Arvind takes brand play to mid-priced womenswear mart

ARVIND Mills is taking the brand play in the western womenswear into the mainstream market. Its mid-priced formal wear brand Excalibur, which till now was limited to premium players like Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Scullers, is being extended to womenswear. Targetting the young executives, Arvind Mills is set to launch the Excalibur womenswear by October. Arvind Mills plans to replicate the Live, Work and Play theme of Excalibur for women collection as well. Similar to Excalibur menswear, the womenswear will range between Rs 500-1,500. Formal shirts for women will range between Rs 500-1000, T-shirts will be priced between Rs 300-600 and trousers will be available for Rs 750-1,200. “Excalibur womenswear will largely address the needs of growing number of women executives. Initially womenswear will be part of the existing Excalibur store network and depending on the response we get we could look at launchi n g standalone womenswear stores,” Suresh J, COO told ET. According to the industry estimates, the current size of western womenswear market in India is about Rs 400-500 crore. The total market size for the entire range of womenswear, largely ethnic wear, stands at Rs 30,000 crore. Growing at the current rate of 40%, the western womenswear market in India is expected to become Rs 1,000-crore market within three years. Meanwhile, Excalibur is expected to become Rs 100-crore brand this year. Having a network of 100 stores, Arvind Mills plans to launch 75 Excalibur stores by this year end. Focussing on tier II cities as well, Arvind Mills plans to launch Excalibur stores in Belgaum, Hubli and Bellary in Karnataka. “As of now we operate around 15 Excalibur stores across tier II cities in India. Our stores in cities like Haridwar and Jhansi are generating good profits,” said Mr Suresh.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes