8888 l l ENTREPRENEURENTREPRENEUR l l JJUULY 2019LY 2019
Fashion
The collection has
customization in colours,
fitting and designs. Parag
Dani, India Business Head,
Arvind Lifestyle Brands,
maintained that the range
was developed based on
the inputs given by its
customers. “While GAP
has democratic products
throughout the world, some
minor tweaks have been
made for the select India
range on an experimental
basis,” he says.Fast Forward
While the industry has
started taking an increased
interest in the upcountry
locations, an effective
customer acquisition
strategy is the key moving
forward. Jain of Madame
agrees, “We are making
the latest trends available
to the shoppers in these
areas at really sharp prices.
We understand that the
spending power is lesser
than the metros, but the
desire to own fashion is
probably higher. Even as
the brand works under a
standard parameter for all
its markets, we do customise
few options, specifically for
the Tier II and Tier III stores.
The average ticket size for us
in these areas is about 12 per
cent lower than the metros.”
Not only effective price
points, customers in Tier II
and beyond areas look for
better shopping experience
and amenities at retail
outlets. “We try to place
ourselves in convenient
location and give them
an experience, which is
modern, equipped with all
the amenities and assistance
as required. We also
customise a lot of products
in accordance with the
local taste and need of the
market,” informs Aiyer.same. However, in cities such
as Chandigarh, Ahmedabad,
Jaipur and Udaipur, luxury
retail spend share increased
from 9 per cent to 59 per cent
between 2013-2018.
Bipan Jain, Managing
Director, Madame, points out,
“People in small towns are
now changing from a simpler/
conservative lifestyle to a
bit flaunty one, which makes
them a strong customer base
for a brand like ours. We see
immense potential in these
markets and around 35-40
per cent of growth is coming
from Tier II and beyond
areas.”
Hence, luxury brands
like H&M, Madame, 109°F,
Arrow, GAP and VOI Jeansare penetrating upcountry
markets enormously. H&M,
which operates over 41 stores
in India, has equal focus on
Tier II cities.
Setting eyes beyond metros,
brands like VOI Jeans are
turning to Tier II and III
cities to leverage on lower
operational costs and higher
profitability. According to the
UK-based denim maker, which
is aiming to double its revenue
to reach Rs 100 crore by 2021,
retail stores in metros face
major challenge from high
operational costs, and not
high competition. “On the
contrary, upcountry markets
offer cost-effective rentals
coupled with demand for high
fashion. This results in longerviability of the stores,” says
Vimal Kumar Kamnani, CEO,
VOI Jeans India.
Global brand familiarity
among customers even in
smaller cities is very high,
Ahmed of Tablez adds. The
brand, a subsidiary of Lulu
Group, currently operates over
60 outlets across the globe
and has the master franchise
for Springfield, Women’s
Secret and Yoyoso. In fact,
identifying the importance
of the customer base in the
upcountry market, Arvind
Lifestyle Brands, the master
franchisee of GAP Inc., rolled
out a range of ‘Make for
India’ products exclusively
customized for the local
shoppers.CUSTOMERS IN INDIA ARE VASTLY
EXPOSED TO INTERNATIONAL
FASHION BRANDS, WHICH MAKES
INDIA ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
MARKETS FOR GLOBAL BRANDS”
ADEEB AHMED, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TABLEZ INDIA