Tween to woo young India with luxury line

Well known retailer of fashion, apparel and accessories, Blues Clothing Company has launched three Turkish brands in India. The newly introduced Turkish brands, Tween has two sub brands, Damat and ADV that belong to Turkish Orka Group.

“India is an upcoming market and it’s becoming more and more fashionable. We are the first Turkish brand to get into the Indian market. Consumers are looking for new things. We are glad to be in India with Blues Galleria and to expand in the Indian market,” says Alp Olgac, International Sales & Marketing, Orka Group.

Tween stands for the contemporary trendy line where as Damat and ADV stands for a classic line. “It’s a purely franchise agreement on a pan-India basis where we work as their partners. Our partners understand the limitations of the Indian market viz the high rental value, high duty structure etc. It’s a long term view and a long term vision to grow together. It’s difficult to get these three brands under one roof but we managed to implement this concept in our own stores and now we are doing it in the international arena,” avers Abhay Gupta, Executive Director, Blues Clothing Company.

Tween is neither purely formal nor leisure. It can be worn both as formal wear and leisure wear. Gupta says as a company they are aware that there are gaps in the market. Either there are brands that are purely formal or purely casual. “We believe in offering a brand that can be worn to office as well as to a party in the evening—that’s where the gap lies,” explains Gupta.  Tween’s target is the 18 to 25 or 30 year olds -- the segment that’s growing the fastest. The idea is to present them what the world is wearing.

Tween has more than 300 outlets globally. Gupta adds, “It’s targeting the same youth I am targeting. It’s targeting the same accessible luxury positioning I am targeting. It’s the price points of Rs 5000 to Rs 20,000 which is accessible for people like us -- easily accessible yet a luxury environment. Because that’s what the new Indian youth is all about.”

Likewise the brand Damat will be catering to the needs of those who are likely to get married and require formal wear, wedding wear and tuxedos. ADV which is a short form of adventure caters to the needs of the ones who like to move out on for an adventure. The brand has been offering suits, shirts, shoes, socks, underwear, ties, etc. Shirts are priced at Rs 5000 and it costs Rs 20,000 for a total ensemble.

Gupta says they don’t work on the traditional seasons. “That’s just to build the base stock and going forward we will give a fresh look every six weeks. We are so sure the numbers will move at a fast pace, so we don’t want a bulk import for six months. We want to have a fresh collection coming on the floor every month.”

Recently Blues Clothing launched its third store in Mumbai. They have two in Delhi. Their fourth store is coming up in Delhi in a month’s time at Pacific Mall. “Almost simultaneously the fifth store will open at Bangalore. We will first take Tween into Blues Galleria as Blues is a known brand now. Once Tween gets its identity and after the ad campaign gets accepted, Tween, will have standalone stores as well. By 2011, in addition to Blues Galleria there will be Tween stores,” he says.   

The company also has plans to issue an IPO in the near future. “An IPO has to happen because of the kind of growth we are expecting will lead us to break the normal route in terms private equity to public equity. Right now we are a private limited company. Soon we will become a listed company and then we will proceed,” Gupta says. The company grew by 50 to 100 per cent in the last three years. This year they crossed Rs 106 crores and expect to double in the next year.