Small Apparel Brands On A Roll

Small brands that are mushrooming in small cities are now attracting the attention of private players. Brands such as Liverpool Retail India's Barcelona, Vir Retail's John Hill and Nahar Group's Cotton County that sell outfits at less than one-third the price of national brands are opening stores faster than the cautious national brands.

These brands have a price range of Rs150 to 600 and work on low margins and fast stock turnover. Their marketing efforts are mostly localised and they woo new consumers into the organised sector through discounted offers like 'buy one, get three.'

Mr Baqar Naqvi, associate vice-president for retail and consumer goods at Technopak, says: "Several regional brands are challenging the might of big players within the value segment where a significant proportion of Indian demand exists. Many of them will soon grow into national players and capture share from established brands."

Mr Sachin Sahni, vice-president of the Rs 200 crore Cotton County brand which has 600 stores, said: "Franchisees are also keen on partnering the discount model as the scale enables us to take back unsold stock and deploy it in markets where it would sell."

News Source: http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=188&yr=2010