John Smedley: Pushing up India’s knitwear tastes

John Smedley the high end British knitwear brand that comes with a rich 225-year heritage, is tasting success in the Indian market. Sales of John Smedley knitwear have shown good results with an annual growth of almost 40 per cent

as compared to the last financial year, which is good news for the high-end brand. A luxury knitwear brand with roots in the Derby countryside and garments regularly featured in some of the world's most prestigious fashion magazines, John Smedley was brought to India by Blue Clothing Company, which has also introduced top brands like Damat, Tweens and ADV among others.

To Abhay Gupta, Executive Director of Blue Clothing Company the idea of introducing a luxury knitwear brand came from the demand of high end customers wishing to do their entire shopping of premium goods, under one roof. “Luxury itself has just started to take its initial footsteps in India. A brand only into knitwear is like targeting a niche segment. The luxury clientele wanted to have a one-stop-shop establishment which could provide them with all product categories and not only knitwear. With this ideology we introduced luxury brand John Smedley, not as a standalone store but as a part of our multi brand luxury retail chain Blues Galleria,” he says.
In fact, their spring/summer 2011 collection is nothing but a riot of vibrant colors interplaying with basic neutral shades. ‘Montague’ the men’s range and the Ditty the women’s range are a testimony of vibrant colored tees made from the finest Sea Island cotton. This season’s style statements are inspired by the mood of a global traveler who likes to dress for his location. Hot stripes and color blocks that suit the tropics; bateau and matelote-informed styles convey a sense of maritime and the coast. Gupta says, “We see spring 2011 as a season of rainbow colors that are light, lively and fresh. Neutral and vivid colors will be worn together to brighten and tone outfits. Men’s essential styles are worn in a riot of color, calm neutrality or as mixed layers.”

In India, John Smedley knitwear represents the finest quality with gauges of 24 and 30 and is fully fashioned through 36 stages in making. The fabrics for basics knits are single jersey, rib, interlock and for fashion knits are dobby and jacquards. Lycra features in the composition but it is very limited to basic knits. John Smedley knitwear generally deals with luxurious fibers like 100 per cent merino, merino cashmere blends, 100 per cent cashmere, cashmere silk blends etc.

Talking about the retailing strategy, Gupta pointed out, “The retail strategy is entirely based on the demographic study. The idea is to offer varied fibers and fabrics to Indian consumer. Proper merchandise mix is created every season treating every store as an individual location. This has paid off till now and we do not see changes in this approach in near future.”