Crusoe targets 100 EBOs in five years

As one of the largest single location spinning units in the country with a capacity of 1,20,000 kgs of yarn per day and a turnover of around Rs 350 crores, Coimbatore-based Jagannath Textile had launched Crusoe, a brand of premium

men’s innerwear sometime back. A relatively new entrant, Crusoe has elicited good customer response in a short time and is almost a pan-Indian brand, albeit with a slightly weak presence in the northern markets. However, with men’s innerwear premium category growing by 20-30 per cent, the company plans to follow an aggressive promotional and marketing campaign across India with an aim to close this year at Rs 15 crores while growing at 30-35 per cent.

“In other countries people give great importance to comfort and personal hygiene. Indian youth so far lack that sensibility. But the awareness has started spreading and its comfort and hygiene and many other things. We do educate consumers but since we are a new brand, we can’t talk about too many things at the same time. We will also come out with innerwear with a fragrance, with anti-bacterial washes. Trials are under way,” says Ganga K Rathna, GM-Operations, Jagannath Textiles.

The company’s flagship unit is located at Kaduvettipalayam, 45 kms from Coimbatore, on a sprawling 50 acres land. The plant alone occupies 855,000 sq. ft. Ideally situated close to several villages, it is a major source of employment while also in close proximity to major consumption centers like Somanur, Palladam, Tirupur, Karur, Madurai and Erode.

“Our background helps us a lot in perfecting the product. Even the minutest of details is taken care of. That’s one of the privileges our textile background is giving us. The yarn comes from our own stable and some portion is outsourced too. The knitting is done in-house and the entire garmenting process, the packaging and quality control is under our supervision in the factory,” Rathna opines. The brand is looking at introducing new styles. It recently launched lounge wear and is exploring nightwear along with some other products on. “We are working on women’s wear and children’s wear. We are also exploring export possibilities,” adds Rathna.

Jagannath Textile’s innerwear product portfolio comprises of Base, a very basic range of briefs and vests. Then there is Nxt, which goes into the style and comfort zone and includes boxer shorts among other things. There is also the Xtreme range, which is designer wear with printed briefs, vests and gym wear as well as a sports range called Surge, which is an outdoors range.

The company’s retail strategy includes 600 to 800 MBOs, while growing at 30- 40 per cent every year in their MBOs. It plans to open some EBOs this year, with a flagship store of almost 1,400 sq. ft. in Coimbatore expected to open by April. A second smaller store of 500 -600 sq. ft. in Mumbai will be launched around June. The company plans to cruise around India with 100 stores over five years targeting every mall that opens up in lucrative markets as an integral part of their all-around expansion strategy.