Aristocrat revamps luggage portfolio

Mona Mehta in Mumbai

CLOSE on the heels of launching the Cybercase and Caprifolio range of premium soft luggage, the Rs 75-crore Aristocrat Marketing Ltd — a 100 per cent-owned marketing arm of Universal Luggage Manufacturing Co Ltd — has embarked on revamping its entire range of luggage portfolio by upgrading the look of the product to offer value-addition at value-for-money pricing.

The company has invested Rs 2 crore on this exercise, which is targeted at the festive season this year.

According to Aristocrat Marketing vice-president (sales and marketing) Mr AK Rath: “To strengthen the retail route, the company is expanding the number of retailers from 600 to 1,000 and expanding the marketing base for Cybercase and Caprifolios from 60 to 100 premium outlets by 2002-end. Simultaneously, it will supply the entire luggage directly to the IT industry and various software firms.”

In the soft luggage segment, Aristocrat plans to tap the niche market by adding a new range to Cybercase and Caprifolio portfolios in response to the growing consumer demand for value additions. The move is targeted at the middle-to-premium end of the market.

It is estimated that Aristocrat has a marketshare of 16 per cent in the overall luggage market in which VIP is the market leader with a 63 per cent marketshare. The organised market amounts to Rs 525 crore and unorganised at Rs 1,200 crore.

In the moulded luggage segment, Aristocrat Marketing — which is strong in the middle-end of this segment — plans to now focus on the lower-end category, which is estimated to be a Rs 300-crore segment. To spur volumes in this category, Aristocrat is adding a new economy range with 25 litre capacity priced at Rs 315 to the existing non-framed Hero portfolio. Hero is a sub-brand of Aristocrat. The company currently markets the Hero range with 45 litre capacity priced at Rs 495, at the rate of 40,000 pieces per annum. The company expects Hero volumes to touch 50,000 pieces by 2002-end.

Reasons Mr Rath: “In the current luggage industry scenario, where the market for moulded luggage is growing at a rate of four-five per cent vis-a-vis the fast-paced soft luggage market (growth: 35 per cent per annum), the company felt the need to target the lower-end of the moulded luggage market where the demand is on the rise.”

The Aristocrat range of moulded luggage is available across 2,500 dealers, (of which 600 dealers stock Aristocrat soft luggage) and eight company-owned and franchisee-owned exclusive outlets to include eight ‘Aristocrat World’ and ‘Aristocrat Plaza’.

The company is investing Rs 2 crore on advertisement this year, compared to Rs 1.6 crore adspend last year.