Shorty Capone's Vision: Be the best in its business

The designer yet affordable casual collection by Shorty Capone is targeted at the young Indian audiences. Building upon its success in the Indian market, the brand now wants to expand its wings through MBOs, LFS and EBOs. As Shahnawaz Sheikh,

Chairman & MD, Shorty Capone Fashion Corporation explains, “Apart from major expansion plans we want to stay as unique as possible. We will also add semi-formal shirts in 16 styles to our vast product portfolio soon."

The complete product range of the brand includes everything from shoes to caps. “We have some 15 products in denim, which include skirts, three-fours, shorts, jeans, denim shirts, jackets. Apart from T-shirts, shoes and denims, we also have bags and accessories,” adds Sheikh. It currently has one brand store in Mumbai spread over 1,050 sq. ft. carpet area. Elaborating on their retail plans, Sheikh says, “In the future our stores may be a little bigger and may be franchised. We have started stocking our shoe range in MBOs. We have signed up with 15 stores of Reliance Footprint. Each store is giving us some 50 sq ft., where we will display 35 styles. We believe in having our products at as many shelves as possible. EBOs and LFS will be the way for us.” Also, the brand has a global reach and sells internationally.

The brand Shorty Capone was launched five years back in Chicago and Sheikh was a supplier to them. Realising that the product has lot of scope in India, he decided to bring the youth-oriented collection here. “There was no international brand in India that connected directly to youth. There was a big void and we wanted to fill that. So that’s how two years back we started acquiring the rights of the brand worldwide. Now we are involved in every aspect -- from designing to selling except for the American market,” Sheikh explains.

The production takes place out of five countries - China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Turkey and Indonesia. Every product is made in a specific country. Talking about the USP of the products, Sheikh says, “We want to be between the Indian and the hardcore international brands. So we want to be priced right. We are not going overboard with our pricing even though we are a totally imported brand. We use only Italian fabrics for denim and our fabrics and colours are what make our range unique.” Summing up he says his vision is to make “Shorty Capone the best and most desirable in our business.”