109°F: Hot fashion for women young at heart

Brand 109°F represents hot fashion that the company offers. Part of the Creative Garments Group, Rahul Mehta, Managing Director of the brand says that F stands for not only Fahrenheit but also for fashion, flirty and female. “So ‘F’ denotes a lot of attributes our women consumers have. And our new ad campaign is about putting that ‘F’ back in fashion,” he explains.

Innovations in winter wear

Brand 109°F’s western wear line includes denim, tops, dresses, bottoms, pants, skirts, tunics and some unique shirt styles also offers basic five pocket jeans with many washes. “This season, we are looking at boot-cuts,” says Mehta, adding, “We have winter wear like sweaters and jackets. Maxis will dominate the Autumn/Winter range this year. There are a lot of floral prints. We will have slightly flared bottoms with slightly conservative boot length.”

Winter colours are slightly muted and dark at 109°F. “Colours are sophisticated like fawn, grey. But Indian consumers want bright colours irrespective of the season. So we will have a fair sprinkling of bright colours too. We have used wovens as well as knit fabrics and natural fabrics like linen. We also use polyester based fabrics and a wide range of fabrics like dobbies, structures and solids. During winter, emphasis is more on manmade fiber,” explains Mehta. The brand targets women between 25 to 35 years of age.

EBO expansion on the cards

Available across the country, the brand is now aiming for 25 to 30 percent growth per annum. As of now, major portion of the business (55 to 60 percent) comes from large formats followed by 37 EBOs and MBOs. “By 2017 end, we may have 75 EBOs, which will play a big role for us in future. We are also planning an exclusive line for MBOs. We will have a different brand for online sales. Online should give us 10 percent sales in the next few years,” he adds.

While metros are the main market for brands like 109°F, small cities are fast growing in importance and expansion is targeted at these markets as well. “We are doing equally in EBOs, large formats and online. MBOs are facing a bit of a challenge. But it’s not so much about a channel. It’s about what works for a brand,” informs Mehta. Talking about the online medium, he further says, “Brands are on sale online at 70 percent discount but that may be last season’s merchandise. Sometimes the whole promotion may be a fake. The consumer may be told that something for Rs 700 is sold at Rs 300. But when he gets the product he sees the MRP itself is Rs 300. So where is the discount? But still e-commerce is here to stay.”