SNX continues its strong growth trajectory in shirt market

A good quality shirt immediately gives the wearer a different aura. The brand SNX, which specialises in cotton casual shirts, believes in this and for this reason has been maintaining a standard. As a result, it has seen a systematic growth of about 15-20 per cent every year. Now, it would look at strengthening the existing product line.

For a company that produces 45,000 shirts a month, trends are important. So this season, linen dominates, short sleeves and pastel shades are in and the overall palette is in dull shades. Solids contribute about 70 per cent of sale and the rest is covered by stripes, checks and plains. Solids have an evergreen market, so demand is always good. SNX makes semi-casual fits, which are neither too tight, nor too loose. It is called the smart casual fit.

Unbranded sells a lot but quality wins

Kaushal Ghanshani, Proprietor/Partner, SNX feels the world of unbranded products is huge in India and is a totally different market. “Rates are cheaper and as such sales a high. And this segment will continue to grow as they have a strong loyal customer base. However, brand awareness is growing. SNX stands out in this segment because they concentrate on manufacturing quality fabric.” He points out, “Everything prevailing in the market will affect the other things automatically. But one should play his own game and put efforts to provide customers what they want in their preferred way.”

Brand loyalty less, price matters

With so many brands in the market, people are no longer stuck to one particular brand. They will go for anything that gives them value for money. So, if one day, a customer sports a Tommy Hilfiger, next day, he will be seen in GAP. As long as the product is good and worth the price, customer will go for it, believes Ghanshani.

SNX plans to grow through MBOs and LFS’. It is present in about 300-400 stores today all over India. The company plans to expand gradually. However, it has no plans for EBOs, the reason being that they do not want to increase overhead costs. SNX was started in 1993. Initially, it was only exports but in 2008, the company got into retailing. Even today, exports contribute a major part, 60 per cent, of the total business. As Ghanshani says, “We are very conservative in playing risky. We try and be on the safer side. Export has been our focus since the commencement of the business. And now, we have been retailing in the domestic market for a while. We want to continue that for now.” After all these years, production continues to be a challenge for SNX but they have been successful in overcoming the challenges.