Little Kangaroos from Romano Apparels is thriving on its successful mantra… ‘God gifts babies, we gift wrap them’ is spreading its wings by adding 25 per cent counters to its MBO format retailing every year. In the next 2-3 years, the brand has
ambitious plans of adding 7-8 more stores in cities like Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, to its existing seven EBOs. Arun Lalwani, Director, Romano Apparels says, “Our collection is available in 400 MBOs at present with a network of 15 to 20 distributors throughout the country. The brand’s presence can be seen in more than 100 large formats such as Central, Lifestyle, MAX, Globus, Standard, Chunmun, Big life and Kapsons. We also have a presence internationally in countries like Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, South Africa, Nepal, Kuwait and Dubai, apart from e-retailing through babyoye.com, Yebhi.com and 99labels.com.”
Also
on the agenda is the mega launch of, Marshmallows, the other brand under the Romano Apparels. It’s slated for a spring/summer 2012 launch. The collection covers the soft and cuddly range of pastels for new born to nine month olds. The product line consists of rompers, legging sets and so on, in the price range of Rs 199 to Rs 499. The new brand will be introduced through the company’s existing EBOs and in some select MBOs in a few cities and states like Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kerala.
Talking about the inception and journey of Little Kangaroos, Lalwani says, “The brand evolved in 1998. After completing my NIFT, I was studying the market and saw a potential for a brand that can offer high fashion infant and toddler clothing in the Indian market. At that time, the market was flooded with cheap imported products from China and Thailand. So we put together a range of 30 to 40 designs and presented it, the response was excellent. Thus, the brand, Little Kangaroos was born, which today offers a range of more than 400 designs with three sub brands – Play, Marshmallows and Soft Threads.”
The company’s products include hi-fashion apparels for newborns upto five years, a complete range of basics for new born to five years comprising of casuals and formals, for boys and girls. It also creates a complete range of winter wear – sweaters/ quilted jackets/ and overcoats for kids.
Talking about positive impact of FDI policy on Indian retail, Lalwani says, “ FDI will open up the gates for a lot of international players which will be good for brands like us. Healthy competition always enhances a brand’s performance and so we welcome such policies.”
