An old steel trunk, recycled wooden beams in the roof, not-so-well-finished racks that display a range of footwear, and oldish wooden chairs certainly give the store a rugged look. This is Reliance Brand's Timberland at Express Avenue Mall in Chennai. “The store's rugged outdoors imagery has been consciously designed to resonate with the DNA of the global premium brand Timberland. The look is universal,” says Mr Darshan Mehta, President and CEO, Reliance Brands.

The premium footwear, apparel and accessories brand Timberland is brought to India by Reliance Brands Ltd, part of the Reliance Industries Ltd, through exclusive license and distribution agreement with the brand.

The 2,200-sq.ft. Chennai store is the first in South India and third in the country after Delhi and Kolkata.

Announcing the launch, Mr Darshan Mehta, President and CEO of Reliance Brands, said that while the shoes are imported and marketed under the distribution agreement with Timberland, apparel is manufactured in India under a licensing agreement from the brand.

‘No competition'

To a question on the brand's competition in the Indian market, he said that currently, there is none. “In the footwear segment, for example, we have brands such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok only in the sneakers and sports shoes segment, whereas for general outdoor purposes, there is not any great brand available in India.” Timberland positions itself as an ‘authentic sustainable outdoor brand'. It has four lines of shoes - Mountain Athletics, Earthkeepers, Classics and City Adventures - and most of them are “built with recycled materials, like rubber from recycled tyres”; and a range of casual clothes. Most of the products sport price tags upwards of Rs 1,500, going up to over Rs 10,000.

Is there demand for such high-priced shoes, apparel and accessories in India in the first place?

“Of course, yes. But it is latent as of now,” is Mr Mehta's quick reply. What will those who currently buy top-end Woodland or Bata shoes graduate to, he shot back. There is a void in the pyramid. There are people at every level who want to graduate further.

There are certainly rich people who want to dress up their kids even better. In fact, many Indians buy Timberland shoes abroad. “The only problem here is that exposure to such brands is limited not because of lack of demand but because of limited reach ... in terms of distribution and outlets,” he explains.

According to him, Reliance Brands plans to have at least 15 Timberland stores in nine cities across the country by the end of 2011.

In addition to Timberland, Reliance Brands has also signed similar licence and distribution pact with another clothing and accessories brand Quiksilver, the stores of which will be launched very soon. Besides, the company has entered into joint venture agreements with three Italian apparel and accessories brands - Diesel, Paul & Shark and Zegna.

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