Blue Clothing Company growing red hot

Delhi-based Blue Clothing Company has been fired up since last year. It expanded the brand portfolio by introducing Turkish brands like Damat, ADV and Tween to the Indian market. It diversified in verticals, launching the Versace Unique phone which has

done rather well and launched Blues Home, retailing luxury brands and concepts like Versace Home, Ayaan, Haute Monde, Jagtar, Obsession Xclusif and El’Unique and extended by 20 stores. To cap it all, it turned into a limited company, something everyone at Blue Clothing is proud of.  As executive director Abhay Gupta says, “Our vision and mission in 2011 is to be the number one retail chain in India showcasing niche world class brands and the latest fashion trends in luxury clothing.”

With expansion across brands, Blues Clothing Company aims at providing the latest in luxury to sophisticated clientele in India. With the rapidly growing luxury market in India and an incredible increase in the disposable incomes, it is a great opportunity to introduce high fashion brands like Tween in India. Being one of the major players in the luxury market, Blues Clothing aims at continuously showcasing niche luxury brands and latest fashion trends. Product innovation, quality service and efficient retail infrastructure have played a key role in positioning BCC as one of the foremost and trustworthy companies in the Luxury retail sector.

Talking about expansion plans, Gupta says, “We have stepped out of Delhi and Mumbai and are explored lucrative markets like Hyderabad and Bangalore. In the future we would expand to other markets after closely evaluating market dynamics and scope”. He added that, “Tier II cities still remain untapped like Pune, where the automobile industry has already written their success story. After having explored the metros we will focus on these cities.”

The year 2011 will see a lot of store openings. A stand alone Versace store is opening at T3, the Versace Collection Stores and Corneliani stores at Taj Palace and Hyatt in Mumbai, Taj Krishna in Hyderabad and UB City in Bangalore. A standalone Cadini store is already operational at Ambience Mall in Delhi. The brand is currently present in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. There are about 16 EBOs in total for Versace, Versace Collection, Corneliani, Cadini and Tween. Blues Galleria, the multi brand outlet, is present in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad as of now with Bangalore to open soon. It is also available in five MBO’s across these cities. According to Gupta, “Luxury retailing does not encourage the LSF format.” The turnovers last year was Rs 106 crores and over Rs 150 crores is targeted for this year. The firm is looking at substantial investment for the coming year with expansion into new markets and locations.

Whilst the product portfolio is generally menswear centric, Versace Women is a great addition. This spring/summer, Versace Women presents a collection that is all about a playful game of proportions and opposites: short vs long, high vs low, plain vs patterned, dull vs bright, and fabric vs flesh. Versace Men’s offer for this season is all about suits that reshape the silhouette, with fitted jackets, slightly shortened sleeves and super-slim trousers rolled up at the ankle.