B:Kind to launch EBO and ethnic wear brand Tifya

With plans to open its own exclusive outlets, women’s western wear brand, B:Kind Clothing, is working on its mission of becoming a cult label. The company is contemplating an ethnic wear brand called Tifya to complete its wardrobe offerings for women.

“We don’t want B:Kind to be a fast fashion brand. We want repeat buying whether online or offline. Once we open EBOs we can portray the brand appropriately. We are coming up with a brand called Tifya. It will be women’s ethnic premium wear label,” says Vidhi Shah, Creative Director of B:Kind Clothing.

Tifya launch planned for January

The company is all set to unveil its premium ethnic wear offering Tifya during the CMAI apparel fair in January 2015. “We will begin with tunics. The price will begin from Rs 2,500. We won’t go through the same MBOs for this new collection but plan to target a different set of stores,” informs Shah.

She believes customers in Tier II, III cities need to be educated on the fact that western wear like a pair of jeans and a shirt can be worn at work or when you are meeting friends. “That’s why we started B Kind. Initially, we took the route of semi formal tunics, which are neither western nor entirely Indian. This was to get the customer acquainted with wearing them with denim or leggings and show people western wear can be as comfortable as Indian wear. We have made our mark pan India with the same idea. We started with an Indo-western touch and then went western. About 25 percent of our range has the western edge,” adds Shah.

About 25 percent of the product is purely western wear and 50 percent of the range is what customers want. Western wear sales in the south can’t compete with ethnic sales. “But even there B Kind is among the top selling brands. That shows women are shifting to western wear. Young people are wearing one piece dungarees. So for the last three years there has been a change. Earlier, we faced a challenge in the south because there was no western wear category in stores. But now retailers are giving us shelf space,” avers Shah.

B Kind started with a woven range of tunics and T-shirts and shirts and then added jackets, shorts, woven pants and denims. “We source fabrics and raw materials from India. Some accessories we import. We outsource about 65 percent of our merchandise. We have a factory of ours, where we can produce 20,000 pieces a month,” Shah says.

EBO expansion for B:Kind

By summer 2015, the company plans to open own EBOs. It has 350 MBOs in India like Soch, Meena Bazaar and Chennai Silks. These are mainly family stores. “We are trying to get into MBOs in Tier III cities and into large formats too. We are doing well in Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai. What gives us satisfaction is that we are doing well in the south and Punjab and places that are slightly conservative. The east is the only market where we need to work harder. The reason is that western wear is easily available in the east. So we have to adjust our price points. We are trying to get into Rajasthan as well,” explains Shah.

The range is also available online. She feels online retail is growing at the moment but it hasn’t hit the garment industry as much because their concentration is on products like household items or electronics. “But even a jacket or coat sells in the summer for us. It’s not seasonal. Offline is very season oriented. That’s the reason online can afford to have discounts. You are selling a winter product in summer. They have that advantage because they are not holding any inventory. So a lot of discount models work online,” adds Shah.