E-Teenz: To launch Etodzz for new born and infants

Dhananjai Lifestyle Group the company behind junior wear brand E-Teenz has the largest and most comprehensive array of licensed cartoon characters in India under its umbrella – Spiderman, Doraemon, Popeye, Archie, Barbie, Fisher Price,

Hot Wheels, Little Krishna and Pampered Girls. The Group is led by its flagship brand Eteenz aimed at children 2 to 14 years. And now it plans to launch Etodzz for new born and infants. Elaborating on the group’s journey, Ansul Agarwal, Managing Director, Dhananjai Lifestyle says, “We have been in existence since 1977. However, our retail foray is just about two years old. We have been able to make our presence felt in the high fashion-value space and currently cater to customers through over 300 retail points mostly large format stores and 20 exclusive brand outlets.”

Despite being a new entrant in the organized retail space, the brand has grown from being an only apparel brand to a brand offering comprehensive range of high fashion apparel, footwear, toys and accessories. The brand’s USP is high fashion merchandise at pocket friendly prices. Moving ahead, the company is looking at expanding its retail presence and add over 100 MBOs and LFS by the end of this fiscal. It also plans to increase its EBOs in over 40 cities in FY 12-13. Agarwal explains, “Retail is a sunrise sector in India now. Therefore, we have pinned our hopes on the domestic market.”

He feels e-retailing has definitely become one of the hottest sectors. “There are over 100 million internet users in India, with total number of transactions at 8-10 million presently. And it is set to take a leap to over 40 million by 2015. In our endeavor to offer seamless buying experience, we have already tied up with some leading e-commerce retailers. At the same time our own website is being revamped and being given a new avatar. We would soon offer most of our products online,” Agarwal opines.

Commenting on the kids’ wear market in India, Agarwal says, “With internet penetration getting over 100 million users and TVs literally in every house hold, the awareness of kids today is at its peak. The kids wear industry is going to see a lot of fire work in short term.” He feels cartoon characters are the most sought after categories for kids. The numerous cartoon channels streaming content 24x7 is pushing up demand. However, even though demand is high, a significant portion of the business is cannibalized by the unorganized sector selling non licensed merchandise. “The recent launch of Tintin movie has increased the craving even more and with scheduled launch of Spiderman movie in summer of 2012 demand for such merchandise will increase even more.” Taking a cue from these developments, E-Teenz which only had apparels earlier now has introduced a host of products in their exclusive
stores these include – footwear, games, toys and accessories.