Soch plans to open 25 more EBOs and 30 SIS this fiscal

Renowned for its quality of hand-picked fabrics, characteristic use of colours, elaborate embroideries and magnificently rich Indian aesthetic, Soch has pioneered the term ‘fashion’ in Indian ethnic context. And now its looking to expand its footprint as Vinay Chatlani, Director and CEO, Soch elaborates, “We have 15 MBOs, 94 EBOs and 48 LFS stores currently. We plan to open 25 more EBOs and are expecting to open 30 more SISs this fiscal. We are also planning to increase e-commerce sales by 50 per cent. Our focus would be more towards unrepresented markets like Tier II cities with a balanced approach in increasing footprints in major metros. We believe in opening more profitable stores rather than just increasing the store counts.”

Rising brand play in women’s ethnic market

Chatlani says, women’s ethnic wear market is very fragmented and operates more in the unorganised sector. Customers are slowly moving towards brands and brands are expected to grow. There may be some amount of western influence in ethnic wear but ethnic wear will continue to sell for a long time. Women’s fashion consumer space in ethnic wear has started competing with western wear but it’s still holding ground. Brands have started creating fusion lines to transform ethnic wear into fashion that is enjoyed by youngsters.

New trends and styles

Highlighting new trends, Chatlani says styles and cuts vary from time to time. Tunics as a category has gained popularity and in salwar suits, both popular cuts – straight and anarkalis are doing well. The colour palette is a mix of earthy and pastel colours with an essence of bright hues. The company is using Rayon in tunics as it is in demand. Chanderi silk is doing well in traditional products like salwar suits and unstitched suits. Talking about new collection, he says, “We recently launched a new category called kurti suits, which is a combination of trendy kurtis and fancy bottoms like palazzos, skirts or leggings.”

Growing retail presence

Online retail has affected ethnic wear in a small way but it is helpful for emerging brands to grow fast feels Chatlani. The brand sells similar products both online and offline but they are planning have separate products for both mediums in future. “We do have an online presence, both captive on our own site www.soch.in and on marketplaces such as Myntra, Flipkart, etc. Business has been overwhelming. We are yet to tap our full potential in this channel and intend to expand. We will be expanding presence on more marketplaces, focusing on increasing domestic sales on our captive site and also tapping international markets through our captive website,” Chatlani informs.

Bracing up for festivities

Festive being the next season, customers are looking for a variety of new colours and styles in flowy yet rich fabrics. As he explains, “We are expecting the upcoming season to be good. Indians are known to celebrate festivals and Diwali being our biggest festival, we are geared up and will be launching our festive collection and catalogs in all categories.”