With Madura Garments' brands in its bag, the A.V. Birla group company is gunning for a big share of the readymade market.

By Roshni Jayakar

By any retail yardstick, the 4,000-square feet Planet Fashion in Mumbai's high fashion shopping area at Warden Road is an impressive showcase of Indian Rayon's marketing muscle. The two-week-old outlet stocks about 2,000 trousers and 4,000 shirts in 30 different colours in 17 fabrics, 300 blazers and 1,500 types of ties and socks. On the day it opened, October 23, 2000, Planet Fashion raked in sales of Rs 1.5 lakh.

By any corporate yardstick too, Planet Fashion and its twin sister, Trouser Town, are a formidable measure of the AV Birla group company's intent. For, it was barely in January this year that Indian Rayon-which until then, was a fabric manufacturer-bought six hi-profile Madura Garments brands, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, San Frisco, and Byford. The tab? Rs 187 crore.

The money is proving well spent. In the first half of this financial year, the newly acquired brands fetched Rs 164 crore of Indian Rayon's Rs 698 crore topline. By 2003, their contribution is expected to soar to Rs 500 crore. Not an improbable figure, considering that the Rs 6,000-crore ready-made menswear market is clocking a 15 per cent growth rate every year, with the trousers market alone is clipping along at 40 per cent a year. Says Prakash Nedungadi, President, Madura Garments: ''With changing lifestyles there is a boom in the ready-to-wear market.''

The Retail Push

A big reason why Indian Rayon acquired the Madura Garments brands was its need to move up the value chain. A diversified company, it makes Viscose Filament Yarn (VFY), worsted yarns, synthetic yarn, and flax yarn, besides insulators and carbon black. A review of its portfolio by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) indicated that although textiles was a core business, there was a need to add greater value. Branded apparels, then, were a logical extension of the business. Says Adesh Gupta, Director, Indian Rayon: ''Garments will be the key driver over the next few years.''

Analysts estimate the current size of the trousers market to be Rs 1,500 crore, with readymade trousers accounting for a tenth of this. In this segment, Madura Garments claims a 17 per cent share. To grow its share, the Indian Rayon subsidiary is organising its portfolio in terms of premium brands, mid-price brands, and mass brands. It's not hard to figure out why: each brand-catagory lends itself to a different positioning. For instance, Louis Philippe is considered an upper crust brand, while Van Heusen represents classic corporate wear. Similarly, while Allen Solly has a clear casual wear appeal, Peter England occupies the value-for-money slot and San Frisco that of speciality trousers. Byford, by virtue of being a knitwear brand, complements the customer's wardrobe.

Over the next five months, three more Planet Fashion and ten more Trouser Town stores are to be opened. Some of these will also be set up in countries like Oman, Kuwait, and Sri Lanka, targeting Indians in west Asia. Says Vikram Rao, Group Executive President (Fabric and Apparel), Aditya Birla Group: ''Concepts like Trouser Town play a strategic role in accelerating the market growth.'' The retail strategy is not exclusive to Indian Rayon, though. Raymond's has a strong presence in the formal menswear market with its Park Avenue showrooms. It is now investing in a chain of Raymond superstores.

Four years ago, Ahmedabad-based Arvind Mills also launched its flagship stores called Spectrum, where all its top brands-Arrow, Lee, Flying Machine, Ruggers, and Wrangler-are sold. Says Govind Mirchandani, President, Arvind Brands: ''We do not use multi-brand outlets as we believe that we can build a better brand positioning and image by presenting our entire range through exclusive stores.''

Crowded Marketplace

A booming readymade market has intensified competition. Brands like ColorPlus, Indigo Nation, Provogue, Freelook, and Blackberrys have already acquired high market profile and now are aggressively moving to consolidate their positions. Even Dockers, the world-famous Levi Strauss brand, has entered the fray. Says Sanjay Gangopadhyay, General Manager (Marketing), Levi Strauss (India): ''The urban Indian male is far more aware of international labels and fashion trends and, moreover, is willing to pay for intrinsic brand benefits such as comfort and durability.''

Newer quality-and-comfort benchmarks are putting a premium on product innovation. And Indian Rayon is doing just that to differentiate its brands. In the last six months, the market has seen the launch of Permapress range of 100 per cent cotton wrinkle-free shirts and trousers and Protocol range of pure cotton shirts that are stain resistant from Louis Philippe, 'uncrushables' from Allen Solly, and Durapress and Durafresh from Van Heusen. Madura Garments' Bangalore-based design studio-headed by Stephen King, a British designer-plans to roll out 15 to 20 new designs every fortnight over the next six months. The idea? Keep the portfolio ahead of the competition's and in tune with international fashion trends. Says Nedungadi: ''The only way we can keep pace (with global competition) is through innovation.''

There also are plans to launch sub-brands to create a complete wardrobe. Those could possibly include things like a jacket collection from Louis Philippe, cardigans from Van Heusen, sportswear from Byford, or a denim collection from Peter England. In addition, a women's line could be launched sometime in the future, either by way of in-house product development or through the acquisition of brand. Says Rao: ''An acquisition would be meaningful only if it adds value or fills a gap in a product segment. May be something in a high fashion, high-price segment or women's wear could be looked at.''

An acquisition may or may not happen. But one thing is clear: the Madura Garments brands are likely to help Indian Rayon get a new fit that its other businesses may not fetch on Dalal Street.

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