Dollar Club to launch jeans

Having consolidated its position in Gulf countries the company is aggressively looking at the rest

of the world with new collections. Meanwhile Dollar Club is also planning to enter the jeanswear market targeting the mid-segment initially. According to Vinod Gupta, MD the mid-segment, where a pair of jeans is priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500, accounts for a dominant portion of the market for branded jeans. Gupta says starting with eastern India, a national launch would be made later. He said the products would be made at Dollar Club’s manufacturing facility in Delhi. Depending on the demand, it was possible to relocate a part of the manufacturing facility to Bangalore or Kolkata, he said. Rs 1 crore ad spend had been earmarked for the launch. However, while the company is open to any offer from a major retail chain like the Future Group, as of now plans are to go it alone.

Meanwhile the innerwear brand is also looking at increasing its international presence. For this it has inked an arrangement with French retail chain Carrefour and the Gulf-based retailer Lulus. Dollar Club is the highest selling innerwear brand in the UAE and West Asia and has been earning nearly 10 per cent of its total turnover from exports to West Asian countries. Dollar Industries, makers of the brand, has floated a wholly-owned subsidiary, Sree Gopal International, in Dubai, to tap the large markets in West Asia and eventually in Africa. Dollar Innerwear enjoys a 20 per cent market share in the Rs 2,000 crores Indian branded hosiery industry. The company expects to notch up a turnover of Rs 500 crores in this fiscal. After roping in Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador, the brand has seen sales grow by 400 per cent.