Denim cos ready to make a statement on the retail scene
Denim dazzle will mark most of ’07. The apparel industry is gearing up for a slew of new launches that will vie for a piece of action.
By Yamini Dhall, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Denim dazzle will mark most of ’07. The apparel industry is gearing up for a slew of new launches that will vie for a piece of action.
While Denim lines from Calvin Klein, Gas, Gap and Diesel will cater to the premium end, the mid-segment will see initiatives on the retail front - exclusive denim retail chains from textile majors like, Arvind, Nahar and Century.
The sudden influx of denim brands follows the year-long export blues, which have badly hit the balance sheets of denim manufacturers and exporters. The story was pretty much the same for smaller players too.
Now that exports are looking up, exporters are now willing to brave the problems of over-capacity in the Rs 2,000-crore domestic market. Analysts say that domestic market can absorb more denim brands across segments if the marketers have a focused strategy.
There are some two dozen national brands in the organised sector. The speciality retailing is on upswing and the new denim brands could ride that wave, says KSA Techopak’s Arvind Singhal. “Denim is a cyclical product for the international market. Sometimes, it is more pain than profit. It makes sense to target the domestic retail scene,” he adds.
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Denim fabric manufacturers like Nahar, Arvind and Century are looking at volumes through mass-market brands, while garment majors like Orient Craft want to concentrate on niche premium segment. “We believe mass-market denim may not do that well as compared to premium value-added fashion brands,” says Sudhir Dhingra, chairman, Orient Craft. He plans to bring a premium European denim brand to India early next year.The denim range launched by the Nahar group with annual production of 50,000 metres, will target the mass-market. The group hopes to retail about 1 lakh denim pieces per month by mid-07 through its Cotton County outlets. “We will follow this up with the launch of exclusive denim retail chain,” says Amit Sahni, assistant vice-president, Cotton County.
Arvind Mills, the second largest denim manufacturer in the world, says that the recovery is more linked to pick up in exports. “The largest consumer segment in denim is non-branded. With almost 100% over-capacity in the domestic market, the opportunity lies in upgrading non-branded consumers to new brands,” said a company spokesperson.
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