|
Tex Talk
Corporate wear: A big business
Suddenly, there is too much talk in the textile industry
about the formal wears for the executives. So much so that the last week, this
columnist attended a group discussion amidst the executives of a textile a major
on the launching of a new series of formal wears for male managers that should
overtake all the existing dresses in the market. This company was debating to
use either real corporate executives or the new found sports persons to promote
their brands of corporate wears. “Today, big advertisement companies and
the brand promoters have signed up with the brilliant hockey players and athletes
to use them to promote the new products. This is much more than the earlier
use of the cricketers’ images. So, everything about this promotion would
be new just as our products are”, an executive of the company told this
columnist in the course of the discussions. The earning potential of some such
new sports stars is placed anywhere upwards of Rs 30 lakh a year. This means
that if any garment maker signs up with the contracted person, he has to pay
the player a good sum for his agreeing to wear the concerned garment. But, the
debate was never ending as to whether the corporate executives would be attracted
by hockey players sporting formal wears.
Certainly, there is a competition to win a big share
of the garment market that caters to the executive world. Already, the executive
market is a high volume segment. Raymond, for instance, runs in the race with
a set of shirts, which it calls the “corporate insignia”. These are
‘classic dress shirts’ which are highly priced, but elegant looking.
An exclusiveness is sought to be created with the announcement: “The ‘corporate
insignia’ shirts are made from 100 per cent US pima cotton with ‘compact
spinning technology’ for sharper designs, smoother feel and excellent drape.
Yes, the normal executive does not bother to find out what sort of technology
that has gone into the making of the shirts and for that matter, how many of
them understand what ‘compact spinning technology’ means? But, the
effect is more important. Capitalising on this, the Raymond advertisement announces:
“Men who strive to be the best, should not expect any less from their shirts!”.
One new wave suiting that is causing welcome ripples in the garment market in
the country now is from Geoffrey Hammonds. This comes under an international
selection. “Rather formal rather British” goes the punch line for
the product. Yes, the suiting looks British with stripes. If properly stitched,
it has the look of British style. Relatively broad collars with the stripes
neatly falling on a slanting way but evenly placed on both the sides, flat pockets
with flaps and three buttons - yes, it is British. The ad run for the company
shows a young girl falling flat for the man wearing the suit, but bearing the
punch line: “Fabric so soft, one cannot resist its feel!”
Van Heusen is also back with new formal wears. Called
‘Mettles’, these shirts claim to be a new creation for the executive
wears. They are ‘formals with a subtle lustre’. The announcement goes
thus: “Mettle combines new age science with the art of dressing up. To
create a wardrobe that doesn’t just complement your inner strength, but
unleashes it into the future”. The company claims the presence of over
30 shades, new age fabrics, rich sheen and low maintenance cost. A textile shop
keeper in Chennai told this columnist this week that this Diwali, he could sell
a sizable volume of these shirts to the corporate executives. Coming from the
house of the well known Van Heusen, these shirts were easy to be sold, he admitted.
For that matter, another brand that did quite well
during the Diwali was ‘Peter England’. Well styled and highly popular
by now, there is not much difficulty for these shirts to be sold under the formal
wear category. But, that is true even outside Diwali or any festival season.
One of the best contributors to the creation of ‘corporate insignia’
in India was the ‘Louise Philippe” which, over the years, won the
hearts of the top executives with the emblem beautifully inscribed on the cuff.
“Signed shirts” the name these shirts gave to the executives. Zodiac
brands are popular now with their two-ply cotton makes. “Excalibur”
brands of Arvind Brands also do a good round in the formal wear category now.
They come as a set although the specialisation is in shirts and trousers. So,
already, the war to win the lion’s share of the corporate wear market is
running hot. But, the inherent scope is said to be quite bright. Prudent businessmen
do not wish to be sidelined in this process. The turnover is anywhere upwards
of Rs 1,000 crore a year depending on what constitutes the formal corporate
wear in India. And, with the opening of the economy to the world, international
brands are also giving the Indian manufacturers a tough fight.
- P S Sundar
|
E-Mail
Print
