Launched in 1989, men’s T-shirt brand Hats Off’s main aim is to offer news styles and designs every season. Achieving a growth rate of 25 per cent last year, the company is now planning to add children’s tees by 2013 and open exclusive
stores. Also on the anvil are jeans and trousers to be retailed under their own brand name. Talking about their future plans, Sanjay Vig, Director, Hats Off Apparels says, “Our product range is available all over India in around 1,200 MBOs. We are now planning to open our own stores, which will have tees for men and children along with jeans and trousers, which is the new dimension to our business. The jeans and trousers range will be made by some other manufacturer but everything will be retailed under our brand name. We will start with a few exclusive outlets in Mumbai.”
The
brand also supplies to the overseas market in a small way as Vig says, “We also supply to the Gulf, South African and Sri Lankan markets under my brand name, but not in a big way. We are looking for other countries for exports. We have two manufacturing units outside Mumbai and two within Mumbai and we may add another factory for knits if necessary. In fact, we would rather have a factory for knitted garments than for denim and shirts, which can be outsourced,” Vig adds.
Elaborating on the prospects of knitwear segment in India, Vig says, “Though nearly 70 per cent of T-shirt market is unorganized, their sales are witnessing growth even in Tier II, III cities. People in smaller cities areas are becoming fashion conscious but it is difficult to build a T-shirt brand. A woven garment has a longer life in comparison to knits. And when you charge Rs 1,200 for a T-shirt, some consumers would rather buy a shirt. In fact, the value of raw materials used in a T-shirt is higher than the value of raw material used in a woven shirts. For a beginner, T-shirts are certainly tough.
Adding further, he says, “Even internationally, there is no strong knitwear brand. They are clubbed together with sportswear, accessories, shoes and several other apparels. Making T-shirts is not easy. We have to keep innovating to offer new styles every season to keep the business running and brand recall alive.”
