Leading denim maker Arvind Ltd will launch 'Arvind' brand apparels next year to enter the Rs 2,000-crore organised branded apparel market in the country.
“We want to create a whole new apparel experience under the Arvind brand now,” Kulin S. Lalbhai, Executive Director, New Initiatives, Arvind Ltd, told Business Line on the sidelines of opening of the company’s first flagship 'Arvind Store' in Ahmedabad, its home ground.
The new format store aims at recreating the Arvind brand into a whole new avatar, he said, adding that the company would just not remain a denim or cotton shirting brand.
“We want to emerge as a complete lifestyle brand, offering accessories as well.”
The Arvind Store will offer premium suiting and shirting fabrics and display brands like Arrow, US POLO Association, Flying Machines, Custom Tailoring and Tresca, besides products from American lifestyle brand Nautica.
New concepts
In addition, it will have customised tailoring solutions and two new concepts namely Studio Arvind and Arvind Denim Lab that will offer customised washed jeans made to order.
He said, with this, Arvind will present for the first time in India hand-crafted Bespoke denim. The garment will be delivered to the customer in 14 days.
Flagship store
The flagship store is different from the existing 120 retail Arvind outlets across India in that it will offer the entire range of Arvind products and services under one roof, right from clothing and ready-mades to designing.
“We have even introduced, for the first time in the world, a self-designing place where a customer can design his or her personalised denims, including the desired stitching, buttons, even his or her name on it.”
Exclusive flagship stores
Arvind will open two to three similar exclusive flagship stores in the metros in the next few months, and add another 30 stores to its existing chain of retail outlets. Unlike the 1,500-sqft retail outlets, the flagship stores are in large formats of 4,000 sq ft, he said.
Besides, the one-stop-shop flagship store will also have a design studio where the customer could select his or her own designing preferences from start-to-finish. The company plans to roll out The Arvind Store format to over 400 stores in the next five years.
Lalbhai said that India’s apparel market is worth $3.5 billion annually, only about a fourth of which is in the organised sector.
Arvind Ltd’s turnover in 2012-13 was Rs 5,500 crore, one-third of which came from brands and retail. The company sees a 20 per cent growth this fiscal, he said.
“In the next five years, we plan to make our apparel business worth Rs 6,000 crore.,” he added.
Arvind’s garmenting facility in Bangladesh is expected to commence production in the next six to seven months.