The Hindu Business Line : Levi’s to rope in more banks to fund jeans purchase scheme

Buoyed by the response to its EMI scheme, jeanswear brand Levi’s is looking to rope in more banks to partner with it to “drive consumption of premium jeanswear” in the country.

Currently, Levi’s has partnered with HDFC Bank and Axis Bank to offer consumers a chance to pay the transaction amount using the credit card of these banks over three monthly instalments. The scheme, which was piloted in June in Bangalore, was rolled out nationally in September.

Says Mr Shyam Sukhramani, Director – Marketing, Levi Strauss India, “The EMI scheme gives access to more people to shop for a lot more. Since its launch, we have seen that the bill value on the EMI scheme is 50 per cent higher than the non-EMI transaction value using a card.

“The EMI scheme has touched 20 per cent of consumers who shop with cards at our stores. We want to get more consumers to buy into the premium segment and also upgrade their purchases to higher amounts.”

While the minimum transaction amount fixed by HDFC Bank is Rs 1,500, Axis Bank has stipulated a threshold of Rs 3,000. “When the scheme was announced, Axis Bank’s threshold was Rs 5,000. We have managed to bring it down to Rs 3,000 so that more people get access to premium wear.”

Mr Sukhramani adds, “We also want to get many banks to partner with us in this drive.” Levi’s is talking to three-four banks and is expected to make an announcement soon.

Currently, the EMI scheme is only available at Levi’s exclusive stores. Ultimately, the retailer wants to expand the scheme into departmental stores as well.

The denim market in the country is estimated at 100 million pairs. About 40 per cent of the market is in the organised sector and premium wear accounts for about 30 per cent of it. Levi’s operates in the premium segment with prices ranging from Rs 1,399 to Rs 34,000 at the upper end.

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