Horizon will add premium semi-casual shirts by 2016

Casual shirts brand Horizon in the market since 2006, plans to introduce a line of semi-casual shirts in premium category by 2016. Also on the agenda is expansion of retail footprint by opening more EBOs, adding MBOs and venturing into untapped states.

The brand, offering a wide range of casual and semi casual shirts, caters to the age group 20 to 50 years. “Competition is stiff, since every player is introducing new and innovative products. It becomes challenging. Brands have same products, same designing, no matter which part of the country they belong to. The only factor that works in favour of the brand is pricing, product quality and service,” says Karim Lalani, Director, Horizon.

Wide range of smart shirts

The company’s product portfolio includes plain denim shirts in different washes, linen, linen prints, indigo checks and cotton prints shirts. Under linen, the brand has four varieties. “Our use of fabrics and designing elements is always higher compared to competitors. We do not do bottoms, want to focus on upper-wear only,” says Lalani.

For the new season, the range has slim fit and spread cut shirts. Spread cuts shirts are worn by the middle age group, while slim fits are popular among youngsters. In fabrics, prints are in demand whether it is cotton print or linen prints. “Prints form 50 per cent of our total product line, plain fabrics other 25 percent and denim and check shirts make for another 25 percent of the range. We are using superior quality prints which are sourced from branded fabrics’ manufacturers. What we have improved upon this year is on our range, which is loaded with varieties in different categories,” informs Lalani.

Retail expansion plans

The company has two EBOS and is planning to add more. And it has about 500 MBOs, the number of which is increasing and it may add 200 to 250 MBOs this year. “We are not in large formats but targeting boutique stores only,” informs Lalani, adding, “We are in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, UP, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Kolkata, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. This year, we plan to enter Assam and will keep adding new states in future.”

The company doesn’t want to try online retailing yet because retailers usually run early discounts that affect MBOs’ business. But it may consider the route in the next couple of years. “Earlier, we would do business only in Mumbai, now we are doing it in seven to eight states. Demand is increasing. Earlier, our target used to be one thousand pieces per month, now we are manufacturing 15,000 pieces per month,” informs Lalani.

The company follows aggressive marketing strategies to beat competition. It also plans to focus on fast production to bring new styles to the shelves in less amount of time. “The shirts segment is good. In 45-60 days trends keep changing. We will keep introducing new products within the period of 60 to 75 days,” says Lalani.