Classic Polo to add eight EBOs by October end

Looking for a good season and 20 to 25 percent growth, mid-premium label brand Classic Polo plans to focus on growth through its retail network in India and abroad. “Supplies are fantastic this year. We got very good orders and supplies

were much in advance. Every company wants to grow by 20 to 25 percent year-on-year. This year, we hope to cross Rs 100 crores,” exclaims R Sivaram, Managing Director, Royal Classic Group.

Tapping growth through retailing

The company has 45 distributors and 65 EBOs at the moment. “By October end, we will add eight more EBOs. All these additions will be in Tamil Nadu,” avers Sivaram. The company has 50 stores in Tamil Nadu and six stores in Coimbatore. It also has 10 stores in the east. “Our strong areas in order are south, east, west and north. We are trying to expand our business in the west and north. We are in 3,500 MBOs. In 15 to 20 percent of these MBOs, we have the shop-in-shop format,” adds Sivaram.

The brand is also present in 75 large format stores like Central, Globus, Pantaloon. Giving an insight on the share of sales coming from different retail formats, Sivaram says, “MBOs give us 70 percent of the business followed by EBOs with 20 percent and large formats the rest. Our EBOs are 600 square feet in area and about 85 percent of our stores are franchises.”
About 90 percent of Classic Polo stores are located on high streets. It has just opened a new franchise store in a Dubai mall. And the brand also has a presence in Singapore and Lulus, Dubai.

Classic Polo’s collections

Classic Polo’s product range consists of shirts, T-shirts, denims and trousers in the price bracket of Rs 600 to Rs 1,900. “But most products are priced between Rs 1,299 to Rs 1,800. We do slim fits and only in core do we have authentic fit. Our collection is 55 percent fashion and 45 percent core. We also have innerwear with three styles in vests and eight styles in briefs. We do winter wear like jackets and sweaters too. And we recently launched sportswear, which has shorts, three-fours, gym vests and track pants. These have very little of cotton and more of micro poly,” elaborates Sivaram.

Talking about the current apparel retail market in India, Sivaram feel that most brands have been facing an inventory constraint or liquidity constraint. “They are inter-related. If inventory is stuck, liquidity is stuck. It’s necessary to be closely associated with consumer buying patterns, to have perfect control over your retail network. You have to frequently visit dealers, understand their needs. Merely adding to your production won’t help. Branding can’t happen on borrowed money. It has to be through equity or internal accrual. Today most brands which are in trouble are because of this,” he explains.