Killer to launch colored jeans, open 100 EBOs by 2013

Killer the top brand from Kewal Kiran Clothing has been witnessing a CAGR of 30 to 35 per cent. It hopes to maintain this growth rate in the forthcoming years and is expecting a turnover of Rs 170 crores this fiscal. The company has aggressively

spread its retail network and added a women’s product category to expand its reach. The challenge according to Sandeep Varma, Vice President, Killer and Easies brand is, to drive growth in volumes. “This year the brand has been growing at 30 to 35 per cent but volume growth is 20 per cent. Last year, the volume growth was about 28 per cent. If price correction does not happen, the volume growth may be a challenge,” he opines.

Killer has everything in men’s casual wear, denim bottoms, non-denim bottoms, shirts, T-shirts and accessories which includes deos –a major launch this year. Last year, Killer had introduced sunglasses. As far as the price points are concerned, Killer denims range between Rs 1,499 to Rs 2,999 but the major range in the fashion denim is around Rs 1,799 to Rs 2,199, while some premium fashion denim goes above Rs 2,599. Summer half sleeve T-shirts are between Rs 599 to Rs 999, winter wear sweaters and knits go up to Rs 1,899 and casual shirts are priced between Rs 1,299 to Rs 1,599.

“Our Killer for Her range consists of top and bottom wear for women including denim. It contributes 7 per cent to our total turnover and we would like it to grow to 15 per cent in the next two years. Therefore, we are introducing new fits to capture audiences. New product categories are also being introduced in terms of the knits range, which is being given a better mix,” explains Varma. Last year the brand also introduced Killer inner wear. Then it has a small shoe range that it’s retailed through company’s own K-Lounge and the Killer EBO network. The collection is currently available in 50 Killer EBOs. “By March 2012 we will add 10 more EBOs and by March 2013 the target is to launch more than 100 Killer EBOs, Mostly in Tier II, III cities. Apart from that we have 150 K-Lounges, where all the four brands of the company, including Killer are retailed. We are looking at opening 250 K-Lounge stores by March 2013. These will be mostly in Tier II, III cities. Apart from that Killer is also present in some 3,000 MBOs and in all major large formats,” Varma says highlighting the retail expansion strategy.

Though the company does not plan to get onto the e-retailing directly, it has a tie up with three to four associates where the Killer range is being displayed on site. The company has arranged the logistics accordingly so that customers can be serviced.

The brand had to increase product prices in the last six months by almost 12 per cent due to excise duty on branded apparel and high raw material costs. In general the price increase between last autumn/winter and this autumn/winter has been almost 20 or 25 per cent in retail. But the entire rise in cost was not passed on to the consumer, so Killer did not face any dip in volumes because of raised prices. But it definitely saw some resistance from the consumer in terms of accepting the prices.

Talking about exploring Bangladesh to cut production costs, Varma says, “Bangladesh presents a more attractive cost option than India. We are already exploring and having discussions with some manufacturers there.”

For spring/summer 2012 Killer is working on a couple of new fits in denim. Talking about the season’s style, Varma says, “The fit right now is a slim silhouette and we feel it’s going to be slimmer in a couple of seasons. We are using a new technology for washing. We are known for our association with designer Narendra Kumar and will be doing a lot of designer jeans. But since the market has been uncertain over the last few months, the project got delayed.” They plan to launch colored denims in tones of brown, red and green next season.