BoF May 2011 PDF

F A S H I O N • M A R K E T I N G • R E T A I L I N G

MAY ,11

VOL. XII

No. 5

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CreativeCreativeVisualsVisualsththe art of moderne art of modernretailiretailingng

Cover_BoF_May_11.indd 1 4/30/2011 3:32:56 PM

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May 2011 | 162 pages | VOL. XII No. V | www.imagesfashion.com

editor-in-chief amitabh taneja editorial director r s roy

managing editor nupur chakraborty executive editor madhumita bardhan sinha

director - planning anjali sondhi sr. associate editor-cum-chief of bureau nivedita j pawar (mumbai) sr. research correspondent nalini singh sr. correspondent aakriti agarwal copy editor cum correspondent trisha mukherjee research correspondent vasantasena biswas (kolkata)

creatives art director pawan kumar verma sr. layout designers gopal thakur raj kumar sharma sr. photographer vipin kardam asst. photographer deepak malik photo coordinator kamal kumar publisher s p taneja business development chief operating officer sandipan singh

advertising lead. group assoc. vice president, product head lokesh chopra assoc. vice president (technology) vijay bajaj assoc. vice president (retail real estate) vineet chadha general manager (retail support) arti kapur dy. general manager (fashion) rajesh kaul assoc. vice president & regional heads waseem ahmad (mumbai) piyali roy oberoi (kolkata) sr. manager sunil disley (b’lore) managers (advertising) jayant arora (delhi) vinod motwani (mumbai) sr. executives pratik ghosh (kolkata) rohan narayan (kolkata)

assoc. vice president (circulation) anil nagar sr. manager (circulation) r p singh (mumbai) associates s venkataraaman (chennai) 9444021128 (m) hemant gupta (ludhiana) 9814019745 (m) production general manager manish kadam sr. executive ramesh gupta

services general manager (logistics) rajeev mehandru general manager (customer relations) hemant wadhawan subscription rajesh kumar sr. executive (logistics) shambhu nath

Amitabh Taneja

In our last issue of IMAGES Business of Fashion we analysed the reasons behind the lack of footfall in malls across the country. So many established brands are unhappy about the fact that high store rentals are not justified vis-à-vis the revenue generated. The overwhelming response from the industry to this story made us think of trying to bring out what could be a solution to this common malaise. While there is no one formula that will work as magic, one can look at various factors that might attract customers.

It was this thought that brought visual merchandising top of mind. When you look at stores today, you are amazed at the ingenuity and innovativeness of the designs. Retailers are forever pushing the envelope to find what more can be done to seduce consumers. Our cover story “Creative Visuals: The Art of Modern Retailing” brings perspectives of expert Visual Merchandisers who have stressed upon the importance of VM in modern retailing and its efficacy in driving sales. In fact, so convinced we were of this that starting next month we are introducing a new column on VM tips and trends by VM experts.

Another important category that this issue addresses is the state of the lingerie market in India. Despite the predicted 12 per cent growth of the womenswear segment, this is a largely untapped area. Growing incomes and the Indian woman coming into her own at last should be reason enough for retailers to step forward to fill on this gap. So, why is lingerie shopping still a surreptitious affair in India?

Editorial.indd 11 4/30/2011 2:59:09 PM

CONTENTSMAY 2011 VOL. XII NO. V

96 HR WATCH Creating the Best Resources Jeevan Unnithan, Divisional Manager - HR, ITC - Lifestyle

Retail Business Division, gives an interesting insight on manpower management.

102 BRAND WATCH Talking Tees Rajiv Ramchandani, the man behind Tantra, talks about

the success of his innovative products.

Cover Courtesy: s.Oliver, Konigsstrasse, Stuttgart, Germany ; Son’s and Daughter’s, Kehl Am Rhein, Germany

11 EDITORIAL

16 WEB PAGE

17 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

32 APRIL IN BRIEF

52 SEASON’S OFFERINGS

74 OUTLETS

82 BRAND AMBASSADOR

144 WINDOW TRENDS

150 TRADE CALENDAREV

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D E S I G N E R W E A V E S 122

RUNWAY COLLECTION OF AUTUMN WINTER 2011 TRENDS.RUNWAY COLLECTION OF AUTUMN WINTER 2011 TRENDS.

VISUAL MERCHANDISING IS ALL ABOUT CONNECTING CONSUMERS TO BRANDS; VISUAL MERCHANDISING IS ALL ABOUT CONNECTING CONSUMERS TO BRANDS; THE KEY TO INCREASE FOOTFALL AND CONVERSION.THE KEY TO INCREASE FOOTFALL AND CONVERSION.

Creative Visualsthe art of modern retailing

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CONTENTSMAY 2011 VOL. XII NO. V

104 CATEGORY WATCH Furnishing Success

IMAGES BOF tracks the home textile market and brings forth its scope and opportunities.

112 MY PRESPECTIVE Women’s innerwear: untapped

potential An analysis of a research conducted

by apparel company BRANDIS India.

116 THE JOURNEY Breaking Free

Brijesh Shah of Lemax Jeansdiscusses the highs and lows of the brand over the years.

134 IN THE CLOSETSubtle StylePunit Agarwal, MD, Vemb Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, reveales his penchant for comfort and throws open his wardrobe to Images BoF.

138 DREAM MERCHANTS What’s Your Colour?

Nital Ganatra, fashion costume stylist, brings a preview of latest Bollywood styles.

Intimatewear - an undiscovered territoryHarminder Sahni on the unexplored area of intimatewear.

H A R D T A L K84

The Lingerie Market in IndiaThorsten Allenstein, MD, Triumph India, talks about the gradual shift in the lingerie segment in India.

M Y T H O U G H T S

GLAMOUR CLAMOURTisca Chopra

My homespun picks

154

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18 | May 2011 | IMAGES Business of Fashion

• MY THOUGHTS •

TheMarket in

LingerieIndia

This is pretty much how we can describe the lingerie industry in India today. Indian women for decades have been used to a way of shopping lingerie that can only be compared to a really bad movie that you want to start running away from. You keep on hoping it gets better and you think “can this be it?,” while you are munching popcorn but it just does not improve. Male sales clerks staring at your bust and telling you what size you are, no changing rooms, no feeling the products, no way to compare. You were expected to put your faith in the hands of this young boy and hope he had the right sense to give you a suitable bra…!

Compare this to the new reality in which the consumer gets to see, feel, touch and try the products she wants. Female sales staff, professionally trained in all the aspects of the product from different functions to relevant material knowledge to help you choose. And to top that she knows how to

“We have come a long way… but have seen nothing yet!”

TALKING ABOUT THE GRADUAL SHIFT OF THE TALKING ABOUT THE GRADUAL SHIFT OF THE INTIMATEWEAR MARKET SCENARIO INTIMATEWEAR MARKET SCENARIO THORSTEN ALLENSTEINTHORSTEN ALLENSTEIN, , MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRIUMPH INDIA, FEELS THAT A PULL MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRIUMPH INDIA, FEELS THAT A PULL IS NECESSARY TO ENHANCE THE LINGERIE BUSINESS IN IS NECESSARY TO ENHANCE THE LINGERIE BUSINESS IN INDIA TO THE NEXT LEVEL.INDIA TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

measure you to find that one perfect fitting bra. Basically the two extremes we see in India today are:• The traditional need-based oriented

retail• The new fashion oriented or

aspiration-based retail

Will we see a shift in consumer spending?Yes, you might have guessed it right; there will be a shift in consumer preferences and the related spending. It will be away from retailers that can only fulfill a need-based shopping experience towards a retailer that knows how to create that fashion or aspiration-based shopping experience!

Will it be the end of traditional MBOs? No - for sure not. Nevertheless, we will see a survival of the fittest and only the ones who evolve will survive and prosper.

Retailers that update their business model and offer what the consumer demands, have the chance to become

My Thoughts.indd 18 4/29/2011 10:34:28 PM


• APRIL IN BRIEF •

TRAVELTITAN RECENTLY TITAN RECENTLY INAUGURATED ITS SECOND INAUGURATED ITS SECOND FLAGSHIP STORE IN DELHI FLAGSHIP STORE IN DELHI AND IT’S A COMPLETE AND IT’S A COMPLETE TREASURE TROVE FOR TREASURE TROVE FOR ALL WATCH LOVERS. ALL WATCH LOVERS. AFTER VISITING THE STORE AFTER VISITING THE STORE IMAGES BOFIMAGES BOF BRINGS BRINGS FORTH THE EXPERIENCE.FORTH THE EXPERIENCE.

After several innovative and classic timepieces from the house of Titan, it is all set to create new benchmarks in the watch retailing business with its latest flagship store in Delhi. Chic, classy, spacious and inviting – these are just some adjectives synonymous with the two-storeyed store at the South Extension market. Titan opened its first flagship store earlier this year in Mumbai.

Covering an area of more than 5,000 sq. ft, the company claims it to be the largest watch outlet in the country. The store boasts a collection over 2,500 timepieces, which includes all Titan watch ranges and 28 international brands from the house of Helios, a multi-brand watch store of Titan. It also has the entire range of Fastrack sunglasses.

Bhaskar Bhat, MD, Titan Industries, says, “Titan is an iconic Indian brand which is constantly innovating, to bring never-seen-before collections to its customers, each inspired by a deep design story that enables consumers to “be more” - philosophy, we hope to engage and excite our customers in Delhi, and set new benchmarks.”

The customers get to choose from a wide range of watches varying from low-cost funky Zoop watches to elegant gold timepieces from the Nebula range. The outlet thus

Time

Updates.indd 34 4/29/2011 10:59:10 PM


• HARD TALK •

and overall market. I call these the “4 Fs” of the intimatewear market. These are:

• Function• Fashion• Fun• Fantasy The basic reason the market exists for

intimatewear is purely functional. Women need to wear a bra for support and to save themselves from various medical complications later in life, leave aside the vanity part for argument sake. Hence

all women should wear a bra for this functional reason and the ones who don’t, need to be educated to do so for their own good. Functional

needs sit at the base level of this market and obviously is the

largest opportunity in Indian market that is

just developing. Once the

market covers the functional

state, certain segments of consumers are ready for the next level and start considering even intimatewear with a fashion

consciousness. There are two elements to this fashion: one is picking the right intimatewear items

to go with a fashionable dress - a strapless bra to go with a shoulder less evening gown, and second is to pick intimatewear that itself is fashionable in terms of colour and

styling of the season. A large set of Indian urban consumers have

started considering the fashion angle into their intimatewear over

We all know that womenswear overall is a mysteriously under-tapped market segment in the Indian fashion industry and a lot has been said and written about it, while very little has been done. One of the major reasons for many apparel companies not wanting to test womenswear is the uncertainty about where the Indian women’s wardrobe is headed in terms of ethnicwear and Westernwear. Somehow it has been accepted by most of the branded apparel companies and retailers that Westernwear will ultimately replace ethnicwear. The big debate is “when” will saris and salwar kameez be inevitably replaced by pants, skirts and jeans. Hence they haven’t focused much on ethnicwear and have tried to build brands around Westernwear. But the market size for the Westernwear, though growing really fast but on a smaller base, is still much smaller than the ethnicwear market. The dilemma continues.

I have tried to address this issue in my previous articles but today I wanted to shift our attention away from this debate

of women’s outer clothing and explore intimatewear. The most interesting part about intimatewear its need is independent of the type of clothing a woman wears as the main dress. The need for intimatewear, though differentiated, certainly exists there in case of both ethnicwear as well Westernwear. Be it a sari, salwar kameez, skirt and top, jeans and T-shirt or an evening dress, a woman needs an appropriate intimatewear to go with each of these attires.

So, for companies that are unable to decide between ethnicwear and westernwear route to tap the womenswear market, the intimatewear segment offers a very obvious and large, and equally untapped opportunity.

All women from the age of probably 16 years upwards need intimatewear (read bras) on an everyday basis; hence the market potential is huge and growing. The needs being very different at different stages of consumers’ life stage and also specific types of bras needed for different kinds of clothing, offer enough micro segmentation for numerous players.

On a broader level, we can classify the market into four clear segments based on the stage of evolution of consumers

an undiscovered territoryan undiscovered territoryManagement

consultant Harminder Sahni analyses the highs and lows of the fashion retail

industry. Covering a spectrum of topics,

each month he looks at the need of the

hour for India.

Intimatewear

Hard Talk_Sahni Says.indd 84 4/29/2011 9:24:50 PM


• COVER STORY •

Stores are becoming more like a canvas for retailers to create a pictorial display of their merchandise to reach out to consumers. And visual merchandising (VM) has emerged as the prime element to creatively weave a story within the intricacies of product display and look. Karl McKeever, one of Britain’s leading VM consultants, once said, “Visual merchandising is an indispensable retail discipline, consisting of a series of practical selling tools that are used to influence what and how much consumers buy.”

VM is often referred to as a silent salesperson. It is not restricted to just the floor, or the walls or the window display. It is an amalgamation of these and other aspects such as merchandise mix, positioning of garments, shelves, ceiling height, lights, colours, and more. It is aimed at arousing all the five senses of consumers by offering a wonderful shopping experience

IN TODAY’S WORLD OF IN TODAY’S WORLD OF RETAILING, EMOTION, RETAILING, EMOTION, CONNECTION AND EXPERIENCE CONNECTION AND EXPERIENCE TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER NEED. TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER NEED. AAKRITI AGARWALAAKRITI AGARWAL DISCOVERS DISCOVERS HOW VISUAL MERCHANDISING HOW VISUAL MERCHANDISING PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN LINKING THE TWO FOR IN LINKING THE TWO FOR BETTERING FOOTFALL AND BETTERING FOOTFALL AND CONVERSION.CONVERSION.

Creative Visualsthe art of modern retailing

Cover Story part 1.indd 86 4/30/2011 8:40:40 PM


• HR WATCH •

Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, a small tobacco making firm, was established in the year 1910 at Radha Bazar Lane, Kolkata The company purchased land at Chowringhee, (now renamed J.L. Nehru Road) Kolkata for the sum of `3,10,000, in the year 1926. This was the beginning of a remarkable journey. As the company progressively became Indianised, it changed name to India Tobacco Company Limited and then again renamed it as ITC Limited.

Starting with tobacco, the company has evolved greatly and currently, ITC is one of the major players in hospitality, FMCG and lifestyle retailing segments. The company is known as one of India’s most professionally managed conglomerate. The group has more than 25,000 employees.

The Human Resource department plays a pivotal role in building a concrete base for the entire manpower, who are the driving force behind this huge entity. ITC spans across various businesses and the human resource is managed by individual HR departments. Working with the philosophy of helping people perform and bringing out their best, ITC has always been considered as an ideal company to work for.

ResourcesITC IS A HUGE CONGLOMERATE ITC IS A HUGE CONGLOMERATE AND SPANS SEVERAL AND SPANS SEVERAL BUSINESS VERTICALS.BUSINESS VERTICALS. JEEVAN UNNITHANJEEVAN UNNITHAN, DIVISIONAL , DIVISIONAL MANAGER - HUMAN MANAGER - HUMAN RESOURCES, ITC - LIFESTYLE RESOURCES, ITC - LIFESTYLE RETAIL BUSINESS DIVISION, RETAIL BUSINESS DIVISION, DISCUSSES THE CHALLENGES DISCUSSES THE CHALLENGES OF MANPOWER MANAGEMENT.OF MANPOWER MANAGEMENT.

Creating the

BESTby Nalini Singh

HR Watch.indd 96 4/29/2011 10:14:55 PM


• BRAND WATCH •

than misses on the retail floor. The creative team is aptly supported by the manufacturing and the marketing teams that ensure that the end-customer is exposed to a new idea on a weekly basis.

Ramchandani says, “The Indian youth market is truly huge, and the real story is unravelling outside the major metros. We are in a unique position as an established metro brand and need to manage and ride the wave. Tantra’s mind-share is 100 times the brand share, epitomising the sheer potential of the T-shirt market.”

A completely self-funded company, Tantra follows strict fiscal parameters. The brand has been established in the market without any advertising or media spend. “Passion, innovation, honesty and long-term consistency are our success mantras,” he adds.

Today, it is an umbrella company for a host of sub-brands. Under it, there is the mother brand Tantra, an alternative world brand by the name Barking Dog, a brand comprising of clever one-liners wittily titled Line Maro, and Tantra Club - a club brand . The company will soon launch Loose Motions - another quirky name of a T-shirt brand. Ramchamdani adds, “Each of these brands work under their own USPs, their individual genres appeal to varying and sometimes overlapping tastes.”

Designing is the first and one of the most critical aspects behind the success of the concept. Consistently innovative designs are churned out on a weekly basis by a dedicated in-

Talking

THE IDEA OF MAKING A T-SHIRT MIRRORING THE LIFE OF INDIA,

SPEAKING THE VOICE OF YOUTH, SPORTING CATCHY ONE-

SPEAKING THE VOICE OF YOUTH, SPORTING CATCHY ONE-

LINERS LED TO TANTRA.

LINERS LED TO TANTRA. RANJIV RAMCHANDANI

RANJIV RAMCHANDANI, OWNER OF THE

BRAND BELIEVES IN CREATIVITY AS THE USP OF THE BRAND.

DIA, DIADIA,

OF THOF THOO THOF TH

ND.ND.HE HEEHEHE

India on a T-shirt – a new and innovative idea by a group of friends over a friendly discussion gave birth to Tantra. The brand was started in 1997 and over the years has stuck to its original concept and made a success story out of it.

Today, T-shirts have become a business of ideas. Ranjiv Ramchandani, the man behind Tantra, says, “The scenario was pretty bleak when the brand kicked off with its dream venture. It was as if ‘teenagers’ didn’t exist. The nearest thing to youth tees was Bangkok imports, catering to the hard rock or metal crowd. In a country as diverse and fascinating as India, a seed was sowed to create a T-shirt brand which spoke to the consumer as a friend, in a contemporary language, rather than a brand which was cold and sterile.” Tantra was born!

The brand communicates with its designs and intriguing ideas and is a creative-led company driven by quality ideas. “A good idea sells more volumes and vice-versa,” he says. Thus, for Tantra, it is imperative that they keep their creative department top-heavy. Their experience ensures more hits

Brand Watch.indd 102 4/29/2011 10:38:39 PM


• MY PERSPECTIVE •

The women’s innerwear market is worth `7,897 core (2009). The category recorded growth of 16.8 per cent. Over the last decade, the lingerie industry has grown from an essential, functional clothing and has become a more stylised. It constitutes 5.1 per cent of the total Indian apparel market and 15.8 per cent of the overall women apparel market.

Over the last decade many new brands have entered the market and have successfully established themselves. The category is most receptive for new brands. The key reason for the market accepting and welcoming new brands is the ever-changing consumer preferences. Many global brands that forayed into the market have established new

benchmarks in the industry and have forced the existing players to fight aggressively to retain their market shares.

The lingerie market in India can be divided into five segments based on the price point at which they sell in the market. They are classified in super premium, premium, mid-market and economy and low-market segment. Around 75 per cent of the market share is held by the mid-market and the economy segment. The premium and the super premium markets are growing at double the rate in comparison to the middle segment. The average selling price (ASP) for panties in the premium category is `90 and in super premium is `135. Bras are priced at around `325 and `450 in the super premium category.

One of the most visible trends that has been observed in the last few years is consumer neutrality and consumer apathy towards pricing of innerwear. The aggressive growth observed in the premium and

untapped potentialuntapped potential Women’s innerwear

My Perspective.indd 112 4/29/2011 9:58:26 PM

• DESIGNER WEAVES - FASHION WEEK •


WITH 141 DESIGNERS AND MANY BIG BUYERS THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED FIVE-DAY GALA DROVE BUSINESS AMIDST GLAMOUR AND GLITZ. THIS SEASON THE RUNWAY

COLLECTION WAS ALIGNED WITH THE BUYERS’ DEMANDS.COLLECTION WAS ALIGNED WITH THE BUYERS’ DEMANDS.

By Nalini Singh

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week is one of the most popular and biggest fashion extravaganzas in India. The event has been growing bigger every season, and over the years it has gained popularity and has positioned itself as an important destination for all designers as well as buyers from across the globe.

With around 141 designers and 41 shows, this season has witnessed the highest number of buyers attending the show. The show is the second-biggest fashion event in Asia, after Hong Kong Fashion Week. Emphasising upon the business-to-business aspect of the event, WIFW was a success story for almost all designers. Apart from existing buyers most designers managed to rope in new ones. Interestingly there were many foreign buyers, mostly from the Middle East, and

some from Australia, Japan and South Africa.The outlook towards fashion shows seems to have changed

this season with major events such as WIFW aligning their collections to the demands of international buyers. Although, it was the Autumn Winter edition of WIFW, designers’ collections were skewed towards only autumnwear. So far, designers have been the drivers of all fashion weeks, however, this time at WIFW buyers appear to have been in the driver’s seat.

“Fashion shows are for buyers, so we showcase what will sell,” says designer Rahul Singh.Catering entirely to the demands of buyers, this time the runway collection sported a different flavour, with autumnwear dominating the show. Apart from designers such as Neeru Kumar and Aneeth Arora, most other designers showcased only two to three winterwear designs.

“Since the Middle East does not have a strong winter season, winterwear in terms of jackets and coats, wools and furs would not suit the climate. That’s why most designers brought out

WIFW_New.indd 122 5/4/2011 11:53:49 AM

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BoF May 2011 PDF