High street brand Esprit is expected to almost double its topline in FY 2010-11 by adopting a brand refresh strategy. The strategy includes offering value-added products at a better price point. The fashion brand, which operates more than 640 directly managed retail stores in 40 countries across the globe, has forecast revenues of over Rs 70 crore for FY09-10 from its Indian operations. The brand offers 12 product lines encompassing women?s wear, men?s wear, kid?s wear, as well as accessories.
Esprit, which is headquartered in Germany, had entered into a strategic tie-up with Madura Garments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo, in 2005, to distribute its products in India.
Manjula Tiwari, COO, Esprit Madura Garments, said, ?At present, we have 50 stores in India including Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai. We plan to reach out to Kolkata and other cities in the next financial year. We have reported a 100% CAGR on a y-o-y basis.? She added that Indian operations play a vital role in its overall revenues. ?However, each market has different climate conditions, size and fits, so we need to cater to the changing needs of consumers,? said Tiwari.
Currently, Esprit is the fourth largest brand globally in high street fashion brands. ?The Indian market is important though currently it does not contribute a significant percentage to the label?s annual revenues of $5 billion,? she added. Nevertheless, consumer spends are on an upward curve in India amongst other Asian countries. Esprit has recently lowered its prices by 25% on several offerings to attract attention.
Fashion consultant Gurbir Singh Gulati said that Esprit has studied the Indian market well and is consistently trying to have an edge over its competitors like Spanish fashion chain Mango and FCUK, a designer label from the UK who are equally penetrating into the length and breadth of India.
According to Gulati, when the brand Esprit entered the country, there were top-of-the-line brands like Aldo, Burberry, Canali, Versace, Debenhams, Gucci, Guess, Hugo Boss, Mango, Marks & Spencer and Tommy Hilfiger, among others for it to compete with. However, the brand has managed to withstand competition and grow in the Indian market.
Gulati further added that Esprit has a business preposition like its contemporaries and operates through large format stores and multi brand outlets. Also, in culturally-bound markets like India and Germany, aspirational values of customers are very high, and that has to be taken care of, he said.