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Home-grown denim brand Spykar is looking to expand its product portfolio by entering the athleisure segment.
‘Athleisure’ refers to a clothing line that includes products which are worn to gyms and also double up as casual wear. It is considered a ₹7,000-crore market in India, growing at around 14 per cent per annum, market sources say.
Spykar, known mostly for its menswear range particularly premium denims (priced between ₹2,000 and ₹5,000), is in the process of expanding into women’s wear by the end of this fiscal.
Nascent market
According to Sanjay Vakharia, CEO, the company is exploring the possibility of an entry into the nascent but growing athleisure market, and work around it has already begun.
“The immediate focus is to expand the women’s wear range and then enter new categories like athleisure,” he told BusinessLine .
Athleisure’s rising popularity comes from Bollywood celebrities often being pictured in such casual wear at airports or on social media.
In fact, some film celebrities and cricketers also have their own athleisure apparel lines. Apart from international sportswear brands like Nike, Puma and Adidas, apparel-makers like Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, and innerwear brands like Jockey have athleisure offerings. The apparel lines mostly include T-shirts, tops, track pants, shorts, sweatshirts, jackets and specific shoes.
“Athleisure clothing requires a mindset change and currently it’s the youth and millennials who have taken to it up,” said Vakharia.
Jump in revenues
Spykar, which competes with denim brands like Levi and Jack and Jones, reported a turnover of ₹550 crore in FY18 and is expecting a near 30 per cent jump in revenues to over ₹700 crore in FY19.
Topwear (shirts and T-shirts) and premium denims are expected to drive the numbers. The revenue impact of the women’s wear range is expected to be reflected FY20 onwards.
“In the first five months of this fiscal, we have seen a 27 per cent growth. Numbers are expected to pick up during the upcoming festival season,” Vakharia said.
The company is also looking at store count addition and expanding into multi-format retail outlets.
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