Louis Philippe emerges winner among shopping chains

Department chains Shoppers Stop, Pantaloons and Lifestyle

International have claimed that Louis Philippe, the premium menswear brand from Aditya Birla Group has managed to top the charts in their department stores. With sales of over Rs 1,100 crores during the year ended March 2013 it has become the largest apparel brand in India.

The company’s aggressive retail expansion policy and launch of its youth oriented sub-brand LP has helped it grow. “In retail, there is a huge trend towards branded fashion even in small cities which we didn't see as potential markets earlier. We almost doubled the store count in the last two years to over 150 now," says Jacob John, Brand Head, who joined Madura Fashion and Lifestyle over 18 years ago as a management trainee. He took charge of the Louis Philippe brand three years ago. Sales has doubled from Rs 450 crores in 2010 to Rs 1,106 crores now.

CARE Research expects the men's apparel segment to grow at a CAGR of 7 percent to Rs 93,700 crores in FY16. “Its share in the overall domestic apparel market is expected to decline slightly from 35.3 percent in FY12 to about 34.1 percent in FY16. However, it will continue to remain the largest segment,” added the research body.