Winterwear brand Oner, which primarily offers sweaters and jackets, is pushing up its retail presence and opening own EBOs this year. The first store is coming up at Western Mall, Ludhiana. Commenting on the plans Sudershan Jain, Partner,
Sarjeewan Knitwear maker of Oner brand says, “Apart from reaching the Rs 50 crores mark by 2014, we are looking at launching our EBOs this year as a part of our retail expansion. We are present across the country through 500 MBOs. For the last two years, we have also spread through shop-in-shops in large format stores. We are with Reliance Trends, Shoppers Stop and also with some e-commerce platforms.”
Last
year the brand grew by 35 per cent. Winter was intense but arrived late but the season was long. Sales were sluggish initially but picked up in the second half. This season, retailers are cautious but he is positive about business ahead. Oner identifies with the aspirations of modern, young Indian woman, who sees herself at par with her western counterparts and reflects her independent, ‘New World’ attitude. Established as a company in 1977, Oner was launched in 1995. The brand offers sweaters, jackets, track suits, sweat shirts and summer wear line including track suits, tops and T-shirts. “Next summer, we may add accessories, legwear like denims or casual trousers,” Jain opines.
But he is concerned about the problems being faced by the Ludhiana cluster—India’s biggest winter wear manufacturing hub. “Ludhiana has been facing power problems for 15 years. While the power problem would be resolved with new power plants that are coming up, the labour problem will remain. Nearly 90 per cent of the labour is migrant as we can’t mobilize local labour for training. Some cultural inhibitions prevent women from joining the labour force,” he avers. Another major problem being faced by the industry is that of illegal imports from neighboring countries. On the other hand, the export market is not shaping up because of the recession in the Europe and the US.
Winter is the biggest chunk of Oner’s business and summer wear contributes around 20 per cent in volume and 10 percent in value terms. Optimistic about the future of this industry, Jain says, “Educated youngsters are joining the industry. Traditional methods of working will vanish and professionals will take over. Balance sheets will be healthier.”
