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Amante: Tier II expansion, brand strengthening on cards

By FashionUnited

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Growing at 40 per cent year-on-year in India, lingerie brand Amante from the MAS Holdings feels it is now ready to explore markets in Tier II cities. The company will also launch exclusive stores and introduce lines like sleepwear and swimwear

in India in future. Ajay Amalean, Managing Director, MAS Holdings chalks out the plan, “From a brand point of view, we have been quite successful in India. In the five years we have been here and we have done remarkably well. We have a niche product and point position and that has worked quite well. Now we are in a position to scale up, since we have established ourselves.”

Present
with 400 retail points, Amante is becoming “a pull brand from its earlier status of being a push brand,” says Amalean. “The consumer is now seeing the value of the product. When we launched it was quite a challenge. But over a period of time we have managed to overcome that barrier. We are now ready to understand product and pricing from a Tier II city point of view. At some time we will have exclusive stores but exclusive lingerie stores in India don’t have it easy. You have to have some kind of hybrid model. Our e-business is picking up but delivery is a challenge,” he adds elaborating on the challenges faced by lingerie industry players.

Expressing positivity over India’s position to scale up, he feels that India will have to regroup and have one body as a united voice for them. “The Indian consumer is quite evolved but I am not sure if retailers are evolved to that extent. It’s a sellers’ market to some extent but after that you have to differentiate yourself. A lot of retailers are becoming me-too brands. They need to think about how different they are and what value proposition they are offering the consumer,” states Amalean.

Summing up on the industry prospects and brand’s vision for the future, he says, “We are a premium lingerie brand and in India shelf space for premium products like lingerie is limited because lingerie is a minuscule proportion of the total business.” Indeed the category is evolving and so is the consumer. And there’s enough room for premium brands to come in. He sums up by saying “Market leaders in lingerie should try to build the category than compete. If we work together, we can educate and grow the consumer and expand the category.”
Amante