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Premium menswear brand Blackberrys is eyeing a 20 per cent growth this fiscal as it looks to expand into smaller towns. Apart from the South, the company expects good growth in the East.
Sangeet Kishore, Brand Head – Blackberrys Casuale, it is looking to consolidate its presence in the country. In fact, entering Tier-2/3 markets has worked well for the brand. The strategy is expected to continue.
This came after Blackberrys’ — mostly known as a formal wear player — revamped itself. While it continued with the mainline (formal wear offerings), the rebranding came with the launch of sub-brands, ‘Casuale’ and ‘Urban’ targeting the causal- and street-wear segments. The revamp has paid off, he said. Some of the non-metro cities where Blackberrys has seen good traction include Patna, Motihari (Bihar) and the North-East.
Strong in the North and parts of western India, Blackberrys found traction when its revamped avatar started gaining ground in States such as Bihar and Chhattisgarh. It plans to focus on the eastern markets of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
Souther markets — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka — account for 21-24 per cent of its sales. However, Blackberrys now intends to be closer to the market and may look at specific offerings targeting each of the southern States.
“South India has to be seen as five different markets with different requirements. It will take another year or so for us to strengthen our footprint there,” Kishore told BusinessLine .
Staving deep discounts
Blackberrys, owned by Mohan Clothing Company Pvt Ltd, reported a turnover of ₹900 crore in FY18. It did not share FY19 turnover details.
According to Kishore, the company expects FY20 to be a better year with consumer sentiment improving and stability in terms of discounting by e-commerce players.
Incidentally, Blackberrys had to work out a strategy to tackle the deep-discounting strategy of e-tailers. It came up with a slew of products targeting the price-conscious online buyer. While some offerings may be discounted, there is also a set of lower priced offerings (with low or no discounts).
“We are hopeful of clocking a 20 per cent growth this fiscal. There is some improvement in consumer sentiment. And the threat of deep discounting by e-tailers seems to be waning. Not many sites are now opting for the deep-discounting strategy,” he pointed out.
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