Black Panther expands retail horizon with EBOs, MBOs, LFS

Established in 1984, Black Panther has branched out from being just a socks brand to a key player in sportswear category. Essentially, a refill brand, they rarely launch a new collection, except during winters. But this too is limited to sweatshirts. “We work on basic styling, which runs throughout the year,” says Sakshi Juneja, Marketing Manager. “In new offerings, we added new styles in our swimwear range, which are prints, primarily in the ladies and girls category. We also added long jersey shorts for basket-ball,” she informs.

Increasing retail footprint

While the brand has made its presence in sportswear, Juneja says that in future, they may enter the footwear market as well. “This is because this is the only category in sportswear we have not stepped into.” Moreover, between men’s and women’s categories, it’s the menswear category that is growing more. “The reason being women are more conscious about their budget and where they shop. Many products in men’s wear have become unisex. Overall in sportswear men’s segment is the leader,” Juneja informs.

Black Panther is retailed through hyper-markets and displays their premium range at Globus, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Central, etc. It is also present at Megamarts, Hypercity etc. Online it’s retailed through Flipkart, Amazon, etc. The brand has eight EBO’s and may add two-three more by the end of year. Pan India, it is present in 3,000 MBO’s and the focus is more on LFS and MBO’s.

Juneja sees great scope in smaller towns and says that there are hardly any challenges they face. “The concept of fitness is growing and starts from schools these days,” Juneja opines. The brand has a huge production capacity viz. eight manufacturing units, four in Daman and four in Mumbai churning out 50,000 pieces a month.

Currently, the brand serves men, women and boys. “The target age group in boys and men’s category is 5-30 years. We offer complete range of sportswear from track pants, shorts, three-fourths, T-shirts, sleeveless T-shirts to gym wear and compression wear. For women, we offer T-shirts, track pants, capris and sweatshirts. There is a swimwear collection for boys, girls, men and women. Thus, we are into fitness gear and like to be associated with it,” she elaborates.

They do not introduce a new range, but keep adding to existing product line. This year, the brand has worked on swimwear and included elements like prints, based on a high demand for swimwear last year. They also added long shorts or Jamaican shorts to men’s category. The brand works with a big range of fabrics such as regular knitted in cotton, cotton polyester, woven fabrics, parachute material, performance fabrics and compression fabrics.

Sportswear demand sparks growth

Juneja says demand in sportswear is rising. “There are many brands now who keep introducing new trends, fabrics, styles and technologies. They help to stay updated, which is good for us. And luckily, there is room for everyone to grow,” she says. Growth was always there she believes, the only difference now is that there are international players to compete with. “Surprisingly, we have always done better with competition because people see the difference in pricing, style, quality, etc.” She feels comparison gives an edge to both, domestic and international players. “In the end, the consumers benefit. As for our close competitors, we consider Adidas as one because Puma is more of a street-wear brand and moving more towards casual sportswear,” she opines. In the last three years though, Black Panther’s growth rate has been around 15 to 20 per cent.