Duke aiming for 30 per cent growth in coming season

Duke, the premium homegrown brand for shirts, T-shirts and casual wear, has kept up a good growth rate and now expects 30 per cent growth in coming season. It may be recalled that Duke has stepped into the footwear segment recently with ‘Step Ahead’, a range of premium lifestyle footwear. After being in the garments industry for so long, Duke can now boast of a wide range of footwear that is international in design and contemporary in look. The range comprises casual shoes, sports shoes, loafers, joggers, running shoes, smart casuals, sneakers, moccasins, sandals, flip flops and so on.

Clean lines, vibrant hues for shirts

Every season, Duke reinvents the style statement for shirts. This season, the look is clean, chic and vibrant, aimed for an audience that has little patience for anything. Shirt lengths have increased for the youth. The fabric used this time is mostly customised such as bonded fabric, space dyed knits and innovative blends. The silhouettes and design are clear lines and well thought out. Most refined weaves have been used to create a look that appeals to the urban, young, stylish and classy Indians. Duke continues to make a variety of clothes such as T-shirts, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, tracksuits, thermals, jogging suits, shirts, trousers, lowers, bermudas, shorts, value packs, lounge wears, accessories etc for men, women and kids. However, it’s their shirts which sell the most. The premium shirt market is 25 per cent, mid-priced 50 per cent, economy 25 per cent while popular shirts fit in between the mid-sized and economy segments.

Large network helps to grow

Duke has an unbeatable marketing network comprising over 4,000 multi-brand outlets and over 360 exclusive stores across major cities in India. Products are also exclusively placed at large stores like Central, Reliance Trends, Reliance Market, Arvind Retail, Easy Day, Metro, Aditya Birla Retail, Hyper City, Spencer’s and so on. Online Duke’s products are available on Myntra, Snapdeal, Jabong, Flipkart, Amazon and its own site.

Duke continues to make products that are value for money, this has helped it to create a loyal following of customers who will settle for nothing else. The company targets rural markets and unexplored rural areas because these places have a huge market potential that is untapped. The company wants to expand further in active wear, thermal wear and winter wear.

Komal Kumar Jain, Chairman of Duke Shirts, says, “Every design that we create, every contract that we accept, we execute it with the strictest regulation. There is no impractical designs, no cutting corners, no compromising on quality for our valued customers. Customer satisfaction begins at our drawing board. Every design is created with the need of customers foremost in our mind – we consider how they will fit our designs around their lifestyle. Business strategy, vision and innovation are the principal pillars on which our forward-thinking corporate policy is founded.”