A young man walking into a Peter England store has a fair idea of what he wants to buy. A formal shirt for
a job interview, formal trousers, or clothes for his first job. For years, Peter England was known as an affordable formal menswear brand under which young people starting an early corporate career could find quality outfits. Now, the brand wants to expand its offering and cater to the needs of the new generation of buyers.
Earlier this month, Peter England launched a new sub-brand Vybe. The Aditya Birla Lifestyle-owned brand plans to offer a complete wardrobe rather than sell standalone apparel categories. The brand believes the new generation buys clothes more often than earlier generations, and that their choices are led by what they see on social media feeds and trending reels.
Experts say the move makes sense as there is a growing population of Gen Z buyers who are looking for both quality and affordability.
A Redseer Strategy Consultants study suggests that Gen Z will drive half of the fashion industry sales (including apparel, footwear, and accessories) by 2030. Peter England is looking at a fast design-to-shelf cycle and entry-level prices for Vybe that would start at Rs 1,200, with every piece priced below Rs 2,000.
No doubt there’s demand but the problem lies elsewhere. For the longest time, Peter England has represented traditional formal menswear, and for a new generation of buyers being “formal” simply kills the vibe. Second, for the initial rollout across 50 stores, the company decided to keep Vybe as an extension of Peter England, rather than giving it a separate retail identity — something Westside achieved with great success with Zudio. Experts say having a separate retail presence would have given Vybe an unencumbered start. “Without a distinctive identity to strongly connect with the consumer ethos, it might become a missed opportunity,” says Devangshu
Dutta, founder & CEO, Third Eyesight. “It could become a follower brand being carried by the parent’s scale.”
In Vybe’s defence, Anand Aiyer, chief business officer, Peter England, has said that the brand decided against an independent presence to start with because pre-launch research had indicated that young shoppers look for brands that combine affordability with trust. Peter England’s existing retail network gives the newcomer scale, and consumer trust associated with it offers ammunition to compete with digital-first labels like Snitch and The Souled Store.
Aiyer believes that this approach allows Vybe to be distinctive without having to build reach and infrastructure from scratch. “Vybe has been created with a distinct identity within Peter England, with its product language, visual expression and cultural voice developed specifically for a younger consumer. At the same time, the Peter England name gives Vybe immediate access to consumer trust and an established retail and digital network. ,” Aiyer says. The brand will evaluate other retail formats as the business grows.
A stitch in time
According to Praveen Govindu, partner, Deloitte India, traditional fashion brands can resonate with Gen Zs, but the offering must go beyond being a younger-looking sub-brand. And that entails a complete mindset change. The thinking will have to be digital-first, incorporating the traits of fast fashion operations. That would mean shortening design-to-shelf cycles by using real-time social and search trends, creating accessible price points without diluting quality, building more authentic creator and community engagement, and making stores more experiential while seamlessly connecting discovery, trial and purchase across channels.
More than anything, say experts, understanding the needs of the younger generation and responding to their evolving preferences and choices would be key. Recent studies show 50-60% of Gen Z consumers purchase clothing primarily for self-expression rather than social validation, while many also say quality outweighs price in purchase decisions. This clearly shows Gen Z should not be regarded simply as a price-conscious cohort. “Traditional brands can remain highly relevant by combining their existing strengths in quality and credibility with greater personalisation, cultural relevance, speed and self-expression-led propositions,“ adds Govindu.
Taking on nimble competitors like Snitch (revenue of Rs 900 crore in FY26) or The Souled Store (FY25 revenue around Rs 500 crore), or for that matter Zudio, which has close to 1,000 stores in India with a huge presence in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, will not be easy.
On the bright side, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail’s digital fashion vertical, which includes brands like Bewakoof, Veirdo, Nobero, Urbano and Wrogn among others, is performing well. It saw a 11% jump in topline to Rs 220 crore in Q1FY27 and narrowed its EBITDA losses to Rs 42 crore. It has also built market leading brands like Allen Solly, Van Heusen and Louis Philippe, so it has got a fair idea what it takes, says Harminder Sahni, founder & MD, Wazir Advisors.