Being Human eyes prospects in small towns

Being Human Clothing, the brand by Bollywood’s super star Salman Khan’s Being Human Foundation and manufactured and retailed by Mandhana Industries, will launch a range of sports and street inspired tees for winter. Being Human positions itself as a fashion forward brand driven by latest international trends. Part of the sales of Being Human Clothing is contributed for a noble cause providing healthcare and education to the underprivileged.

“For us demand is largely driven by consumers asking for more options and styles in innovative fabrics and designs. Change is driven by increasing awareness about fashion and trends among consumers, who are largely young and tech savvy,” says Saurabh Singh (Design Head). The company while concentrating on opening stores in India and overseas is also preparing to launch its new winter collection.

Preppy line for winter

The brand offers a wide product portfolio under the knitwear category that accounts for about 40 per cent of its topline. The portfolio consists of T-shirts, long-sleeve and short-sleeve polos, jumpers, hoodies, shorts, joggers and jackets. “In coming winter, we will launch a range of sports and street inspired collection of T-shirts in long line silhouettes, ultra-trendy joggers and jackets along with jumpers and hoodies. The colour pallet for this line is largely monochrome with black and whites ruling the offerings.

Focus on EBOs and overseas expansion

As of 2015, Being Human Clothing has 33 EBOs and 180 shop-in-shops. The brand is also available on leading ecommerce websites such as Myntra, Jabong, Flipkart, Koovs, Amazon and Snapdeal. It also retails through online partners in Europe, Middle East and South Africa.

While ecommerce has opened up growth opportunities for brands, Singh feels, “The main challenge lies in not being able to connect online brand store with consumers emotionally, which is possible through a physical retail format.” The company plans to expand its overseas presence in countries like Sri Lanka and United Kingdom. “We plan to increase our reach to 60 EBOs and 200 shop-in-shops across India, by this year-end. We aim to reach the deep pockets of India and will soon be opening our EBOs in Lucknow, Jaipur, Vapi, Rajkot, Jalandhar and Jammu besides other metros. Nearly 20 new franchisee stores will be opened across the country by end 2015 as a part of expansion plans,” informs Singh.

The company is growing at 50-60 percent CAGR and is targeting Rs 300 crores in sales for the fiscal year 2015-16.