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Boby Kurian

Bangalore , Feb. 17

SF Jeans, which marked the foray of Madura Garments into the denim category, plans an aggressive retail push by opening 13 new exclusive stores in fiscal 2004-05. The brand also hopes to increase the sales revenue to Rs 18.5 crore during the year.

Mr Sanjeev Mohanty, Head of SF Jeans, said the company would end the current year with turnover of Rs 8 crore. "We have six stores now, and plan to open 13 new outlets tracking the top 10 metros in the coming year. It is an ambitious move for a two-year-old brand," he said.

Mr Mohanty claimed success in establishing SF as an aspirational fashion denim brand among the core target market of 15- to 24-year-olds. SF, which was voted as the best brand launch of the year in the just concluded Lycra Images Fashion Awards, is priced between Rs 895 and Rs 1,495.

Mr Mohanty said the brand would soon unleash a television campaign reflecting its `Be Game' positioning. "The advertising developed by Fish Eye Creative will capture the brand's attitude rather than focusing on a product-specific story. Till now, our branding efforts have been on target," he said.

Meanwhile, SF Jeans has also entered the department store channel with its entry into LifeStyle and Crossroads. "We are proving the sceptics who thought Madura was not serious about denim wrong when we launched SF," Mr Mohanty added.

SF's exclusive retailing is either through flagship stores, which are between 1200 sq. ft. and 1,500 sq. ft., and smaller format ones that fall in the 600 sq. ft. to 800 sq. ft. range. "Our flagship store will be the pivotal for all the localised marketing activities," Mr Mohanty said.

The official also said the brand was preparing to move up the price band in due course of time. "We are looking at offering products at the Rs 1,895-level," he said explaining that it would pit the brand against the top-end of international denim labels already here and those expected to enter the market after 2005. "At present, we see good business in the Rs 1,195-Rs 1,295 bracket," he added.

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