Derby Jeans Community: Looking beyond metros

Launched in 1994, Derby Jeans Community the men’s fast fashion brand that caters to the young at heart, delivering international fashion from ramps to racks in the least time possible, has drawn out a major retail growth plan. Ever since its inception,

the brand has grown exponentially with exclusive outlets being setup in locations across the country. Opines Vijay Kapoor, Founder and Managing Director of Derby Clothing, “We at DJC understand the need to continuously improvise our product range and offer fresh fashion every season. The brand is set to make its presence felt with EBOs, MBOs and LFS across the country. By the year 2015, the target is to set up: 300 EBOs, 500 MBOs and three major large format stores across the country. We would invest Rs 30 to 40 lakh per store.”

The brand’s current product range consists of jeans, trousers, shirts, T-shirts, shorts and accessories like, belts, sash, bags et al. Talking about the marketing efforts to extend the brand Kapoor says, “The marketing and ad spend is planned at 8 per cent of sales. A lot of time, effort and money is being spent to ensure that we are able to add value in the form of various activities like fashion shows, road shows, social awareness campaigns, music concerts, college cultural events, celebrity events and so on. The focus is not just on being visible and making an impact wherever necessary, but also on being invisible where not needed.”

Derby’s autumn/winter ‘11 collection consists of a new range of fashion apparel including jackets, sweatshirts and waistcoats. Talking about the trend cycle, Kapoor avers, “Every range in a season is designed with characterized fashion elements that go with the three themes for the season. Plastesol (to give a vintage and crisp look) and khadi prints (to give a dull effect) are used to add value to the product. Leather patches, rivets, piping etc, are customized to match a particular style.”

The entry of global brands is creating a competitive field for domestic players and if the FDI proposal comes through it would open up floodgates for many more foreign brands. Commenting on FDI, Kapoor says, “The awareness about international style, fashion and quality has helped us gain a head start in the market. It has worked in our favor because our customers have positioned us as one among these international brands and so has the industry.”

He says Derby Jeans Community stores are currently there in many small towns and the performances of these stores have helped them realize that these markets display a huge potential for fashion apparel. He feels in spite of the current economical situation, there is still a huge potential as consumers are constantly overloaded with information through Facebook, Youtube and movies. This has created a global citizen out of a local shopper who demands global fashion products.