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Premium apparel brand Louis Philippe has stepped up local sourcing and reduced imports to protect it from the rupee’s vagaries.
Louis Philippe, owned by Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, imports specialty fabrics, trims, finishing and woven garments from China, Indonesia, Italy and Turkey.
Imports account for 25 per cent of its fabric needs. This used to be 35 per cent till a few months ago.
With the rupee depreciation, imports have become costlier. “We have increased domestic sourcing to reduce dependence on imports. If the rupee behaviour continues, we will reduce imports further,” says Jacob John, Brand Head.
Specialty fabrics
The brand has traditionally sourced from mills in Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. Apart from deepening existing ties, Louis Philippe has now found new suppliers in Kolhapur. “Many Italian mills have set up units in Kolhapur,” says John.
But imports cannot be shunned, given that certain specialty fabrics are hard to find in the country.
“We need a good balance of local and imported fabrics. We are negotiating with suppliers abroad on the price front,” adds John.
While the rupee depreciation has not affected most apparel brands in the country, as they mainly source locally, premium brands — which have a high import content — face a margin squeeze.
The weak rupee forced Louis Philippe to hike retail prices by Rs 100-200 in July, which marked the start of the autumn-winter season.
Price hikes
Earlier, Louis Philippe shirts were priced between Rs 1,299 and Rs 3,000. Now, the price range is Rs 1,399-Rs 3,500. Van Heusen, also from the Madura stable, effected a small price hike too.
With the end-of-season sales hogging the limelight in July-August, the real impact of the price hike will be felt this month onwards, says John.
“There is an overall sluggishness in the market. Hopefully, the festive season will perk things up. We will continue to expand our retail network aggressively.”
In the last one year alone, Louis Philippe added 50 exclusive stores to take its total tally to 135.
Louis Philippe expects to grow 15 per cent and touch a retail turnover of Rs 1,000 crore this year.
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