The Tirupur-based Prem Group of Companies (PGC) plans to roll out the Switcher innerwear in the southern and western markets in India during the current fiscal before taking the brand national during next year.

The company is one of the largest employers in the hosiery industry in Tirupur region with over 8,000 employees.

It looking at having production facilities in the UAE and Sri Lanka to take advantage of the support provided by the respective governments to the manufacturing sector.

N. Mohan, Director, Switcher Trading (India) Pvt Ltd, Tirupur, told Business Line that the Switcher products were available in 18 European nations and last year, the company entered the UAE markets.

PGC is a vertically integrated company with presence in cotton spinning to garment manufacturing and exports.

The company, which has a long business relationship with the Switcher group, picked up a substantial share some time ago in Switcher Holdings of Switzerland and has begun introducing the brand in the South from the beginning of the current fiscal.

Innerwear market

As the penetration level of branded products in the innerwear space is very limited, the company wants to focus on this segment to begin with.

The innerwear market in India is estimated to be about Rs 15,000 crore in size but there is a very large gap between the market leader and its nearest competitors, whom Mohan declined to name. It is this gap that PGC wants to exploit.

The company has just launched the men’s and women’s innerwear in select markets in the South and has planned to come out with kid’s wear next year. Its target is to capture 3 per cent of the market share by 2014.

At present, organised manufacturers have about 10 per cent of the market in the segment dominated by unorganised players.

Switchwear outlets

Since the launch of the product in the South in April, the products are available in six cities in 600 outlets.

During the current fiscal, the company has planned to cover the four southern and western markets. The number of outlets where Switcher innerwears will be available would go up to 2,500 during the current year.

Mohan said the company will be expanding the product range to T.Shirts and sports wear which would come in about 70-80 designs.

These will be positioned as mid-segment products and they are launched after a time lag of three months after the launch of innerwear.

While the innerwear is priced in the Rs 75-100 range per piece, T.Shirts are available in the Rs 199-499 price band. The company has also planned to do online sale of its products next year.

Market growth

Mohan pegged the growth of the innerwear market at 16-19 per cent annually.

The share of the branded players in this segment is expected to go up to 20-22 per cent over the next decade, more because of cannibalising the share of unorganised players rather than by the overall growth of the market itself.

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