Crusoe the two-year-old men’s innerwear brand is on target to reach a turnover of Rs 15 crores by the end of fiscal ’12. As Ganga K Rathna, GM Operations, Crusoe says, “We have on track all our strategies for marketing and promotion of the brand.
We have launched a TVC and tied up with popular programs like MTV Roadies, to increase our brand’s visibility and recall. We are also present in almost all fashion and lifestyle magazines. So the strong image of the brand cannot be missed out.”
On a product expansion mode, Crusoe is looking to add thermal wear to its range. The brand plans to introduce a thermal collection for the age group of 16 to 35 starting at Rs 500. Initially, it will be offering 2-3 styles. “We are looking for product expansion and launching thermal wear. We are capitalizing on the northern market, Delhi and beyond. Our market research has shown there are only one or two good brands in thermals. Hence, there is a vacuum in this segment which we could capitalize,” she informs. If the two to three styles that they are launching are well accepted they plan to add more innovative styles and increase the range later. That’s not all in the next two years the brand is open to the idea of entering women’s and kids innerwear segment as well. This will be under the Crusoe name.
Along with product expansion, Crusoe is also looking at spreading its retail footprint across India. As of now, they have one EBO, which is in Coimbatore the second one is set to open in Mumbai by August this year and by March ’12 they plan to have 10 exclusive stores including the one in Coimbatore and Mumbai. They are also present in almost 500 MBOs and are initiating talks with the Large Format Stores. The EBOs will have an average space of 400 sq. ft. each. Majority of these will be opened in Tier II cities of Tamil Nadu and Kerala besides a few in metros like Kolkata and Mumbai. In fact, the brand which started in big cities is experiencing good sales both in large and small towns. It is expecting sales to be distributed in the ratio 50:50 between small town and big cities in the next three to four years.