Shift to venture into men's wear next year

Planning to get into the men’s wear segment next year, women’s wear label Shift is looking at beefing up its wholesale distribution. “We want to hang on there and be consistent with our product, quality and delivery. We are not looking at percentages or return on investment till we finish four years,”

explains Nimish Shah, Director, Shift. Apart from opening its own EBOs, the brand is exploring new export markets.

Stepping

into men’s segment

Catering to younger women who have mature tastes, Shift’s portfolio consists of tops, dresses, pants, jackets, footwear, and wedding clothes. The brand follows the traditional Spring/Summer cycle but within summer it has shorter seasons. “Summer is much an extension of what we do for winter, only the colour palettes have changed. We will do the winter presentation in April and will do summer in September,” explains Shah.

Elaborating on their product expansion plans, he stated, “We may start men’s wear next year. We are looking at retailing directly versus a wholesale distribution, which doesn’t exist in the luxury sector. We are in the luxury business and the distribution channels in the luxury business are quite scarce.”

Exploring overseas retail

The brand is retailed through boutique emporiums. “We sell through multi brand stores and the online route. We have six MBOs, two in Mumbai and two in Delhi, one each in Pune and Kolkata and a couple of stores overseas. We go to the UK and Middle East and are looking at Europe and the US. At some point, we will have a flagship store in Mumbai,” says Shah.

Launched in 2011 the brand makes classic, premium clothing. “We use khadi and printing which conforms to environmental laws. It’s beautifully crafted but wardrobe filler. It’s simple everyday clothing. We have handmade prints. We have also displayed our range at five seasons of Lakme Fashion Week. People are tired of PR driven brands. We are somewhat naïve and humble and so we stand a chance,” Shah sums up.

Shah has graduated in product design and development from the London College of Fashion. His work experience at fashion houses like Chloé and Burberry, and retailers like Browns and Jigsaw continue to inspire him while creating designs under Shift.