Levi’s installment plan attracts other brands

Levi Strauss clever marketing strategy of offering an

installment plan to buy jeans and other products in India seems to have worked wonders. The brand’s sales have gone up while their products have become more affordable to the customers. The smart selling strategy introduced last September is now being emulated by many other leading apparel brands. The Levi’s program in association with HDFC Bank and Axis Bank Ltd has been popular with users of credit cards. The consumer being targeted by such EMI schemes includes 20-35 year olds who are fashion-conscious. According to Shyam Sukhramani, marketing director, the Levi’s, the average bill size has increased by 60 per cent, after this.

The buzz is that single brand retailers such as Marks and Spencer Reliance Pvt Ltd, Spykar Lifestyles and multibrand and category retailers such as Shoppers Stop are also considering similar offers. It may be noted that Shoppers Stop had launched an installment plan three years ago on bills of at least Rs10, 000 but withdrew it due to a tepid response from consumers.

According to Nandini Sethuraman, head of marketing at Marks and Spencer, in a value-conscious market, the facility will make brands more accessible to consumers. Govind Shrikhande, President and CEO, Shoppers Stop believes that this is a good time to launch an EMI facility as liquidity is tight, interest rates are high and market sentiment is low.