Van Heusen, the apparel brand owned by the Aditya Birla Groups’ Madura Garments, with a near 15% share of the branded shirts market in the country, expects to increase its business by about 30% to around Rs 500 crore in 2010-11. Shital Kumar Mehta, COO, Van Heusen, in an interview with FE?s Shubham Batra, said the firm intends to launch jeans under its VDot brand. Excerpts:

How is Van Heusen faring in the Indian market?

The size of the branded shirts market in India is around Rs 10,000 crore across all price points. In the segment that we compete in, which is the top-end segment (somewhere in around Rs 2,000 crore), we have a share of around 10-15%. Among the brands in this segment?prices ranging between Rs 1,200 and Rs 4,000?are Wills, Allen Solly, Louis Phillipe and Arrow. The market for branded shirts is growing at around 10-12% annually and the segment between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 is growing the fastest.

We also have a presence in the market for trousers and command a share of over 30% plus. We are also very strong in the suits and blazers? segment where we compete with Raymond, which makes fabric. This is a fast-growing segment?growing at between 15% and 20%. In 2008-09, for the brand as a whole, our revenues stood at around Rs 310 crore and we should end this year with revenues of somewhere close to Rs 380 crore.

Are you planning to enter any new segments within apparels?

This summer we are planning to venture out into the market for jeans with the V-Dot brand. The market in India for casual jeans wear, according to our estimates, is anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 crore and there are several international brands in the market. We will be newcomers but we hope to address price points of Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,800 and thus tackle competition. We also intend to launch stylish jeans at price points which may be slightly lower than those that the competition provides. We should be able to record revenues of around Rs 100-200 crore over a period of time.

What are your plans for retailing?

Currently, we sell through 65 exclusive branded outlets (EBOs) and also through 300-350 bigger department stores which buy from us round the year. This apart, we also sell through another 300 to 350 multi-branded stores who buy from us seasonally during festivals and weddings. We hope to have around 85 EBOs in the next 5 years.

Where do you see the growth coming from in the next few years?

We are seeing growth coming from two directions. Firstly, through Tier-I and II cities, which are seeing more sales across ranges, and secondly, through segments such as suitings and womenswear, which are recording a fast rate of growth in bigger cities.