Chemistry plans a sub-brand for MBOs and LFS

Women’s western wear label Chemistry from Esjay International is expecting 30 to 35 percent growth in their domestic market this year and 50 to 60 percent, next year. The company’s business is divided equally between the domestic and exports market. “But we want to do more of domestic. I think our domestic sales will overtake export sales by March 2015,” explains Sunil Jhangiani, Chairman & Managing Director, Esjay International.

The company is now planning to expand its product categories to include a sub-brand under Chemistry for girls aged 7 to 14 years. “We are also launching a value line. That would be our first step into the mass market. The value line would use the same aesthetic of Chemistry, same type of fabrics with simpler silhouettes, at more affordable prices,” says Jhangiani.

Sub-brand planned under Chemistry

The new brand to be launched under the Chemistry will be in cohesion with the mother brand. The company will maintain the look and feel of Chemistry. For the value line, it will consider retailing through MBOs, and distribution channels. “We want the brand to be with large formats and with some quality MBOs that would not devalue even a value brand. So, we’d prefer online and some MBOs that have the aesthetics and ability to draw customers. I think a value line could go into these formats,” avers Jhangiani.

Elaborating on the product range of Chemistry, Clayton Miranda, Chief Merchandising Officer says, “We are a pure western wear brand. The portfolio consists of tops, shirts, dresses, denims, jump suits, skirts and bottoms. In tops, we have different fabrications, lengths, embellished tees, basic tees, wovens, blouses, inners. Shirts have a lot of styling. We do crop lengths and skinny denims. We have denim jeggings. In denims we will also introduce denim shirts and denim tops with embroidery. We introduced jump suits six seasons back. We adapt international trends to the Indian woman. We present global fashion.”

Tops and shirts are 40 percent of the brand’s range. Dresses, denims and bottoms are 20 percent each and jump suits as well as skirts are 5 percent. The company now also plans to introduce separate lines for various parts of the country. Jhangiani claims that market acceptance of Chemistry will continue to grow because the brand is slightly ahead of the curve. “We use richer fabrics in terms of flow and drape. It has a Parisian and European high street kind of look. We think customers in smaller towns will want better aesthetics from their clothes and brand. And that’s where we see an opportunity for Chemistry to grow,” he adds.

Expanding horizon through hybrid retail

Chemistry has 42 EBOs. Of these five are franchised and the rest are company owned. “We are at Central and Pantaloons and have five or six MBOs. We are online on sites like Amazon. We are shifting our focus to Tier II, III cities while expanding in metros. In Mumbai we have nine or ten stores. Chennai has two or three stores. Bangalore has seven stores. In Delhi we have three stores. We will increase our presence in all these metros,” says Miranda.

Jhangiani says they are working on an online and offline strategy so they don’t cut each other. “We can grow in a harmonious manner and keep all types of retailers happy,” he informs. The company has three production facilities in India and has the capacity to produce 3,00,000 units a month.