Park Avenue: Stepping ahead blending fashion with functionality

Raymond’s popular brands Park Avenue and ColorPlus have changed the way Indian men dress. Hetal Kotak, COO, ColorPlus and Park Avenue, says “Park Avenue’s core domain is formal wear, and in that we are infusing different functionalities.” The brand has launched shirts with Teflon finish that are functional in nature.

Innovating to connect with the consumer

Kotak explains Park Avenue’s transformation from being a pure formal wear brand to the stylish wardrobe options it provides to young men and women today. The brand has introduced a range that fits into the leisure wear category. “When you look at consumer trends, we can clearly see a blurring of lines between formals and casuals. Thus, this line is created with innovative changes and usage of colours and styles within the formals space. That gives us an opportunity to connect with consumers,” explains Kotak. Meanwhile Park Avenue has also started looking at casual wear space with dress casuals. “This category is focussed on ‘work casuals’,” he explains.

One of the first brands to enter formal wear, Park Avenue’s range connects with the young and contemporary upwardly mobile urbanite.

Blending functionality and style

Kotak points out beyond style, a lot of functional innovations have come into play in Park Avenue. “For instance, an exclusive Park Avenue features in a plain white shirt differentiates it from others,” he opines. Styling too has undergone change over time. For example, a shirt maybe a plain one, but when paired with a jacket or with layers that’s when the semi-formal or semi-casual style becomes clearer, Kotak says. And adds that a formal ensemble could be paired with a casual jacket and in that space there is innovation, which has been critically successful. “That’s where we have zero gravity jackets. This is a series of light-weight, travel-friendly and easy to pack jackets because of their size. One can fold it, keep it in backpack, open it and there won’t be any creases. It’s made from wool. All innovations are to enable travel and user-friendliness. The innovations are functional in nature,” he avers.

Park Avenue, leads at large formats

Park Avenue’s presence in large format stores (LFS) is very strong. “For example, at Shoppers Stop, one of the largest large format stores that attracts consumers across usage occasions, Park Avenue, was the number one brand for them last year, and has continued to be so, even this year,” says Kotak.

Kotak says this is on the basis of sustained performance across different products, such as suits, shirts, jackets, trousers, which are moving in the space of crisp formal wear or a little stylised formal wear. Then, there is occasion wear, which again falls in a different space. “Thus, we are able cater to customers looking for a variety across these spaces fairly significantly and successfully,” Kotak points out.

Another critical growth driver for Park Avenue last year was rapid growth of shirts segment. Park Avenue was also the leader in suits and jackets. Today, the brand is either number one or two across all large format stores. Park Avenue Women too has seen growth in excess of 40 percent in large formats. “It’s one of the crisper, formal wear, but then again, women experiment far more than men. It’s connecting well, so it’s cutting across the genders,” he states.