There was a time when the innerwear segment in India was dominated by brands like Lux, Big C, Jockey, and Rupa, among others, before the entry of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands. These brands are typically Internet-born and post-reaching a certain number of buyers, they typically expand their reach via distribution. Bummer is one such new entrant in the innerwear space.“We are fairly invisible in terms of market share as we are a small player in a large market. Our key metrics including sales, brand visibility and brand awareness, have improved post being featured in Shark Tank India. We’ve grown approximately seven to eight times in the last two years across metrics such as revenue and website traffic,” Sulay Lavsi, founder, Bummer, told BrandWagon Online.
The market size of the innerwear and nightwear market for men stands at approximately Rs 8,830 crore and is expected to grow further at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.23% from 2024-2028. Additionally, the innerwear and nightwear market for women is expected to amount to Rs 76,228.65 crore in 2024 and is predicted to grow further by 5.60% CAGR from 2024-2028, as per market intelligence platform, Statista. Moreover, a volume growth of 3.9% is expected in the space.
The company further plans to foray into categories such as kid’s underwear and teenage underwear. Lavsi highlighted that loungewear and underwear would be a focal point for the future.
Bummer’s revenue from operations increased 228% to Rs 7.77 crore in FY23 from Rs 2.37 crore in FY22, as per regulatory filings accessed by business intelligence platform, Tofler. Additionally, the company’s net loss widened 177% to Rs 2.94 crore in FY23 from Rs 1.06 crore in FY22. “We’ve cut our burn rate by 50% this fiscal year – FY24. We are also clocking a 2x growth in revenue compared to the last fiscal year. We aim to break even by May 2025 (FY26),” Lavsi, added.
The company claimed that its website accounts for approximately 85% of revenue while 15% of its revenue is generated by e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra, among others. “We have recently gone offline about two months ago, and we expect to be the next big thing for us this year and the years to come. Offline channels contribute approximately one percent to overall revenue,” Lavsi highlighted. While the brand does not own its branded retail stores, it claims to be present in approximately 15-20 multi-brand retail stores. Moreover, it plans to expand to 1,000 retail stores by the next fiscal (FY25) with 80% presence in metro cities and the remaining 20% in emerging metro cities such as Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ahmedabad, among others.
The company which claims to sell goods at an average ticket price of Rs 410-420 stated that 50% of its consumers hail from metro cities with the rest of the 50% hailing from tier 2 and 3 cities. According to Lavsi, the pricing has been kept competitive keeping in mind that we would compete against the incumbent players such as Jockey, and Rupa. He further claimed that the most sold product of the company is men’s trunks. Furthermore, the cost of customer acquisition of the company ranges between Rs 300-400. “ The printing of our products is a fairly expensive affair, as compared to making underwear of a solid colour. We have seven to eight colours on all garments with different sets of prints. Our products are made from micro modal fibre, which is expensive compared to cotton and is more sustainable which adds to the premium feel of the brand,” Lavsi added.
Furthermore, the brand’s advertising and marketing spend is focused completely on digital. “New-age companies have brought about a sense of freshness to the industry with new advertising avenues and new ways of advertising,” he said. Bummer’s target audience is primarily millennials and Gen-Z. However, the Ahmedabad-based company claimed to have a trend wherein the 35-40-year-old demographic has also started gaining traction. “We aim to target consumers in the age bracket of 35-40 years old. The age group consists of new mothers and fathers. These are those consumers who still feel young. We have seen a traction in that age group which we will continue to build upon,” Lavsi stated.
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