Brands extending product portfolio to push up revenues

At a time when the economy is going through a slowdown exploring new segments is what seems to be the strategy adopted by many brands. This is helping them to generate additional revenues. In fact many like Dilip Kapur, President of leather

bags and accessories brand Hidesign believes venturing into different segments and adding more products helps in per square feet profitability and increasing sales. There is a direct co-relation in the time customers spend in a store and how much they buy. Hidesign has plans to launch footwear soon.

Also planning to enter the footwear segment is handbags brand Lavie. While 15-year-old apparel brand Peter England aims to achieve 5 per cent of its revenue from soft luggage which it was launched three months ago. The Rs 500 crores brand from Madura Fashion & Lifestyle aims to achieve more than 5 per cent of its sales through this segment. Interestingly, the Madura Fashion brand has set this goal by selling them in less than one fourth of its retail outlets. Kedar Apshankar, COO, Peter England feels besides increasing sales, the soft luggage rang will help improve store profitability by making more product categories available using the same space, without any increase in rentals and salaries.

No wonder brand like Hidesign, Samsonite, Peter England and Titan are considering new segments as they have already carved a niche for their core products. However, what’s surprising is that several brands which are new in the market and yet to establish themselves too are following similar strategies. For instance, Lavie, which entered the market just a year ago by launching handbags, now plans to venture into footwear under the same brand name. Ramesh Tainwala, Chairman of Planet Retail, which markets Lavie in India is of the opinion that most brands such as Aldo and Charles & Keith sell handbags and shoes together as both products have the same set of customers. He believes this strategy would also help them in saving marketing costs as Kareena Kapoor as a brand ambassador could endorse both the category.

Similarly, few brands which are active in the non-apparel segment have drawn out plans to enter apparels space in order to strengthen their brand equity. These brands include bags and accessories brand Holii and jewellery brands Gili and Maya. Gitanjali Gems, which owns Gili and Maya brands, aims to generate three per cent of its revenues from the apparel business. Mehul Choksi, CMD of Gitanjali Gems feels that it is the right time to take these brands to another level by extending them in other categories, although it’s difficult to connect with consumers that generally associate a brand with its core category.

Another brand which recently ventured into the apparel market is Mirza International, it had been selling Red Tape shoes for almost a decade. However, the brand is yet to make its presence felt in the booming market. Popular for watches in India, Titan too entered eyewear and leather accessories quite successfully recently. According to reliable sources, the Tata brand is now entering segments such as perfumes and bags.