At Celio, indigo is the flavour of the season

Men’s semi-casual or smart casual segment is seeing good growth with rising demand and the coming in of global brands. And as Rajiv Nair, CEO, Celio points out “Indian customers today are brand focussed and the entry of global fashion brands has changed the scenario.” International brands with large stores sometimes spread over 20,000 square feet inside malls offer men’s wear, children’s wear et al under one roof. Buyers do not have to visit multiple brand stores for their needs as they get everything under one roof.

Changing consumer tastes

Moreover, clothing is not restricted to just seasons anymore. Denims, T-shirts, etc, can be bought at any time of the year. However, Indian consumers think before spending money. “There are more window shoppers than buyers and very few people who enter malls actually purchase. At the same time, people are changing their wardrobes more often today,” opines Nair. Also, it is no more about casuals or formals, its more about lifestyle and what’s available abroad is available in India at the same time.

This time, indigo is the flavour of the season at Celio, says Nair. “Indigo doesn’t mean only jeans alone, it includes indigo dyed polos, T-shirts, denim shirts, pants and accessories. Linen shirts have a washed look,” Nair explains. Celio has sweat shirts with a denim look. “We have denim that looks like knit but is a woven fabric. It looks different from pure play denim,” he explains.

Nair also believes that the divide between formal and casuals is blurring and it is more about fits and technique than fabric. “Even rugged heavy chino looks good. Great washes or pocket details can be done on that. In Celio, we have an asterisk that represents innovation. There are limits to fabric innovation we have to create styles and looks,” explains Nair. “This season it is 100 per cent indigos in T-shirts. We are doing indigo dyed T-shirts that will fade like denim and look like it. There are construction details in these products. We have textures in polos. This year it is a combination of prints. You have polka dotted T-shirts. It is done on an indigo dyed fabric. There are special washes,” Nair explains.

Celio’s retail detail

Celio has 41 stores and the brand prefers malls to high-streets. Celio’s range is 70 per cent top wear and 30 per cent bottom wear and in bottom wear it has 10 per cent denim. Bermudas are in demand as are cargos and chinos. “Chinos are a good performing category growing at 15 per cent a year. Pants as a category is growing at 30 to 40 per cent. We made our denim slimmer and Lycra-oriented. We also sell regular and straight fits, but our best selling style is slim fit. We have super-stretch, faux denim, which is more woven and looks like knit. It is on the lines of jog denim,” explains Nair.

Internationally, Celio has Club stores that offer formal, evening wear. This concept is non-existent in India. The brand’s retail landscape is strong. “MBOs are a new channel for us and we choose the bigger MBOs. We want an average 1,200 to 1,500 square feet sized store We have a few stores in Indore, Bhopal, interiors of Maharashtra,” says Nair.

Online retail gives access to consumers from all parts of the country. “For us, e-tailing is an opportunity and right now it’s largely dependent on discounting. We don’t offer discount on current season’s merchandise. However, we offer 40 to 50 per cent discount on three seasons’ inventory. For us, e-tailing is 14 per cent of the business. Online should ideally be a medium to sell beautiful fashion and great merchandise with no discounts,” Nair opines.

Summing up, Nair says, “The biggest opportunity in casual wear is the mindset of the consumer. Consumers are buying looks. Now information about style and fashion can be communicated through multiple routes and online is one such route we use.”