OK’s Boys ready to launch WWE merchandise in India

After bagging the license to manufacture and retail WWE branded products in India, junior wear brand OK’s Boys is all set to tap the rising consumer base for WWE fans in India. Elaborating on their plans for WWE licensed products, Amit Bhayani, director of Seema Enterprises, manufacturer and retailer of brand OK’s Boys says, “WWE is a 750 million dollar (over Rs 4,700 crores) company. We will earn a percentage share by manufacturing and retailing the licensed product in India. We have the rights to the characters printed on the kids’ apparels sold in the country. We are working with international designers on these garments. The quality check is done by them. For this line, we will have a dedicated factory in Gujarat. We will launch the product by Autumn/Winter 2015.

Bhayani says, one problem licensed brands face in the market is piracy. There are a lot of pirated WWE products being sold in India. However, now WWE has opened an office to counter this. It has a legal team. They shut down two stores in Pune that were operating under the name. OK’s Boys plans to ink more such license deals in future to bring variety of products for Indian kids.

WWE range to woo kids

The company will now focus on WWE merchandise. As Bhayani points out, it has got the highest brand following in India. It has 3.2 million likes on Facebook and India has the most likes on that page. Indian children are crazy about WWE stars. They want to buy these T-shirts but are not available in India. “Now we have the license for India will sell the whole apparel line. We will make and sell in India. We are targeting two to fourteen year olds with this range. We will have everything on the T-shirts, you see on TV, from Royal Randhawa, Ladder Challenges to Smackdown,” he informs.

Bhayani points out that today’s children decide what they want to wear. “Children especially from the upper middle class don’t follow their parents’ advice. They buy what they like. And we target such independent minded children. We design for children and not for parents. We are on social media and promote our products; take inputs from children and do market surveys. While purchasing, boys are influenced by their role models. And we keep this in mind.”

The brand retails shirts under six categories: Club wear, which uses party wear fabrics; denim, for which fabric is sourced from outside India; two categories in prints which are on denim and on satin. Last two categories include yarn dyed checks and plains. “We also have night suits for children. We have a special night pant. It’s funky, has its own style statement. We believe in giving a different product and have lots of silhouettes, cuts, bottoms, colours, plackets, necks. We customize every single button,” avers Bhayani.

MBO expansion on cards for WWE

The company plans to target MBOs and large formats like Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle with WWE range. “WWE may even have their own stores, the way they have in the UK, Dubai and China. WWE will decide on EBOs. But an EBO opened by WWE will have apparel, toys, games and stationery. We will be a supplier for the store. The fan following of WWE comes from small towns and Tier II, III cities. There would be no clash between WWE merchandise and OK’s Boys because WWE has its own fan following. OK’s is a designer product at an affordable price, whereas WWE is a character product. We hope WWE will be a major brand in MBOs and large formats as well as e-commerce,” says Bhayani.

OK’s Boys is with 700 MBOs in India. The plan is to enter Punjab, Haryana and the Northeast. “We do good business in Mumbai, Gujarat and south India. We add 15 percent MBOs a year. By 2016, we will have our own EBOs. We will certainly have one in Mumbai. We are also online with all major web platforms. We have six factories. Some are in Gujarat, some in Mumbai. The brand makes 18,000 shirts, 6,000 tees and 7,000 bottoms a month.”