnic wear business

selling occasion and ceremonial contemporary apparel for men and women under the brand name “Shantanu & Nikhil” and “SN by Shantanu & Nikhil” through a cluster of eight stores. It is an unlisted private company located in Delhi. Its authorized share capital is Rs 1.50 crore and the total paid-up capital is Rs 1.24 crore. ABFRL is a part of the Aditya Birla Group, a $ 48.3 billion Indian multinational, in the league of Fortune 500. Anchored by an extraordinary force of over 120,000 employees, belonging to 42 nationalities, the Aditya Birla Group operates in 34 countries across the globe.

Tjori signs equity deal with Hindustan Times To increase brand awareness, Indian online fashion brand Tjori has signed a Rs 16 crore equity deal with leading publication Hindustan Times. The deal also mandates Tjori to be featured on the HT shop with an aim to create exponential avenues for both the brands. It will help Tjori attract equity investments besides strengthening its branding and marketing activities. Tjori is a lifestyle e-commerce brand with the vision of bringing the conventional art and craft of India with a sight of overhaul into the global market. Established in 2013, it currently caters to a worldwide population.

It has a holistic system that enables it to closely work with gifted artisans and designers to curate beautiful and authentic collections. The brand was conceived with a sole purpose to provide the right channel to these artisans, to showcase authentic products and to revive age-old crafts.

Enamor records 25 per cent growth in lingerie business during lockdown The core lingerie business of women’s wear brand Enamor has grown to 25 per cent of its total business due to rise in online sales during the pandemic. The brand ‘s lingerie business increased from 5 per cent of its total sales in May 2020 to 25 per cent in May, 2021. As per Shekhar Tewari, CEO, most of the demand was driven by adoption of ‘work from home’ culture by consumers including those returning to homes in Tier II and III cities. Enamor’s share of online business’ also grew by between four and five times year-onyear as of May, 2021. The brand retails online from its dedicated e-commerce store. The brand recently launched its spring/summer 2021 collection for ‘Enamor Essentials’, a line of loungewear featuring printed tops and loose trousers The collection bridges the gap between athleisure and pyjamas by mixing mandala prints with stripes and other subtle details.

BUSINESS NEWS H&M India’s net sales grow by 30% in H1 FY21-22

&M India’s net sales, during the sixmonth period ended May 31, 2021, grew by 30 per cent to Rs 836.6 crore from Rs 645.86 crore in the corresponding period previous year. The group’s net sales in local currencies increased by 12 per cent in the first half of 2021 compared with the corresponding period last year. The pandemic led to reduced footfall as a result of continued restrictions and store closures. In India, the retailer’s net sales jumped by over 200 per cent to Rs307 crore, albeit on a lower base during the second quarter spanning from March 01-May 31, ’21. In the year-ago quarter, its net sales had dipped by 70 per cent y-o-y dip as India remained under a strict lockdown for most of the period. The retailer operates 50 stores in the country—apart from its own e-commerce channel as well sales on e-commerce marketplace Myntra. It was quick to roll out more comfort and casual wear as the pandemic struck last year.

Grasim teams up with ‘CTIL’ formulating ‘Birla Advanced Knits’ Grasim Industries has teamed up with Century Textiles and Industries (CTIL) to incorporate a joint venture company (JVC) viz. ‘Birla Advanced Knits’ to venture into knits manufacturing business.

Grasim Industries and CTIL will each hold 50 per cent stake in the JVC that will manufacture man made cellulose fiber knit fabrics. Both the companies will have the right to nominate three directors each on the board. A leading global producer of viscose staple fiber, Grasim Industries is the largest chlor-alkali, linen and insulators player in India. Century Textiles and Industries is a commercial powerhouse with interests in diverse industries.

Inditex’s India sales dip by 28% in FY21 For the first time, Zara owner Inditex’s sales dipped by 28 per cent due to COVID lockdowns and related staggered reopening during FY21.

The fashion house had consistently posted profits in India since entering the country in 2010. Revenues of Zara’s joint venture partner with Tata, Inditex Trent, which runs 21 stores in India declined to Rs 1,126 crore in FY21. The company posted a net loss of Rs 41 crore as per Trent’s annual report. It had posted a profit of Rs 104 crore in the previous year. FY21 started with significant uncertainty for Trent due to the pandemic. The company’s operating profit was hit by a drop in sales and restaurants profits due to COVID-related lockdowns and trade restrictions.

Trent also operates Massimo Dutti stores in India whose revenues dropped by 50 per cent to Rs 34 crore in FY21 with a net loss of Rs 8 crore. Although malls reopened in rest of the country in June major markets such as Delhi and Mumbai allowed malls to reopen only a month later. E-commerce sales picked up as malls and stores remain closed for the entire first quarter of the financial year 2021 but could not make up for the revenue loss due to the closure of brick and mortar stores. Zara is also facing tough competition from other luxury apparel brands in a highly crowded market. The brand just opened one store in the past four years and closed one store in the last year.

Raymond Ltd reports 45% revenue decline in FY21 In fiscal 2021 that ended March 31, 2021, Indian textile and apparel company Raymond reported a 45 per cent decline in revenue to

Rs3,648 crore compared to the revenue of Rs 6,578 crore in the previous fiscal. The company incurred a Rs 297 crore net loss during FY21 against Rs 196 crore profit in FY20. Its EBITDA dropped to Rs 135 crore from Rs 612 crore in the previous fiscal. According to the company, strong demand driven by festivals and marriage season provided the required impetus for faster recovery leading to bounce back in sales to almost three times in H2 as compared to H1. The company’s branded textile segment sales dipped to Rs1,572 crore during FY21 from Rs 2,917 crore in the previous fiscal. Its sales from branded apparel plunged to Rs457 crore while sales from garmenting business declined to Rs549 crore and sales of high value cotton shirting declined to Rs258 crore.

Page Industries (QoQ) revenues to decline by 47% in Q1FY22 Brokerage ICICI Securities anticipates Page Industries’ quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) revenues to decline by 47 per cent to Rs 459 crore in Q1FY22E. The company’s volumes are expected to decline by 49 per cent QoQ while realization is expected to be higher by 2 per cent to Rs 194 per piece, owing to change in product mix. On account of negative operating leverage, the analyst expects Page Industries’ EBITDA margins to decline substantially from 19.3 per cent in Q4FY21 to 3.4 per cent in Q1FY22E. It expects the company to report net loss of Rs 1.7 crore (vs. net profit of Rs 116 crore in Q4FY21 and loss of Rs 40 crore in Q1FY21). Another brokerage firm Emkay Global Financial Services expects Page Industries’ revenues in Q1 FY22 to grow to 55 per cent of pre-COVID revenues. The company’s Ebitda margins are expected to surpass pre-COVID levels led by both better gross margins as well as lower negative operating leverage. Page Industries is engaged in the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of innerwear, athleisure, sleepwear and swimwear for men, women and kids. The company is the exclusive licensee of Jockey International Inc for the manufacture, distribution and marketing of the Jockey brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, Oman and Qatar. Page Industries is also the exclusive licensee of Speedo International for the manufacture marketing and distribution of the Speedo brand in India consisting of swimwear apparel water shorts equipment and footwear. The company has significantly expanded its presence by opening many EBOs and MBOs across the country,

90 BUSINESS NEWS India’s apparel imports decline by 24% in FY’21

ndia’s apparel imports declined by 24 per cent to $881.08 million during FY’21 AS compared to $1.14 billion in FY’20, shows data on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry portal. The data confirms to CMAI’s Mega Survey findings that estimated the domestic apparel retail industry shrank by around 20 per cent in FY ’21 with a total loss of Rs. 150,000 crore. Of the total imports, the imports of knitted clothing valued fell by 21.05 per cent to $392.81 million while woven clothing import declined ng by 24.52 per cent valued US $ 488.27 million. Though China remained the top import destination with imports worth $317.55 million coming from China, volume of imports from China declined by around 36 per cent. In FY ’20, China constituted around 43 per cent of India’s total apparel import values which fell to 36 per cent in FY ’21 with most of these orders diverted to Bangladesh. During the year, India’s sourcing from Bangladesh increased by 16.72 per cent to $ 272.60 million, while Spain shipped $76.49 million worth of garments to the Indian buyers.

Grasim teams up with ‘CTIL’ formulating ‘Birla Advanced Knits’

Grasim Industries has teamed up with Century Textiles and Industries (CTIL) to incorporate a joint venture company (JVC) viz. ‘Birla Advanced Knits’ to venture into knits manufacturing business. Grasim Industries and CTIL will each hold 50 per cent stake in the JVC that will manufacture man made cellulose fiber knit fabrics. Both the companies will have the right to nominate three directors each on the board. A leading global producer of viscose staple fiber, Grasim Industries is the largest chlor-alkali, linen and insulators player in India. Century Textiles and Industries is a commercial powerhouse with interests in diverse industries.

Inditex’s India sales dip by 28% in FY21 For the first time, Zara owner Inditex’s sales dipped by 28 per cent due to COVID lockdowns and related staggered reopening during FY21. The fashion house had consistently posted profits in India since entering the country in 2010. Revenues of Zara’s joint venture partner with Tata, Inditex Trent, which runs 21 stores in India declined to Rs 1,126 crore in FY21. The company posted a net loss of Rs 41 crore as per Trent’s annual report. It had posted a profit of Rs 104 crore in the previous year. FY21 started with significant uncertainty for

Trent due to the pandemic. The company’s operating profit was hit by a drop in sales and restaurants profits due to COVID-related lockdowns and trade restrictions. Trent also operates Massimo Dutti stores in India whose revenues dropped by 50 per cent to Rs 34 crore in FY21 with a net loss of Rs 8 crore. Although malls reopened in rest

of the country in June major markets such as Delhi and Mumbai allowed malls to reopen only a month later. E-commerce sales picked up as malls and stores remain closed for the entire first quarter of the financial year 2021 but could not make up for the revenue loss due to the closure of brick and mortar stores. Zara is also facing tough competition from other luxury apparel brands in a highly crowded market. The brand just opened one store in the past four years and closed one store in the last year.

Raymond Ltd reports 45% revenue decline in FY21 In fiscal 2021 that ended March 31, 2021, Indian textile and apparel company Raymond reported a 45 per cent decline in revenue to Rs3,648 crore compared to the revenue of Rs 6,578 crore in the previous fiscal. The company incurred a Rs 297 crore net loss during FY21 against Rs 196 crore profit in FY20. Its EBITDA dropped to Rs 135 crore from Rs 612 crore in the previous fiscal. According to the company, strong demand driven by festivals and marriage season

provided the required impetus for faster recovery leading to bounce back in sales to almost three times in H2 as compared to H1. The company’s branded textile segment sales dipped to Rs1,572 crore during FY21 from Rs 2,917 crore in the previous fiscal. Its sales from branded apparel plunged to Rs457 crore while sales from garmenting business declined to Rs549 crore and sales of high value cotton shirting declined to Rs258 crore.

FINANCIAL RESULTS ABFRL’s Q4 net loss widens to Rs 196 crore

he net loss of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) widened to Rs 196 crore in Q4 FY21 against Rs 147 crore loss posted in the year ago period. The company reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at Rs 253 crore in Q4 FY21 against Rs 167 crore in Q4 FY20. Revenues remained flat at Rs 1,822 crore in Q4 FY21 as compared to Rs 1,832 crore in Q4 FY20 due to COVID-19 induced lockdowns and restrictions in movements. The company set up over 400 new stores in FY21 besides rationalizing its store network. It scaled up across town classes through asset light model and focused on new product categories in line with changing consumer preferences for more casual and active wear. To mitigate the COVID-19 impact on profitability, the company rationalized over Rs 1,200 crore of costs during the year. It also reduced debts from Rs 2,511 crore to Rs 654 crore through a mix of operating cash flows and equity infusion.

Arvind Fashions narrows Q4 loss to Rs 99.45 crore

Higher revenues from operations helped Arvind Fashions narrow its consolidated net loss in the fourth quarter ended March 2021 quarter to Rs 99.45 crore. The company reported a net loss of Rs 208.12 crore during the quarter against the corresponding quarter last year. The company’s revenue from operations increased 14 per cent to Rs 768.59 crore during the quarter as against Rs 673.31 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. COVID-19 has severely impacted business resulting in inventory build-up and slower collection of receivables. With easing of lockdown restrictions, the group’s performance for the subsequent quarters has been progressively better, until the same was once again impacted somewhat in the current quarter due to the second wave of COVID-19. However, the company remains confident of scaling powerful brands in its portfolio in the medium term, says Shailesh Chaturvedi, Managing Director and CEO.

Kewal Kiran Clothing’s Q4 net profit declines by 45% The net profit of Kewal Kiran Clothing declined by 45 percent decline to Rs 9 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2021, as against a net profit of Rs 16 crore it had reported in the year-ago period.

The company’s revenue for the quarter declined by 13 percent to Rs 111 crore, as against Rs 127 crore it posted in the corresponding period last year. For the financial year 2020-21, the company’s net profit declined 73 percent to Rs 20 crore as compared to Rs 73 crore during the previous year while revenue declined 43 percent to Rs 303 crore from last year’s Rs 530 crore. Kewal Kiran owns brands like Killer, Integriti, LawmanPg3, Easies, and Desi Belle. The company currently has 336 retail stores in 210 cities across 25 states and sells on leading e-commerce platforms in India.

Future Consumer Q4 net loss declines to Rs 155.12 crore Net loss of Future Consumer declined to Rs 155.12 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to that of Rs 175.46 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company’s revenue from FMCG arm, FCL declined 59.2 per cent to Rs 386.26 crore during JanuaryMarch 2021 compared to Rs 947.07 crore in January-March 2020. Its total expenses declined by 52.5 per cent to Rs 500.06 crore, against Rs 1,051.87 crore in the year-ago period. For the full fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2021, FCL reported a consolidated

net loss of Rs 483.30 crore against a net loss of Rs 216.50 crore in the previous year. Revenue from operations declined by 70.7 per cent to t Rs 1,184.51 crore in FY 2020-21 compared to Rs 4,040.33 crore in FY2019-20. The company had to face adverse impact on operations and sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the Group’s major customers had to invoke the force majeure clause and claim losses on inventory due to expiry/deterioration in the quality of the goods as either the stores were closed or experiencing very low footfalls.

Zodiac Clothing Q4 FY21 net loss of Rs.5.02 crore Zodiac Clothing Company profit during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021 declined to Rs 5.30 crore as compared to net loss of Rs 7.13 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. The company’s total income grew to Rs.38.72 crores during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.32.41 crore during the period ended December 31, 2020. Zodiac posted a net loss of Rs 5.30 crore for the period ended March 31, 2021 as against net profit of Rs 6.81 crore for the period ended March 31, 2020. It reported total income of Rs.38.72 crore during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.47.07 crore during the period ended March 31, 2020.

92 FINANCIAL RESULTS Dollar Industries reports 58 per cent increase in Q4 net profit

he fourth quarter net profit of Dollar Industries increased by 58 per cent to Rs 19 crore as against a net profit of Rs 12 crore it had reported in the year-ago period. The company’s revenues during the quarter grew 29 per cent to Rs 308 crore, as against Rs 237 crore it reported in the corresponding period of the previous year. For the financial year 2020-21, the company reported a net profit of Rs 87 crore on a revenue of Rs 1,040 crore. Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director says, the year has been overshadowed by the Coronavirus where the economy is hit but the company reported positive revenue growth. Raw-material prices stabilized a bit in the fourth quarter before showing uncertainty in prices again. However, the company is poised to continue its growth journey. During the financial year, Dollar Industries also revamped its brand identity by launching a new logo and campaign, ‘Wear the change’ to cater to widen its customer base in the country.

Rupa & Co posts Rs 65.96 crore profit in Q4

Apparel manufacturer Rupa & Co posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 65.96 crore in FY21 Q4 compared with a loss of Rs 4.28 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal. The company’s revenue from operations jumped 153 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 453.99 crore from Rs 179.30 crore posted in the same quarter year ago. On a quarter-onquarter (QoQ) basis, the figure grew 31.3 per cent. The EBITDA soared 1,050 per cent to 90.6 crore in Q4FY21 from Rs 7.9 crore posted in Q4FY20. The EBITDA margins came in at 20 per cent during the quarter under review. The figure stood at 4 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year. For the full financial year 2021, the company logged its highest-ever revenues and profits at Rs 1,312.7 crore and Rs 175.3 crore, respectively. The company plans to increase share in premium and super-premium category, improve focus on women, casual, and thermal wear, and foray into newer markets with higher penetration in the existing markets.

Lux Industries records 118 per cent growth in Q4 net profit The fourth quarter net profit of innerwear and apparel maker Lux Industries jumped 118 per cent to Rs 91 crore as against a net

profit of Rs 41 crore reported in corresponding quarter last year. The company’s revenue during the quarter rose 48 per cent to Rs 595 crore, as against Rs 402 crore reported in the corresponding period of the last financial year. For the financial year 2020-21, Lux Industries’ net profit rose to Rs 269 crore while revenues grew to Rs 1,943 crore. The company witnessed healthy growth in its premium and export segments during the lockdown, says Ashok Kumar Todi, Chairman. Todi expects Q1 FY22 to be relatively weak due to the pandemic and business is expected to improve gradually from the second quarter of the year.

VIP Industries posts’ Rs 4 crore net loss

VIP Industries posted a net loss of Rs 4 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 2021 as against a net profit of Rs 10 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2020. The company’s revenue for the quarter declined by 22 percent to Rs 243 crore, as against Rs 311 crore it reported in the yearago period. For the financial year 2020-21, the company reported a net loss of Rs 97 crore, as against net profit of Rs 112 crore while its sales were down by 63 percent to Rs 619 crore as compared to previous fiscal’s Rs 1714 crore. Currently, VIP owns around 22 percent market share in India with its fashion and accessories brands like Carlton, Skybags, Caprese, Aristocrat, and Alfa. VIP has over 600 showrooms across the country and sells through retail chains and e-commerce platforms.

V-Mart Retail’s FY21 Q4 income increases to Rs 356 crore

The FY21, Q4 income of India’s leading retail store chain V Mart Retail increased to Rs 356 crore compared to Rs 333 crore in the corresponding period of prior fiscal. The company’s EBITDA during Q4 FY21 increased to Rs 34 crore from Rs 28 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Sales reached 110 per cent of the corresponding sales for the same quarter of FY20-21. It also managed to recover footfalls by over 80 per cent for the quarter as a whole. The company is currently concentrating on streetwear, sweatshirts, hoodies and ladies dresses categories, informs Lalit Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director. During the quarter, the company continued to focus on digitization and strengthening across the front-end and back-end operations with agility, prudence and customer centricity. It aims to create an innovative and compelling shopping experience for its customers by improving its website and mobile app interface.

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Piyush the management new Textile FlipkartGoyal realignsissenior team E-commerce player Flipkart has realigned its Minister seniorGoyal, management for the upcoming Piyush Ministerteam for Commerce and new business opportunities and Adarsh Industry, and Consumer Affairs and Food & Menon, Seniorhas Vice President and Head, Public Distribution been appointed as the Private Brands, Electronics and Furniture, is new textile minister in place of Smriti Zubin set to head a new business initiative. Menon Irani, Women and Child Development Minister. may head Flipkart’s upcoming business to Goyal assured that he would aim to improve business (B2B) initiative. Manish Kumar, vicethe president sector andofboost exports to promote thehas business development who government’s vision business, to developwillBrand India.the built the grocery look after According to Invest India, the textiles and private label business. apparel providesHead direct employment Ajay industry Yadav, Flipkart’s of large appliances and mobile businesses, take charge to 45 million people and 60will million peopleofinthe electronics unit towhich under allied industries,business according Investwas India, Menon. Flipkart’s furniture business will now and contributes 5 per cent to India’s gross be called the books, general merchandise and domestic product. home (BGMH) category, said Krishnamurthy. Goyal said that government aims The e-commerce player is in a restructuring to strengthen this sector by creating a mode from the beginning of this year to cut synergy commerce and industry. lossesbetween as competition gets tough. Flipkart is

the entire category management, including “The proposed of seller merchandise, assortment financing planning, and excellence initiatives. joins Snapdeal invoices of theBansal MSME sector from Walmart, wherebe heaserved the senior could again huge as benefit vice to president and built various categories the Industry, which is largely including home care, personal care, among comprised of the MSME units” many others. Prior to Walmart, he was part of the leadership teamchain, at and Lenskart and towas the MMF value give a fillip the responsible for the buying & merchandising entire MMF industry and enhance its global function catering to all sales channels. This competitiveness. isAccording Snapdeal’s in a to second Biyani senior severalappointment other measures could In also benefit the textile industry such as month. June, Snapdeal had appointed Girish the technical mission, review of and the Koppad as the textile company’s vicea president Rulesofoftechnology. Origin especially in our FTAs, head Snapdeal is onea review of the of cheap imports of goods being made our leading e-commerce players in India withby more MSME Sector, refund of all the taxes and levies than 5 lac sellers on its platform servicing over for exports, and the targeting of making every 26,000 pin codes across India.

Benetton India appoints new CEO and MD

development that also focuses on footwear district an export hub. The proposed financing and loungewear, the company said. of invoices of the MSME sector could again be The retailer has of a the network over 850 Apparel retailer Benetton India has Jyoti Rao inducted to J Jill’s board of a huge benefit to the Industry, which is largely standing demand textile of manufacturing of sale across country. This year appointed Ramprasad as its comprised of the MSME units. downing shutters onSridharan Jabong and thenew portal points value chain. Thisthe will potentially opentheup directors CEOisand for the country. J.Jill has appointed Jyothi Rao, CEO and nowMD redirecting the users to the Myntra retailer opened 12 stores with plans to open another 30-40 stores by end of the year. Sridharan President, Intermix, an omni-channel boutique website. has succeed Sundeep Chugh acquired Jabong whoWalmart-owned has moved outFLipkart of the had company. During retailer, to its board of directors. Rao will join the for $70Chugh millionhelped in 2016, sawevolve a closeand to 13 Saurabh Bansal appointed Chief his tenure thebut brand Quincy, Massachusetts-based womenswear per cent drop inleadership app downloads forthrough the brand Merchandising Officer by Snapdeal maintain its market position retailer, with immediate effect. Prior to joining in December 2019. Flipkart had acquired a multi-channel approach, an effective product Intermix, Rao held various leadership positions fashion e-commerce platform Myntra in May offering and a high-impact communication in the retail industry, including with Gilt Groupe, 2014. Soon after the Walmart acquisition in strategy. Calvin Klein and Gap Inc.Claire Spofford, CEO November 2018, Flipkart merged both Myntra and President, J.Jill hailed the appointment and Jabong. of Rao for her extensive knowledge of the retail landscape. It was one of many retailers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic last CMAI welcomes Union Budget 2020-21 The Clothing Manufacturers Association year. The retailer offers a customer experience of India (CMAI) has welcomed the wUnion through 265 stores nationwide, as well as an Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala e-commerce platform. Sitharaman on February 1, 2020 as positive and growth oriented for the apparel industry. Rakesh Biyani, President of the association Sridharan was earlier the President, Southsays the most important step in this Budget EastforAsia, Australia andwas New the textile industry the Zealand removal ofatthe footwear retailer Clarks. He is an anti-dumping duty on PTA, which alumnus was a long

of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Operating in India since 1992, the Benetton Group remains focused on e-commerce activities, the introduction of new product categories such as watches, thanks to the recent collaboration with Timex and product

Saurabh Bansal has been appointed as the Chief Merchandising Officer by e-commerce major Snapdeal. Bansal will lead

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