Newbie menswear brand Burnt Umber plans big growth

For a relatively new brand which specializes in menswear, Mumbai-based Burnt Umber is already present in 14-15 states across India. Around 48-50 MBOs retails the brand which was founded in 2011. Now, Burnt Umber would like to spread out to eastern India where it is not present. But before that, Burnt Umber plans to double its production capacity by next year from its present 1,000 pieces per day. Its manufacturing unit is in Chennai.

Discounts don’t really work

Most online platforms today offer discounts but Burnt Umber doesn’t believe in offering discounts just for the sake of it. For a brand that offers good quality product, they prefer to sell them at a price that they deserve, and not by offering 50-60 per cent off. But as they are in the market, they have to play by the rules. So, they try to have a certain part of the product line on sale and not all of it. “The CMAI has been approached to limit discounting. India can take a leaf out of Dubai where they have specific sale dates. But for something like that to work in India, necessary steps have to be taken by the authorities and every player has to be included,” opines Kush Bhatia, Director, Burnt Umber .

Bhatia, who has a degree in mechanical engineering, has strong views on discounting practice being followed by retailers. He says, “When a brand puts up the price, definitely it considers all the effort behind it. But selling the same product at discount implies devaluing the effort which has been invested in it. And honestly, I don’t feel comfortable doing that. It is just like disrespecting the time and effort of everybody involved. Only when there is no sale of a certain product, may be then discounting would be okay but otherwise it doesn’t make sense to me.”

Prints are the way to go

Summer 2016 is definitely the season for prints in shirts. Burnt Umber has prints and solids for the season. Varied kinds of fabric based on quality, thickness and touch has been used. Indigo, light, floral and micro-dot prints have been used. The brand also has a collection of checks as well as a variety of prints on cotton, 100 per cent linen and other fabrics. There are more than 40 shades in linen and 15 in cotton. Almost all their clothes have a minimal look. The brand does T-shirts in solid and not prints. As many as 40 colours are available in five different styles. The print collection is changed every 10 days. As Bhatia says, “The aim of a brand should be to excite the customers. Every time they come you ideally should have different options to offer. We don’t cater to the needs of the people, instead to their greed.”