Moustache to focus on ‘M’ brand for women

Men’s wear brand Moustache, has decided increase focus on ‘M’ brand, the women’s wear label under its umbrella. “M brand is a separate identity and now we will focus a lot more on M. The women’s market is very big and we are among the top three women’s wear brands in Lulus. We do denims for women in M brand,” explains Pratik Agarwal, Director, Moustache International.

In the business since 1984, the company focused around development and supply to dealers’ network. In 1994, it opened its first store in Kolkata, followed by an entry into large format stores like Pantaloons and Shoppers Stop.

Establishing ‘M’ for women

The company has forayed into the southern market by launching ‘M’ in Cochin and aims to open more brand stores. “We sell about 1,000 denim pieces every month. At Lulus fashion store, we have a shop-in-shop as well as a separate EBO of M. Lulus is similar to DLF Promenade in Delhi or Palladium in Mumbai. In Palladium, there is a Palladium fashion store and there are Palladium vanilla stores. We are present in Lulus fashion store and also have an individual store,” explains Agarwal, elaborating on the brand’s retail presence.

Though M is a pure denim brand, it has added more lines like women’s tops, shirts and cotton pants. There are separate counters for M brand at Moustache EBOs. On the need to maintain affordable price points, Agarwal says, “Women shop for denim every month but they won’t pay Rs 2,000 or Rs 4,000 for a pair. They are price sensitive but want fashionable products. We give a price sensitive fashion product so that we can keep selling.”

Future plans for Moustache

Moustache is a prominent brand in East India, where it is present in almost all big MBOs. “We are in Bihar, Bengal, Kolkata, Orissa and the Northeast. We have different inventories for MBOs, EBOs and large formats. We prefer Moustache to remain a regional brand. That helps us dominate the area. In the East, we are opening Moustache stores in the most obscure of places. We are in Kachua, Bardwan, Chandannagar, four stores in Asansol, five stores in Siliguri. These places have growth potential. Out of 54 stores, 52 are profitable now,” avers Agarwal.

The brand has a presence in the Middle East through 118 Lulus stores. “We have had a tie up with Lulus for 25 years and are among the oldest denim brands with them. We sell 20,000 denims a month with Lulus. We are also in the US. Exports are 40 percent of our Rs 80 crores turnover. Next year, we are looking at achieving a target of Rs 100 crores,” opines Agarwal.

The brand is also available on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal apart from its own e-commerce portal. The company is witnessing a good part of revenue being driven from eretail. “We are looking at reporting online revenue of about Rs 4 crore,” sums up Agarwal.