Pan America: Set to open EBOs across India

Pan America the brand from Royalex Fashions makes both casual as well as formal collections. With a target of achieving Rs 150 crores turnover by the year end, menswear brand Pan America plans to add T-shirts to its product line by March 2012.

It also has retail expansion plans in place and would soon add EBOs to its retail spread.

Their casual line consists of yarn-dyed check fashion shirts. The formal shirts range is in polyester cotton and 100 per cent cotton. The brand has also ventured into denims with basic and fashion denims priced from Rs 895 to Rs 1,295. And they have a casual trousers range as well. Says Ashok Bhandari, Director, Pan America, “We will have T-shirts by March 2012. These will be round neck and with collars, both in plains and stripes. When we open exclusive outlets, we will have men’s accessories as well like belts, ties, and cuff links. But these will be retailed only through our exclusive stores.”

Talking about the product percentage, he explains, “Shirts consume 60 per cent of our portfolio, denims 10 per cent and trousers, 30 per cent. Within the next six months we want to take up the share of jeans to 20 per cent.” Targeting customers between 25 to 40 years, Pan America is distributed through 18 distributors. They cater to some 6,000 MBOs. The brand’s distributor base too is growing at a healthy 30 to 35 per cent per annum. The brand enjoys a pan-India presence except in states like Gujarat, Punjab and Chandigarh, where they are looking for distributors.

This year they plan to launch EBOs. Initially, these will be in south and then they we will move to the north. Bhandari feels the north demands a different strategy since, for winters, they need to have woolens. “Though we don’t have this range, we will add it at some point. By March 2012 we should have at least 30 or 40 stores based on franchisee model. The average area will be 1,000 sq. ft.”

Talking about the denim segment, Bhandari said, “There is a vacuum in the mid price denim segment. In the lower segment, washes are not eco-friendly. Cheap dyes are used which are not good for health and the environment. Brands hesitate to enter the mid segment, even though 70 per cent of the population is there. That is because input costs have risen and they are unable to maintain price points.”

He sums up and says, “In India there is a potential for premium denim. Denim will rock in the next three years. I expect a 30 to 40 per cent growth.”