Khadi : Is the potential realized ?

Brand : Khadi
Company : Khadi and Village Industries ( KVIC)


Brand Analysis Count : # 563

Last day I visited a Khadi Outlet looking for some Khadi cloth to beat the scorching heat wave sweeping across God's Own Country. The interest in Khadi was a result of a miserly search for an alternative to the much expensive linen. The visit had inspired this post because I saw both opportunity and disappointment.

Khadi ( as mentioned in Wikipedia) is an iconic symbol of the independent struggle. The cloth became a movement when Mahatma Gandhi exhorted the nation to boycott British Cotton and embrace the homemade Khadi. 

Khadi again came into limelight when our Prime Minister urged the Indians to support Khadi. As per the reports, there was a surge in the sale of Khadi after the appeal by our PM.

As a marketer, I saw a huge opportunity for Khadi because of the very nature of the product. As per the reports, the cloth has a  unique property of being cool in summer and warm in winter. Further, the product is very rugged and durable. 

The disappointment was the lack of branding and product development for this product. I visited the largest Khadi outlet in Cochin and the lack of product choice and variety was appalling. The colors and choice were limited which shows the lack of investment in product development. This product had the alternative to the expensive linen had it come out with better product choice. 

Regarding the branding front, Khadi was not a trademark or no one thought of protecting Khadi as a brand. It was a generic term for handwoven cotton cloth. This changed in 2014 when a German firm Khadi Naturprodukte registered it as trademark in European Union. 

The Government of India had since challenged this and asked Khadi and Village Industries to register Khadi as a trademark. 

In India too, there is no clear ownership for Khadi. You can buy different types of Khadi products from different vendors. This creates many problems in terms of product quality and consistency.

What the Government needs to do is to take ownership of the Khadi brand and try to encourage more product development in terms of color, clothes etc. KVIC. Khadi can be positioned as an ingredient brand. The firms can be encouraged to develop Khadi based products . At the brand level, KVIC should take ownership of the brand and promote Khadi's image. The unique selling proposition of " Cool in Summer and Warm in Winter " should be exploited.

Khadi is a heritage brand with great potential. Only if the ownership is clearly defined and a concerted effort in branding is done, the potential will not be met. 

Brand Update : Peter England wants you to Be Everything You Love

Peter England that came to India with the promise of an Honest Shirt, has undergone yet another change. This time, the brand has seen a significant change in its personality. From a stiff collar personality, Peter England has become a very youth, adventurous brand. The change in the brand personality is now reflected in the new TVC. Along with the new personality, the brand has also adopted a new tagline " Be Everything You Love ".

Watch the new TVC here: Peter England - Be everything you love

The brand that was launched in 1997 had made a significant positioning change in 2010 when it adopted the tagline " Beginning of Good Things ". The brand had a celebrity endorser at that time. Even then, the brand's personality was that of an affable, honest, serious brand.
In the new avatar, Peter England has become a new person. The new personality reflected by the main actor in the advertisement is young, adventurous and probably irreverent. This is a serious shift from the original brand's persona.
Along these years, the brand has also added more products to its portfolio, including belts, bags and the like. The brand is trying to woo the new young generation and this effort is reflected in the new commercial.
But sadly the theme that the brand has used in the new avatar is used many times by other brands. The interview setting, the older interviewers, and the  smart young hero all looks so cliched and stereotyped. While the move towards new personality is justified, the execution of the new positioning seems to be below average.
It is also to be noted that the young man depicting the brand's personality has not done everything he loves and wishes to do so in the next five years. That prompts me to ask why is he not doing it now ?? 

Parx : Live Easy

Brand : Parx
Company : Raymond's Apparels

Brand Analysis Count :  # 503

Parx - the premium readymade casual wear brand from Raymonds Ltd is in a relaunching mode. This Rs.185 crore brand from Raymonds wants to play an aggressive role in the hyper competitive ready-to-wear category in the Indian market.

Parx was launched in 1999 as a premium ready to wear brand targeting the highly mobile young corporate customer. The brand was targeting the users for their after- office hour dress requirements. Despite the backing from one of India's reputed textile brand and perceived high quality & expertise, Parx did not quite make it to the big league. It was dwarfed by the success of brands like Color Plus ( which was later acquired by Raymonds) and Allen Solly.

The Indian ready-to-wear market is highly lucrative in terms of market size of approximately Rs 24000 crore. The casual wear market is expected to be around Rs 7200 crore.  

Despite the fact that Parx belonged to one of the most respected textile houses , the brand did not quite caught the fancy of the consumer. As a consumer, I found the brand very pricey and failed to give any meaningful justification to the pricing either interms of brand or product features. Over a period of time, the brand also failed to keep itself aspirational due to increasing competition from global brands.

Parx was also laid-back in its branding efforts. The brand owners was not quite clear about the positioning of Parx. Neither the brand had any meaningful positioning. The brand was neglected by Raymonds and most of the promotional investment was given to the flagship brand Raymonds and Park Avenue.The brand was perceived to be just another casual wear brand from a reputed manufacturer. This lack of a clear positioning failed the brand to justify its premium pricing. Having said that, Parx has a good fan following in tier II cities. The brand is pushed back in metros and large cities by the competition. 

The promotions of Parx was also very erratic. I don't remember any work of this brand nor any of its taglines. This lack of proper investment on brand promotion also weakened the brand's position in this highly cluttered market.

In 2011, the brand went in for a relaunch. The brand redesigned its logo and also introduced a brand- symbol  :- a Racing Stag. This symbol will be in all garments from the brand. The brand also launched its first ever television campaign since its birth.

Watch the tvc here; Parx

Parx now has a new tagline " Live Easy ". The brand is focusing on building a personality traits of independence, attitude, casualness, freedom  through these commercials. The use of foreign models aims to bring an aspirational  touch to the brand. The attempt is to brand ladder to the higher attribute of freedom rather than product characteristics.

The new effort is commendable but little too late for a brand like Parx. The positioning idea of Live Easy is nothing new and the same theme is used by various brands across categories. The brand lost precious 12 years in creating a space for itself in the Indian consumer's mind. The brand now needs to tell compelling stories of the brand attributes it is trying to tell. It needs a lot of catching up to do. 

Brand Update : Blackberrys wants to Go Sharp

India's premium textile brand- Blackberrys has been relaunched with a new positioning. The brand which earlier expressed itself as 'Sharp, Smooth and Sure ' now decided to be Sharp. Blackberrys is now running a television campaign with the new positioning.

Watch the new ad here : Blackberrys Go Sharp

The brand has not gone for a major repositioning exercise but has attempted to tweak its positioning and focus on one core brand value. The brand Blackberrys had three brand values which formed its positioning strategy. The key attributes were Sharp, Smooth and Sure ( Intelligent, Classy/Fashionable and Confident). Now the brand decided to focus on one attribute ie Sharpness in the brand communication. The tagline of Blackberrys has been changed to " Go Sharp". 

Having said that , the brand has not fully removed the other attributes. The new campaign also touches on fashion and confidence attribute but the most visible communication is anchored around ' sharpness'. According to a newsreport , the brand owners feel that the earlier positioning is too lengthy for the consumers to understand. Hence there arouse a need for a shorter positioning statement . Hence from the three attributes , the brand decided to chose to Go Sharp. The thinking is very correct because there is no need for a brand to communicate all its brand values through its positioning statement.  The positioning statement would ideally focus on the most important of the brand value ( or attribute). 

The current ad went above my head, and  I found it difficult to decipher the exact meaning conveyed by the brand through this advertisement. Thankfully this report gave lot of insights into the current campaign. As per the report, the protagonist represent the sharpest mind who is chased by the paparazzi .   

" Go Sharp " is a nice tagline and the concept and thinking behind the branding is also good .The ad also aims to be clutter-breaking ( although I couldn't get the idea). The problem now most textile brands face is the clutter. All brands now talk about their protagonists to be the best in the world. Hence Blackberrys ' current pitch will be lost in the sea of celebrities and super-human brand ambassadors. 

Related Brand

Blackberrys 

Otto : The Symbol of Success

Brand : OTTO
Company : Pothys Group

Brand Analysis Count : # 493

Otto is the readymade brand from Pothys Group. Pothys is one of the most reputed textile retail group in South India. The brand Pothys is a known name in Silk sarees and commands tremendous brand equity across South India. 

Otto brand of men's wear started off as a private label has now moved to become a brand ( theoretically). The brand which was available at various retail stores in TN has now moved to other markets as well. Advertisements of this brand has began showing in various media across markets other than its core TamilNadu market. 

What is striking about the current campaign of OTTO is its celebrity driven brand strategy. OTTO although was in the market since 1997 is now upping its ante across various markets this season. The brand has roped in the Tamil Superstar Vikram as the brand ambassador. Print ads featuring the star is now running across Kerala where the shopping season has started coinciding with the Onam festival.

Watch the television campaign here : OTTO shirts

First it is one of those rare instances where a retailer upgrades a private label to a brand and puts that brand through other retail outlets.In that way Pothys deserves to be appreciated for the risk it has taken to build a brand in the hyper competitive readymade market. 

Having said that , the brand had fallen prey to the celebrity endorsement trap where more than anything, celebrity over shadowed the brand. It is true that celebrities like film stars command huge respect and credibility in markets like TN, AP etc and the endorsement by a star like Vikram will take the brand to new heights, in the long run it is not a good strategy for the brand.

The brand seems to be heavily depended on Vikram to deliver results. There is no mention of product features, USP, positioning or differentiation. The brand also did not try to leverage the equity of its parent Pothys. By not addressing these critical brand building basics, OTTO has lost valuable opportunity to build an image for itself that would sustain even after the contract with the celebrity is over. The brand name OTTO is a German term meaning Wealthy. 

The brand has chosen a positioning loosely on being a success symbol. The brand has the tagline  " Symbol of Success " and uses the celebrity as the proof. But given the power of the celebrity, OTTO could have done better if it had a proper brand building strategy aimed at long-term. Ideally the brand should have done these things 

• Identified a strong sustainable USP 
• Positioning statement 
• Endorsement by parent brand Pothys
• Campaign combining product feature + Positioning 

But the current campaign focus on earning short-term brownies riding on the popularity of Vikram.

Ruf N Tuf : Struggling to Survive

Brand : Ruf N Tuf
Company : Arvind Mills

Brand Analysis Count : # 488

Ruf N Tuf  was an innovative brand which virtually revolutionized the Indian jeans market. It was also a brand which ultimately failed to capitalize on the tremendous growth that it created. Born in 1995, Ruf N Tuf was India's first Ready To Stitch jeans brand. Ruf N Tuf along with Newport Jeans virtually made the jeans category penetrate into the semi-urban and rural markets.

During the 90's jeans gained much prominence in the urban markets. Although there were enough room for all the players in the market, Arvind mills felt the need to expand the market by targeting the rural/semi urban market. The strategy was partly driven by the increased competition from the urban market by well known global labels.

Ruf N Tuf was a brilliant idea. The concept was to sell the ready-to-stitch jeans to the consumers who were not accustomed to buying readymade clothes. The ready-to-stitch brand was very affordable and broke the price barrier for this category. Jeans were no longer an aspirational product but became affordable to a larger section of the market.

The idea of ready to stitch jeans caught the attention of the consumers. The brand was highly successful in the initial phase of the lifecycle. Consumers liked the very relevant brand name and the price was the real game changer. For 299 one was able to afford a good quality jeans when the average prices of readymade brands was over Rs 700. The brand had the Bollywood Action Hero Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador for Ruf N Tuf. These tactics made the sales of the brand soar during the initial phase of the brand's life.

The successful run of Ruf N Tuf did not last long. The brand faced significant problems from counterfeits which merely copied the brand elements and fooled the consumers. Ruf N Tuf tried to manage the counterfeits by embossing log on the jeans pocket but these measures found little success.
The brand then began to face another issue which is directly linked with its product performance. The idea behind Ruf N Tuf's business model is that the tailor will stitch the jeans in a way that is comparable with the readymade ones. That assumption proved wrong. Consumers began to feel that the tailors were not able to bring the finishing in a perfect manner compared to readymades. The local brand made use of this weakness by launching low quality jeans with good stitching and competitive price. This strategy of local brands virtually killed the market of Ruf N Tuf.

To counter the onslaught from local readymade brands, Ruf N Tuf reduced the quality of the product and tried to compete on price. That strategy too failed to click in the market. Since the market of Ruf N Tuf was highly price sensitive, the local brands took advantage of the weakness of Ruf N Tuf. The presence of Newport and Ruf N Tuf  started creating problems in the company's product line. These brands began to cannibalize each other despite having different distribution channels.

These issues created huge inventory issues for Arvind Mills during the early 2000 forcing the company to put Ruf N Tuf in the freezer. The brand was on the verge of being killed. In 2004, the company decided to rejuvenate the brand by associating with Big Bazaar. According to the arrangement, the brand will be available only through Big Bazaar. Thus Ruf N Tuf virtually became a private label ( not theoretically ).

The story of Ruf N Tuf provides some insights to the difficult task of marketing. The consumers loved the idea of a ready-to-stitch jeans  and the low price. But they are not ready to compromise on quality and fit. And the business model of Ruf N Tuf had no control on the tailor who made the final product. Hence the brand was not able to control the complete experience to the consumer which ultimately lead to the demise of the brand.

The next question is that if the ordinary shirtings and suitings can thrive then why not Ruf N Tuf ?  I think its because of the points of parity . Ruf N Tuf's point of parity was established with readymade Jeans and not textiles. Hence the consumers expected Ruf N Tuf to be having the same stitching quality as the readymade jeans.Hence the comparison with readymade jeans is inevitable.I think the brand could have carved a better market if it had established parity with denim clothing rather than readymade jeans.
The current strategy of associating with Big Bazaar ensures the survival of the brand. Through the extensive chain of stores, the brand rightly ensures that it reaches its desired TG through Big Bazaar. Big Bazaar offers instant reach to the bargain hunters and price conscious consumers. In that sense, the brand has struck on a workable strategy. Having said that , from a mainstream brand to a private label ( somewhat) it is a fall from grace. The solace is that the brand is still alive.

Brand Update : J Hampstead takes Hrithik as Brand Ambsassador

The premium suit brand J Hampstead from Siyaram has roped in Hrithik Roshan as the new brand ambassador. The new set of commercials are in the pipeline for the brand featuring the new brand ambassador. The brand is still focusing on the celebrity route for brand building. 

J Hamsptead had earlier used the Bollywood Diva Priyanka Chopra to endorse it. The move was different since not many Male brands roped in female celebrities to endorse it. The celebrity endorsement route had worked for the brand in creating certain amount of awareness in the market. The brand is now worth around Rs 50 crore and grew about 20% CAGR in 2010. In 2009-2010, the brand launched its international range of readymades in India.

The entry of Hrithik will add the style quotient for the brand to a large extent. The brand is targeting the upwardly mobile 35 + consumers who look for high quality stylish cloths. The brand's major competitor is the market leader Raymond's. 

The celebrity powered branding works well in creating lot of awareness/visibility to the brand but brands are built on meaningful differentiation. Here J Hampstead is focusing on Quality as the key differentiating attribute. But quality is an attribute that is taken by every other competitor in the market. Along with the celebrity, J Hampstead needs to identify a relevant differentiator if it wants to fight Raymonds. The problem with celebrity endorsement is that it will help get the brand noticed. If the brand wants consumer to remember, message is important. 

Related Brand

J Hampstead

The 

Koutons : 50% + 40% Off

Brand : Koutons
Company : Koutons Retail India Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : # 483

Koutons is a brand story which has gone sour. This 1000 crore corporate brand is now facing the worst period of its existence- facing mounting debt and bad press regarding the financial position and the stock price moving southward. 

Koutons , the brand owned by Koutons Retail India Ltd was born in 1991. The original name of the company was Charlie Creations which was later rechristened as Koutons. Koutons is both the corporate brand and an individual brand . The company has a range of readymades with the brand name Koutons. Along with it , the company also has other brands of clothings like Charlie Outlaw, Le Femme etc. The current post focuses more on the individual brand.

Koutons Retail is a classic entrepreneurial story. The company was founded by Mr. DPS Kohli. Mr Kohli and his family owned a television manufacturing business which was destroyed during a riot. Mr. Kohli  had to suffer huge financial losses from that even and had to work as an insurance surveyor for long . Later he ventured into the retail textile business.

Koutons grew really fast. The company became India's largest retail apparel chain in a span of 10 years . In 2009, the company had around 1400 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBO) making it the largest apparel chain. The company had a turnover of around Rs 1000 crore in 2008-2009.

Koutons was a brand built on a very unique strategy - deep discounting. Deep discounting is a pricing strategy where the brand offers huge  ( often mind-blowing) discounts on an unusually high MRP ( Maximum Retail Price) . So the consumers are attracted towards the product seeing the huge discounts which are actually not a discount ( in pure sense). 

Koutons has a popular discount scheme  known as 50% + 40 % off. So there is a 50% off on the MRP and then another 40% off on the discounted price. So  the consumers obviously are delighted to get a shirt with an MRP of Rs 1500 for as low as Rs 450. Another very successful offer was " Buy 4 garments for the price of One ". Seeing this unbelievable offers , consumers flock into the showrooms and buy what ever that is available .

Along with the deep discounting strategy, the brand also invested some money in the brand building.Koutons has the tagline " The way ahead, always " . It had campaigns featuring foreign models and usually the showrooms are located in upmarket malls thus giving the impression that Koutons are a premium brand.  But frankly no one really knows whether Koutons really sells a shirt for Rs 1500. 

But nobody was complaining because consumers got a feeling to getting a good bargain and that is what matters. So this model worked well for the firm for more that 20 years. As usual, 20 years is pretty long time for consumers to learn the discounting model. The sales started drying up and the cost and inventory started building up. More discounts followed and revenues started sliding. The company landed itself into a financial trouble. ( source).

The brand really was able to tap the " value for money " psyche of the Indian consumer. Indian consumers like a good bargain and for long years, the firm was able to capture profit out of it. But the popularity of other discount outlets of established brands and the quality issues of Koutons paved the way for the downside for the brand. According to some newsreports, the company faced the issue of inventory mis-estimates and huge debts. 

I also have bought the brand believing that I got a good bargain later found that I was a victim of a very clever marketing strategy. Often some students ask me whether Koutons will lose its brand equity if it gives discounts like that, assuming that they sell the product at MRP atleast in some outlets. In the case of Koutons, they sell by these discounts.

In the deep discounting model, the brand is secondary. What matters is the  attractiveness of discounts and high media spents announcing the discounts. It is not the brand that pulls the customers but the perceived bargain. Ofcourse the consumers should feel that the brand is aspirational . So it is a kind of a very risky , clever strategy. Project aspirational image and use discounts to pull the consumer in.

Koutons as a company is in financial trouble and the fate of the brand depends on how the company survives the crisis. The deep discounting model will work in a market like India as long as the firm is able to project the aspirational image. It lacks the glamour of brand-building but may work for short-term. In the long term such deep discounting will eventually kill the brand. 

World Player : Be a World Player

Brand : World Player
Company : Skumars

Brand Analysis Count : # 482

Another brand which has the potential to shake up the readymade market in India- World Player from Skumars is on the national rollout. But the eternal question remains - Can it meet the potential ?

World Player was launched by Skumars in 2010. It took almost one year for this brand to scale up the presence across the states. It is surprising that a national brand like SKumars would take such a long time to scale up the presence of a brand which has so much potential. 

The brand has a huge potential for two reasons :

• It is endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar.
• It is priced very very competitively.

I am not a big fan of celebrity endorsement strategy and I don't believe that all brands endorsed by Sachin have high potential. But for World Player, the presence of Sachin Tendulkar will add tremendous equity . I have a feeling that Sachin will do to World Player what Sunil Gavaskar has done to Dinesh Suitings. 

One of the factors that aid this brand is the pricing. One would expect this brand to be priced anywhere above Rs 1000, but surprisingly  Skumars has decided to price this brand between Rs 100- Rs 500. The brand is targeting youngsters aged 18-35 yrs. This brand is going to be a Mass Prestige brand.

By making pricing affordable, the brand has truly taken the price out of the equation in terms of marketing mix. Now branding and communication will decide the direction for the brand. Skumars should be commented because it didnot outprice the brand eventhough it had a celebrity like Sachin. Skumars has learned that lesson from its brand Tamariind which priced itself out of the market though endorsed by Hrithik Roshan.

By pricing the brand at Rs 100 - 500, the brand has not made itself cheap but affordable. The presence of Sachin Tendulkar will make the brand aspirational . I have seen a hoarding of the brand featuring Sachin and the brand had truly made itself aspirational. 

The brand uses the tagline " Be a World Player " which although a very plain basic tagline, will give creatives lot of space to work with. The tagline connects well with the brand ambassador also.

Skumars recently had lot of success with celebrity driven brand promotion. Be it Belmonte endorsed by SRK or Reid and Taylor endorsed by Big B, The company aims to break into the larger mass market with the cricket maestro Sachin. 

The presence of Sachin will create lot of expectations about the brand interms of the quality and design. The brand have to meet that high expectations which will be an Herculean task at a lower price-point.

The success of the brand will also depend on the brand's advertising strategy ( positioning) , the quality which it can deliver at the lower price points and the distribution. Skumars has a rich history and managing these will not be an issue. 

The only issue is the brand's future after the celebrity. But for now,  I am optimistic that the brand will truly create lot of ripples in the market.

Crocodile : Will It Realize Its Potential ?

Brand : Crocodile

Company : SP Garments ( Crocodile International Pvt Ltd)

Brand Analysis Count : 468

Crocodile is a brand from Singapore based Crocodile International Pvt Ltd ( CIPL) . The brand came to Indian in 1998 as a JV between Shivram Associates and CIPL. Within a span of three years, the brand gained much attention in the Indian market.

Crocodile as a global brand had its origin in 1949 in Singapore . The brand later became very popular across Asia as an affordable fashionwear for men. The brand is also famous for the controversy and long legal battles for the logo with the iconic French brand Lacoste.

Crocodile's brand logo has much resemblance with the logo of the French casual wear brand Lacoste. Both the brands has crocodile as the logo. Although there is some difference in the logo, for a consumer both the logo looks the same. In Lacoste logo, the crocodile is right facing while in Crocodile brand - it is left facing. Both the crocs are in green color and is strikingly similar for a casual observer.This has caused a very long legal battle in markets like Hongkong and China.

Later in 2003, both the brands went for an out of court settlement where Crocodile agreed to make some changes with regard to the logo.

The new Crocodile logo has the tail more vertical, the color of the croc is grey and the croc has scales and bigger eyes.

Controversies apart, the brand had a good initial run in the Indian market. The brand was priced at a premium but the international image , the resemblance with Lacoste and some heavy media campaigns took the brand to a level of high popularity. It is interesting to note that the brand owners had registered for Crocodile trademark as early as 1950s but the brand actually entered the market only in 1998.

The brand initially launched its range of innerwears and I still remember the TVC where girls at a pool party ogles the hunk wearing Crocodile inners and the TVC ends with girls saying " There is a crocodile in your pants ". The brand later added its entire range of casual wears in its promotions.

Another striking branding strategy of Crocodile was its merchandising . The brand had lot of Single Brand Outlet in upmarket malls which increased brand visibility to a large extent. Although the price was at a premium, it was affordable.

Despite these positives, the brand struggled to make profit. In 2006, the brand changed owners and Coimbatore based SP Garments bought the stake of Shivram Associates . Ever since SP Garmets took over, the brand has been on a restructuring exercise. According to news reports, many unviable stores has been closed and the new owners are looking at Company Owned Outlets to promote the brand.

The brand was initially targeting men of the age 30 +. The current strategy is to target much younger consumers from age 20 +. The brand will be positioned as a young fashionwear which is affordable and has an international legacy.

The brand is yet to launch a media campaign and hence cannot comment much on the positioning strategy.

Crocodile brand has lot of positives on its side. The brand has a good recall in the market. The brand name Crocodile has a charm factor in it.The logo similarity with Lacoste is a definite advantage and there is still a gap for an affordable casual wear brand in the Indian market. But one of the mistakes that the International brands do in the Indian market is to price themselves out of the game. Crocodile has a huge potential if it plays the afford-ability game rather than try to cash in on its faded international image.

Crocodile will be an interesting brand to watch for.

Van Heusen : Evolve Yourself

Brand : Van Heusen

Company : Madura Garments ( Aditya Birla Nuvo)

Ad Agency : JWT India

Brand Analysis Count : #467

Van Heusen is one of the largest apparel brand in India. The brand which came to India in 1990 is on the verge of a new growth trajectory. The exciting new path for the brand is built on the rich heritage that this brand carries.

Van Heusen is a truly global brand. The brand has a rich heritage with a history dating back to 1881. The brand journey started in USA in 1881 when Moses Philip and his wife began selling hand-sewed shirts to local miners of Pennsylvania in a push cart. Later Philips and his son moved to Newyork and began selling shirts.

In 1910 John M Van Heusen from Holland found a unique process of fusing cloth on a curve thus created a comfortable self-folding collar. John Van Heusen and Philips' son Seymour Philips met in US and Philips-Van Heusen Company was created. The company also got a patent for the collar in 1919. ( source : Super Brands)

From there, the brand went on to become the largest selling shirt brand in USA. Now Philips-Van Heusen (PVH) which owns the brand worldwide is an apparel giant which owns iconic brands like Arrow, Van Heusen, Tommy Hilfinger and Calvin Klein.

This iconic brand was brought to India by Madura Garments. Madura Garments hold the right to market this brand in India. When Aditya Birla group acquired Madura Garments, the right moved to AB Group.

Van Heusen was a pioneer in the development of executive -wear segment in India. The brand positioned itself as one for the upwardly mobile executives. The brand positioned itself on the platform of Powerful + Fashionable executive formal wear. The brand introduced the concept of " Power Dressing " implying that the brand users are those who occupy the powerful places in the corporate world.

Along with the aspirational positioning , the brand appealed to the consumers by focusing on fashion.Fashion and Formal wear are seemingly opposite attributes and it is difficult to convince consumers that a brand can have these opposite attributes co-exist. Van Heusen was successful in doing that. The best way to impress the fashion conscious consumer is to innovate. Globally Van Heusen is known for its innovation in their clothing. The brand came out with concepts of Ice Touch, Dura Press etc which reinforced the positioning of Van Heusen as a fashionable executive wear.

The brand endorses the core values of modern, fashionable updated, minimalism and timelessness. The brand targets 25-45 year olds who are in the middle-upper class executives who have a penchant for understated fashion.

The brand captured the attention of Indian corporate through is heavy brand promotion and rich heritage. Van Heusen is now a Rs 400 crore brand with strong presence across the country. The brand which initially promoted itself using the tagline " Power Dressing " evolved over a period of time. The tagline was changed to " Power . Evolved " which communicated that the brand user has arrived to a position of power. Now the brand is sporting the tagline " Evolve Everyday". The brand also successfully ventured into women-wear.

The highly competitive Indian executive wear industry has prompted the brand to devise new ways of growth. The brand launched its range of casual wear under the brand VDot and has now roped in Actor John Abraham as the brand ambassador. ( VDot will be dealt in detail in a future post).

The strong point of Van Heusen is its ability to lead the market with its fashionable range. The high quality , never compromising premiumness ( exclusivity) and understated image has contributed a lot to the growth of this brand. The campaigns of Van Heusen (except for the early ones on Power Dressing) were never clutter-breaking but was enough for the discerning customers to patronize the brand.

Brand Update : Peter England is the Beginning of Good Things

It has been almost four years since I updated about this brand. Peter England has always been my favorite brand and it remains so even after all these years. But somehow I missed to update about this wonderful brand for such a long time.

In these four years, Peter England has become a Rs 500 crore brand growing more than 30% annually. In the last IPL season, Peter England hit the branding circuit with a bang by sponsoring Chennai Super Kings. The brand also dabbed into suits as well as casual wear in this time. At one point in time, the brand had a campaign featuring Kareeena Kapoor.

2010 is witnessing another beginning for the brand. The brand has roped in the South Indian Actor Siddharth as brand ambassador and is currently running a campaign featuring the celebrity. Along with the brand ambassador, Peter England is also repositioning itself on a new platform. The brand has changed its tagline to " Beginning of Good Things ".

Watch the new campaign here : Peter England

In their press releases, the brand talks about the new positioning. Peter England wants to epitomize confidence that arises out of self belief. The brand wants to remind the users about their inner strength that will arise of self-confidence and Peter England will be the source of that self confidence.

Although the brand's new proposition sounds good and is a sort of laddering up, I surely miss the first campaign of Peter England - The Honest Shirt . That was a campaign that expressed the brand completely. The promise of a Honest Shirt was embraced by consumers because the message was so simple , direct and relevant.

But how ever, the brand got bored with the positioning and moved over to an aspirational " Honestly Impressive " theme. Although the concept was good, it was no where near the original one interms of relevance and simplicity.

To be frank, I did not like the new tagline -Beginning of Good Things ( personal opinion !) . The positioning almost is similar to Cadbury Dairy Milk's Shubh Aarambh theme ( for an auspicious beginning). And theme of self confidence arising out of dress is neither new nor clutter breaking. Its just another campaign and the brand will see its sales going northward because of the smart selection of the celebrity.

Siddharth will make the brand more appealing to youngsters. The flooding of the market by various regional brands/private labels and the trend among youngsters to go for street fashion rather than branded ones is making the lives of brands like Peter England difficult . The popularity of Siddharth among youngsters will bring back lot of them to the brand.

Peter England as a brand will make sense because of the inherent value proposition. As long as the value proposition remains the same, there is no stopping for this brand.

Related Post

Peter England

Brand Update : Ranbir Kapoor is the New Cool Face of John Players

John Players has a new brand ambassador. The brand chose the current Bollywood hotshot Ranbir Kapoor as the new brand ambassador. Ranbir replaces Hrithik Roshan as the new face of cool. The brand is currently running a print/digital campaign featuring the new brand ambassador.

Hrithik had a tough run last year with most of the films ending up as flops. While Ranbir Kapoor is on a roll these days with plenty of hits and also critical acclaim for his roles. John Players want to cash in on the current success of Ranbir along with the " Cool " looks of the actor.

For a company like ITC which has plenty of cash flowing in to the kitty every year, changing brand ambassadors may not hurt very much. Hrithik and Ranbir are expensive assets and only a firm like ITC can afford to dump stars like Hrithik and opt for the current hotshot within a short span of time.

There is no doubt that Ranbir Kapoor makes an excellent choice for John Players. The actor has the cool looks and attitude and gels with the overall persona of the brand.

I feel that the brand is less aggressive on the promotion front. The brand's noise in the media is very less or rather goes unnoticed. Although some of the campaigns were good, the brand undertook sporadic bursts of campaigns. In that sense, the brand failed to capitalize on the power of the celebrity which endorsed the brand.

The brand is currently relying heavily on celebrity to stay ahead. In a sense, the brand has the tendency to fall into a celebrity trap. For ITC, the cost may not be an issue . But for the brand, it is suicidal to derive equity from an external source. The brand has a wonderful positioning of " Cool " quotient and it should try to like the Coolness to itself rather than rely on a secondary association. Parallel campaigns using other models or dress designs are necessary to derisk the over reliance on a celebrity.

Related Post

John Players

Allen Solly : My World , My Way

Brand : Allen Solly

Company : Madura Garments

Ad Agency : Ogilvy

Brand Analysis Count : # 458

Allen Solly is a brand that changed the dressing habits of Indian executives. Launched in 1993, Allen Solly attained a near cult status in a highly competitive readymade market within a short period of time.

Allen Solly's heritage dates back to 1744 when this brand was created by William Hollins & Co . In 1990, the brand was taken over by Madura Garments which launched it in India in 1993. Madura Garments which was looking for an unconventional brand targeting young professionals found a fitting brand in Allen Solly.

Madura Garments rightly spotted a need for a casual work-wear among the young professionals. The growing young working class and the rise of the IT clan of employees further reinforced the potential of a relaxed formal wear.

Allen Solly entered the market with the blockbuster concept of Friday Dressing. The idea was not new. Globally the there was a marked trend towards relaxed workwear and Allen Solly pioneered that concept in the Indian market.

Allen Solly launched office wears in colored shirts and Khaki trousers which became an instant hit. For the first time, Indian consumers were exposed to the idea of relaxed formals. Indian consumers took the bait and rushed to color coordinate their wardrobe with enthusiasm.

Not stopping by these, Allen Solly further experimented with

unconventional shades like beige and tan. Soon the logo attained cult status among the Indian consumers . Allen Solly was in a way announced the coming of age of the mature global Indian workforce.

In 1995, the brand launched ultra bright colors in the formal segment. Colors like yellow, brown , red etc was introduced as formal wears. The yellow shirt featured in the TV commercial became a big hit among the consumers.

The brand further reinforced its cult status with the launch of wrinkle free cottons and checked formal shirts. The young restless generation lapped up the unconventional formals and used it as an expression of their personal freedom.

From the sales data,the company noticed that there was a huge demand for trousers of size 26-28 from women. Taking a cue, Allen Solly launched its range of women wear which was well accepted by the target group.

The competitors soon caught up with the concept of Friday Dressing. Every brand launched similar ranges and colors and soon relaxed formal wear became part of normal work wear. Allen Solly was valued at Rs 250 crore brand by now.

In 2009, the brand went for a repositioning exercise. Allen Solly found that there is a shift in the demographics of the target segment. While the workforce of 1990s were predominantly of the age group of 26 +, now youngsters of age 22-23 yrs have started entering the workforce. The brand wanted to be more relevant to the new young working class. Also the brand somehow wanted to attract consumers beyond the workplace.The worldview of the young consumers have also changed. Earlier success in life was measured based on work. But now the success is more holistic . Allen Solly wanted to reflect this change of perspective of the young consumers.

This thinking prompted the brand to change its positioning from a work-wear to a fashion brand. The brand positioned itself as a casual brand for all occasions.

To reflect the change in positioning, the brand changed its brand campaigns.In 2009, the brand launched its famous " I Hate Ugly " campaign targeting the youth.

The basic proposition was to reflect the irreverent , non-compromising attitude of youngsters towards life. This in-your- face communication struck a chord with the consumers and critics and the brand was able to break the earlier association of the brand as a formal wear.

The brand created a big noise in the market with I Hate Ugly campaign and it will be interesting to see how the brand carries forward the momentum.

Allen Solly also changed the tagline to " My World , My Way " to reflect the new brand proposition. My World , My Way reflects the strong individualistic view of the youngsters who own their world and create their own rules.

In a way, the brand has completely shed its earlier DNA. No longer the brand is associated with formal wears. The brand literally exited the category of relaxed formal wears which it has created. One reason can be that category itself became irrelevant since all brands have their own line of relaxed formal wear. Brands like Color Plus has successfully established itself in that category .

In the new avatar, Allen Solly is targeting the ever- fickle young generation whose concept of fashion changes by the day. The brand has identified a gap for a premium fashion brand specifically targeting this segment. Although brands like Levi's have a strong equity in the market, there is a gap for a player like Allen Solly.

Allen Solly's repositioning is a loss to the generation who saw the Friday Dressing avatar of this brand. Lets us hope that Allen Solly will repeat what it has done to the Work-wear market in 1993.

Oxemberg : Body Music

Brand : Oxemberg

Company : Siyaram

Brand Analysis Count : 457

Whenever my wife purchases a shirt for me , 80% chances are that the brand will be Oxemberg. Although she knows my brand preferences which does not include this brand, Oxemberg will finally make it into her choice list.

The reason is that she looks for design/patterns and often other brands

fails to impress her.

Oxemberg is one of the pioneers of readymade branding in India. The brand which was launched in 1995 rightly envisioned the trend towards readymade clothing in the Indian market.

The brand has been in existence for more than 15 years and is worth over Rs 80 crore. In this highly cluttered and fragmented market, being existing itself is a big achievement for Oxemberg.

However I wonder whether the brand was able to realize its true potential ? Was it left out in the sidelines by the aggressive competitors ?

Oxemberg is a brand targeting the higher middleclass segment. The brand is priced little higher than the brands like Peter England , John Players etc.

One of the factors that has slowed the brand's growth was the limited distribution and the low brand promotion. The brand is being retailed only through select MBOs and is not highly promoted across the media as compared to the competitors. The lack of brand promotion together with the high price may have caused many customers to opt for value brands like Peter England.

One of the reason for low brand promotion may be because the brand chose to grow very slowly. The brand never went for a high profile national launch but moving slowly from one geographical market to another. Despite being in existence for 15 years, I don't remember any memorable campaign run by this brand through any national media . Despite these constraints, the brand sustained itself all these years.

It seems that Oxemberg is now aiming for a much higher play. The brand is now very visible across the print media with the new campaign featuring the celebrity Niel Nitin Mukesh. The brand has adopted the tagline " Body Music " which contains the brand message : Clothes that Move to my Rhythm.

" Body Music " is a very good tagline and positioning of Oxemberg fits to the body like Music is a remarkable idea. The tagline perfectly conveys the message of " perfect fit " property of the brand . The use of word " Music "also gives a sense of coolness to the brand.

The print ads are well made and catches the attention of the readers very well. It is also nice to see the brand taking the positioning based on "body fit ".

As a brand user, I feel that the real strength of Oxemberg is the design. Its patterns have some quality which is not seen in other brands. Even though the cloth quality may not be the best, Oxemberg scores high in the design which should be highlighted in the marketing communication. The current positioning platform is flexible enough to talk about design also.

It is good to see aggressive marketing activity for Oxemberg at the national level. The brand commands fair share of brand awareness because of its long existence. The new communication thrust will take the brand to the next level of growth.

Turtle : A Little Deeper

Brand : Turtle
Company : Turtle Ltd
Agency : RK Swamy BBDO

Brand Analysis Count : 431

Turtle is an interesting brand story. This is the story of a small brand metamorphosing to a national brand. The brand is from Ladsaria family. The brand was born in 1995 in Kolkatta. The brand is the brain child of Amit Ladsaria who teamed up with his uncle to start a small shirt manufacturing unit with an initial capacity of 20 shirts.

Amit Ladsaria saw a big opportunity in readymade dresses at that time and wanted to cash in on that opportunity. The brand name Turtle was inspired by the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (source)

The brand which started with a capacity of 20 shirts is now a 60 crore brand poised for the big league. In May 2009, Future group took a strategic stake in the company. The backing of this retail giant is set to take Turtle brand to a much higher level.

There are many interesting facets of this brand. Although a small brand, Turtle was very careful in building its brand. The brand has been consistently investing in print and TVCs and the quality of communication was also very good.

Although the brand name was derived from a movie, the brand owners was wise enough to attach a meaning to the brand. Turtle brand is a Turtle lover. The brand has tied up with World Wildlife Fund and The Wildlife Society of Orissa for conservation of rare turtles. The brand contributes an amount for every product they sell. According to reports, the brand has already given more than 18 lakhs to these organizations.

Another interesting feature of this brand is the website . Turtle brand site is one of the best brand sites I have seen in recent times. The brand has been very careful in cultivating a sense of style around itself.

Turtle is targeting the young urban professional. The brand is on the premium side of the price band with the price ranging from Rs 695 - 995.

The brand is being positioned on an emotional platform . The brand persona is a successful goal oriented individual with a softer core. The brand has adopted the tagline " A Little Deeper " to emphasis the different side of the personality. Most of the campaigns are highlighting the soft touch persona of the brand.

Watch the tvc here : Elevator


Although the positioning theme has similarity with Raymond's, the theme offers opportunities to present the brand differently from Raymonds. Although the brand has been consistent in their communication highlighting the emotional positioning, it is necessary for the brand to communicate rational benefits also. This is important when addressing the first-time customers. I would love to see some more information about the quality of fabric and craftmanship in their ads.

Turtle is a strong brand from the East. The brand has slowly but steadily capturing various markets. The strong support from a partner like Future group will increase the brand's reach.
Turtle is a brand with a vision. The brand owners have followed it up with consistent investment and let us hope that the brand will reach its desired destination.

Blackberrys : Sharp,Smooth & Sure

Brand : Blackberrys
Company : Mohan Clothing
Agency : Arms Crestra

Brand Analysis Count :427

This post is not about the ubiquitous Blackberry smartphone but about an Indian textile brand. Blackberrys is a textile brand from Mohan Clothings. The brand just happens to share a common name with the world famous smartphone brand.

Blackberrys is one of India's leading premium textile brand. Blackberrys is known for its range of suits and trouser clothing. The brand was born in 1991 and was a pioneer in bring in fashion oriented suitings in India.

The brand have a strong presence in the North and East India and only since 2007, that the brand has made its presence in the southern states.

The brand was a silent player in the market so far. Most of the promotions were below the line and seldom did the brand ventured into high profile brand building. Even without much advertising, Blackberrys established a significant place in the premium suitings category. The brand which started off as a suits and jacket company is now offering full wardrobe solution to both men and women.

The intense competition in the premium textile category has prompted this brand to invest more in brand building activities. The brand is currently running a TVC across various channels.

Watch the TVC here : Blackberrys

The brand is targeting the upwardly mobile young executives who are looking for a fashion statement in formals. The brand has identified sophistication,confidence, youthfulness and power as its core brand values.
Blackberrys has adopted the tagline " Sharp, Smooth & Sure " to communicate its brand value.
Blackberrys is also a winner of many accolades and awards including the Lycra Image awards 2007 etc.
Although the brand has proved its credentials, the TVC was not able to communicate all those good things about the brand to the audience. I was not exposed to the brand since it is not available in Kerala. From the perspective of a new customer, the ad communicated very less about the brand.
According to the media reports, the brand wanted to convey the values such as style, confidence and easy-going attributes, but the TVC was not engaging enough. The theme was not fresh enough for a consumer to explore further about this brand.
It is for this reason why textile brands will do much better if they concentrate more on print media because they will be able to talk more effectively to the consumer using the print space especially when entering new markets.

Blackberrys is a brand which believes in capturing the market in baby steps. The brand moves to certain market, consolidates and then move on. It is one of the reason why the brand took so long to cover the entire market despite being launched in 1991.
The Indian premium textile market has witnessed a huge shift in the last decade. The premium category has witnessed segmentation with in itself and most of the global brands have reached the Indian shores. It will be interesting to see how brands like Blackberrys will hold up to the competition.

Z3 : Relaxed Luxury

Brand : Z3

Company : Zodiac Clothing

Agency : Draft FCB Ulka

Brand Analysis Count : 418

Z3 is a brand from the house of Zodiac. Z3 is a refreshing brand amongst the plethora of brand extensions that we witness in the Indian brand scenario. Zodiac is one of the most respected premium readymade brands in India. The brand has huge equity and a loyal customer base owing to the excellent craftsmanship and unmatched quality. The brand has a very understated style of promotion and has been able to retain its premium positioning despite clutter in the market.

In the eighties, Zodiac epitomized the premium readymade category but the situation has changed now. The readymade category has changed drastically with the creation of various segments and sub-segments. The Indian menswear market is huge with a size of Rs 40,000 crore. Almost all major fashion labels are in the market right now. Zodiac is very focused in its approach to the market and has been very consistent in its approach toward brand building and promotions.

The Zodiac brand has so far resisted the temptation to go for a volume play. According to a report in Business Standard , this is a brand which is produced against firm orders. I found the fact very very unusual for an Indian brand operating in a tough business environment. The report says that 85% of what the company produces is pre-sold .This is a remarkable achievement by any standards. ( Read the report here).

The market in which Zodiac operates also has witnessed huge shift interms of consumer behavior. The new generation has a very different outlook with regard to fashion. Zodiac has a perception of a very formal brand for the old professionals. It is in this scenario, that Z3 launch becomes relevant.

Z3 is the casual readymade brand from Zodiac Clothing. The brand was launched in 2008. Usually successful brands like Zodiac will have a temptation to extend itself to casual wear. But Zodiac being a smart marketer decided to opt for a new brand rather than extending its formal wear brand to casual wears. Extending a formal wear brand like Zodiac would have easily diluted the positioning of the parent brand.



Z3 is being positioned as a premium casual wear. The brand has the tagline " Relaxed Luxury" which talks about the brand promise. According to a report in moneycontrol , the brand is being differentiated using these qualities :
Handfeel : The brand is promising a luxurious look and feel.
Design
Fabric and
Styling.

Z3 is targeting the new breed of professionals and entrepreneurs who does not have to wear formals to work. Besides this new breed, Z3 will also fill the need of die-hard Zodiac loyals who shopped elsewhere for casual wear.

Like Zodiac, Z3 is also a premium brand. The products are priced between 1599-1699 and aiming those young rich class. (unreachable for poor professors like me !!!).

What I like most about this brand is its communication. Like Zodiac, Z3 is also concentrating on print media. The brand's campaign is cool with a very smart use of space and color . The product is projected in such a way that it creates an urge to purchase. The brand campaigns remind me of the classic print ads run by Color Plus . I think that Z3 is on its way to become another Color Plus.

Related Brand
Zodiac
Color Plus

Print ad source : Afaqs

GenX :Define Your Body, Inspire Your Mind

Brand : GenX
Company : Lux Hosiery Industries
Agency : Prachar


Brand Analysis Count : 408

If you are a regular reader of Economic Times Brand Equity, you will never miss this brand. GenX is a brand from Lux Hosiery which is famous for its Lux brand of innerwears.
GenX is a premium brand from Lux Hosiery. The brand was launched in the mid 2000 .

Although GenX is a premium brand, it is best known for the controversies generated because of their ads. The brand had a television commercial in 2006 which was later banned by the ASCI because it was of bad taste.

I think the brand learned some lessons from that controversies. From 2006 -2008, GenX was little silent. Now the brand is a regular advertiser in select media.

The brand had chosen a very different approach towards advertising ( my opinion). In most of their print ads, there is not much copy and sometimes just a model wearing the innerwear.As a customer, I felt intrigued by the ads and frankly I thought that it was an international brand.

The brand also seems to follow the United Colors of Benetton approach ( minus controversy). I remember the brand using a white and black models in their ads.
When we use less copy in advertisements, the product has to speak for itself. It is a risky strategy where the brand is expected to make the statement . In the case of GenX, the brand stands out and speaks for itself.

GenX is fighting with giants like Jockey and a whole set of extensions of Van Heusen , Color Plus etc. Hence the brand has to create an international appeal to fight with these brands.

I have not seen any ad of GenX in other magazines. I think the brand is limiting its exposure to Brand Equity and the likes. But I like the approach of the brand and the statement it is trying to make.

Arrow Shirts : Now You Know

Brand : Arrow
Company : Arvind Brands
Agency : Rediffussion

Brand Analysis Count : 394

Arrow is one of the leading premium readymade brand in India. This international brand has a rich history dating back to 1851. Globally Arrow brand belongs to Cluett Peabody . In India, the brand is manufactured and marketed by Arvind Brands.

Arrow is predominantly a shirt brand. This American brand was made famous by JFK is a preferred shirt brand of Executives.

Arrow came to India in 1993. The brand which was known for its American heritage was an instant success in India too. In 2000, the brand clocked a turnover of Rs 55 crore fighting for the market with Louis Phillipe and Van Heusen . This premium brand thrived on the International image and Arvind Co nurtured this brand by making the brand exclusive and through restricted availability.

The brand was expensive and had the quality and finish. Arrow was famous for its ultra- formal shirts. Consumers liked to show off the brand and the famous Arrow brand mark near the cuff.The brand used to promote itself using print media.

Arrow had tried to build its brand using its American heritage. The brand had the tagline Authentic American and used foreign (American) models to reinforce the association.

Arrow was popular among the older business class. The company felt that the brand is losing its position among the emerging young turks . In 2008 the company designed to reposition itself to target the youth. The brand adopted a new tagline " When You Know ". The target segment was identified as SEC A male aged 25-35 years. Print campaign highlighting the new positioning were released across the market.

Arrow offlate has been a laidback marketer. I havn't seen any ad of this brand for years. Or may be no ads of this brand has caught my eye. This is the problem with brands which have an established position in the market. Since there is a huge equity and awareness, these brands feel that there is no need to promote. Zodiac , Color Plus ,Park Avenue and Louis Phillippe has been consistently investing in brand promotions but not Arrow.

Arrow had established itself in the market not because of its campaigns but because of the quality,premiumness and exclusivity. The question is whether the brand still retains those value elements in the mind of the consumer. With readymade brands entering the market in dozens,no brand can rest on its laurels. Atleast for now....