Park Avenue stays on top with its formal wear offerings

With double-digit growth, and aiming to be among top two men’s wear brands, Park Avenue offers complete wardrobe solutions. Its designs are youthful, edgy, innovative and best suited for young professionals. Talking about upcoming fashion trends, Mridumesh Rai, Brand Director, Park Avenue, says, “We are strong in men’s formals like shirts, trousers, suits, jackets. Our shirts are about fashion formals. It’s about taking a formal shirt and making it fashionable. We have a new fit in trousers. It’s called the neo fit.” It caters to younger professionals. It’s seen in catwalks the world over. It is an ankle length, slimr fit. We have the neo fit in trousers and suits. Jackets do exceptionally well for us. There is a shift in trend away from buying a two piece or three piece to a standalone jacket. Office wear is getting relaxed and about mix and match..

Scaling up in other segments

In women’s wear too the brand had initial success and now it wants to scale it up and become the leader in women’s formals. The company has been gaining great response in large format stores. The company is present in MBOs, EBOs and large formats. Park Aveneu is also available at Central, Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop. “Last year, we were rated by Shoppers Stop as the number one men’s formal brand. Of the three formats, we get 40 to 45 percent from MBOs. But in future, we want a bigger share to come from EBOs. We are planning a big investment in EBOs. Our average EBO size is 1,200 squre feet. Flagships may be 2,500 square feet. Our EBOs have women’s wear as well but it’s a targeted capsule range, not the full wardrobe,” Rai explains.

“We have a premium range of high end clothing called Lexus where suits begin at Rs 40,000; shirts at Rs 8,000. We use fine counts which give lustre. Even after several washes, the product will look fresh. The product is good aesthetically and functionally,” Rai adds.

Affects of demonetisation

Rai says, November 8th demoentisation move had an immediate impact on Park Avenue. “Our daily sales took a beating. It was frustrating especially after a good Diwali. But compared to our competitors, we rebounded quickly within two weeks. We have been meeting our budgeted numbers. Of course, we could have done better. What worked in favour of Park Avenue was our strength in suits and jackets. These are must-buys for the wedding season,” Rai observes.

However, despite the challenges Park Avenue’s investment plans are on track. The company will invest in stores and in the brand. In future, it will make the product portfolio sharper. “We will ensure our wardrobe share is maximised. Casuals will become a significant part of our business. Even in the current season, our EBOs have a significant proportion of casuals. Casual sell-through has been as strong as formals for us,” Rai sums up.