With kids becoming choosy about what they wear, kids wear brands are putting in extra efforts to satisfy their demand and keep up with the latest trends. In keeping with this mood, kids wear maker Aster is ramping up its collections, “Parents play a
role only up to seven years or so. Afterwards, it’s the children who decide what they want. They are getting very brand conscious and have a say not only in the selection of their own garments but also in other family members’ garments,” says Unnamalai, CEO, Aster Apparels, makers of kids wear brands like Ant, Zyxw and Juno. And in keeping with the trend for the forthcoming season, they are making clothes that are lighter to wear and have colors and themes that go with the season. “We ensure children’s wear is not inspired by adult clothing ideas. You can’t sell in the Indian market if you give adult clothing for children. The strategy is to show a constant change in the product mix because children grow up very fast and the rotation of styles is the maximum compared to all other categories. You have to be dynamic and change your styles and themes continuously,” says Unnamalai.
Aster’s
forte is knits. They have a range of T-shirt, woven shirts, infant wear, anti-microbial rompers, body suits and baby suits. Denim wear, corduroys and ethnic kurtis for girls and boys is also part of their product portfolio. Zyxw is a lifestyle brand ranging from Rs 325 to Rs 2,100. Ant is both in the lifestyle and mass market segments while Juno is a mass market brand. “We have separate teams for Zyxw, Ant and Juno. They have their own color themes and seasonal themes. Every three months the themes and the colors change. Right now we are working on a few themes like Discover the Earth and Little Explorer. Ant has a floral theme. Each brand has about six themes.” Ant was introduced in July 2006 and last financial year they acquired Juno and Zyxw from a Bangalore-based company.
The brands are available pan-India in most large format stores like Central, Brand Factory, Maya, Aditya Birla, Big Bazaar. “We have started with Megamart and have exclusive outlets from Chennai up to Chidambaram. We are starting in the east, especially Jaypur, Patna, Behrampur and other places. In Chennai, we have three stores and six more are in the pipeline. We concentrate on the south for EBOs. Right now we have seven EBOs in all. By March 2012, we plan 40 to 50 stores. These will be mostly in the south and some in the east. We are looking for franchisee arrangements. Our store sizes range from 450 to 1,500 sq. ft. and all these are called Ant exclusive stores. Juno is a mass brand and we are looking at large formats and MBOs for retailing. Zyxw is in the lifestyle segment.” They have 200 MBOs in the west and a 100 in the south.
In fact, before venturing into the domestic market Aster Apparels used to cater to the European and the US market. They used to supply premium polo T-shirts to Italy, UK, France, Netherlands and Finland. With a turnover of Rs 25 crores, next year they are expecting a 35 to 40 per cent growth in sales.
