Abstract:
The case discusses in detail marketing strategies
adopted by Madura Garments (MG), India's leading
branded apparel manufacturer that helped it
become the market leader in the men's wear
market.
The company's product development, promotion
and distribution initiatives are studied in the
backdrop of the numerous brands launched over
the years. The case takes an in-depth look at one of
these brands, 'Peter England,' which became one of
MG's greatest successes.
The case also explains how MG kept ahead of the
competition by identifying new trends and market
segments and launched brands accordingly.
The case also attempts to understand how a market leader acts and reacts to changing market
conditions and the strategies it adopt to retain its position as the market leader.
Issues:
• Understand the dynamics of the Indian branded men's wear market and the changing trends in the
business
In December 2002, leading Indian branded apparel manufacturer, Madura Garments Ltd (MG),
announced its plans to enter the fashion and accessories segment of the country's branded men's
wear market. MG, a division of Indian Rayon Industries Ltd (Indian Rayon 1), was reportedly attracted
by the immense potential of this business.
In 2002, of the Rs 12 billion branded fashion and accessories market, only 20% accounted for
branded products. Vikram Rao (Rao), Group President, Indian Rayon, said, “This segment is slated to
grow rapidly in the near future as increasingly customers are becoming more 'personal
image/fashion conscious'.”2
Industry analysts observed that MG's decision to foray into the accessories business made a lot of
sense. The company's market leader status in the country's branded men's wear market was
expected to go a long way in ensuring the success of the new venture. In 2002, MG was the
undisputed leader in the Rs 60 billion ready to wear business with a 25% market share. It reigned
supreme in categories like premium shirts (30% market share), mid-priced shirts (10% market share),
trousers (17% market share) and mid-priced trousers (6% market share). The company owned a
portfolio of highly successful brands such as Peter England, Van Heusen, Louis Phillipe, Allen Solly,
San Frisco and ByFord (Refer Exhibit I).
Most of these brands were extremely successful in their own categories - a fact that is reflected in
the company's strong financial performance over the years. In 2002, MG generated revenues of Rs
3.5 billion - around 23% of Indian Rayon's revenues in that year.
Background Note
The growth of readymade men's wear business in India was very slow till the early-1980s. The main
reason for this was that Indian men were used to buying cloth and getting their outfits tailored -
mainly through local tailoring shops from the unorganized segment.
Consequently, there were no national level brands in this category for a long period. By the mid-
1980s however, customer mindset seemed to have started changing gradually along with increasing
urbanization, and changes in the social and economic status and lifestyles...
Capturing the Market through 'Peter England'
The first move came from MG in 1997, when it launched the 'Peter England' range of men's ready to
wear clothing.
Peter England brand targeted the young executives segment between the age group of 25-28 years.
The brand was launched in the mid price segment in the Rs 345-Rs 445 range for shirts and Rs 645-Rs
745 for trousers...
Madura Garments' Growth Trajectory
In October 1999, MG announced that it had chalked out a new retailing strategy for marketing its
portfolio of men's wear brands. It planned to open a chain of retail outlets, branded Mega Store that
would retail all brands under one roof...
Furthering Growth Opportunities
In April 2002, keeping up its tradition of regular launching innovative products, MG announced new
product lines for its brands in the premium segment. The Louis Phillipe brand launched its summer-
spring collection of shirts under the name 'Mozart'...
Entering New Markets & Restructuring Existing Brands
Having established its hold in so many segments of the Indian branded men's wear market, MG
began looking towards newer opportunities. The company's research showed that the growth in
jeans market was expected to go up from 8% in 2003 to 15%-20% per annum by 2006-2008. The
decision to tap the jeans and accessories market was thus a natural choice...
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Madura Garments - Brand Portfolio & Logos
Exhibit II: Various Segments of the Indian Branded Men's Wear Market
Exhibit III: Madura Garments - Competition
Raymond
Introduction
With a 33 million-meter capacity in wool & wool-blended fabrics,Raymond commandsover 60%
market share in worsted suiting in India and ranks amongst the first three fullyintegrated
manufacturers of worsted suiting in the world. They claim to be the onlycompany in the world to
have a diverse product range of nearly 20,000 design andcolours of suiting fabric to suit every age,
occasion and style. These are exported to over50 countries, including USA, Canada, Europe, Japan
and the Middle East.
They have integrated the 4 P’s that is, Product, Place, Price and Promotion into theirmarketing
strategy so soundly that it virtually ensures that this age old company willcontinue to reign over the
fabric sector for years to come. This case study explores notjust Raymond’s association with the 4 P’s
of marketing but contrasts it with the strategiesimplemented by its biggest competitors.
A 100% subsidiary of Raymond Ltd., Raymond Apparel Ltd. (RAL) ranks amongst
India's largest and most respected apparel companies. Their brands includeRaymond
Finely Crafted Garments, Manzoni, Park Avenue, ColorPlus, Parx, Be: and Zapp!
and Notting Hill.
Raymond is one of India’s leading fabric and garment manufacturers. In 2006/07 aloneits textile and
clothing operations—including wholly owned subsidiaries and jointventures—generated sales of
Rs11.1 billion (US$283 million). From its origins and corestrengths in worsted suiting fabrics, the
company diversified into the production of denim
fabrics, cotton shirtings and garments. It also built up a presence in retailing and it claimsto be
India’s largest fabric and garment retailer.
History of the Company
Years ago, the Singhania family was building, consolidating and expanding its variousbusinesses in
Kanpur. Mr. Wadia was, in a similar manner, setting up a small woollenmill in the area around Thane
creek, 40 kms away from Bombay. The Sassoons, a well-known industrialist family of Bombay, soon
acquired this mill and renamed it asThe
Raymond Woollen Mills. Around the same time, the Singhanias aimed to broaden their
business horizons. The family's sharp business foresight led to the acquisition of TheRaymond
Woollen Mills. When the grandson of Lala Juggilal, Lala Kailashpat Singhaniatook over Raymond in
1944, the mill primarily made cheap and coarse woollen blankets,and modest quantities of low priced
woollen Fabrics
The vision and foresight of Mr. Kailashpat Singhania greatly helped in establishing theJ.K. Group's
presence in the western region. Under his able stewardship, Raymondembarked upon a gradual phase
of technological upgradation and modernization;producing woolen Fabrics of a far superior quality.
Under Mr. Gopalakrishna Singhania
the mill became a world-class factory and the Raymond brand became synonymous with
fine quality woollen Fabrics
When Dr. Vijaypat Singhania took over the reins of the company in 1980, he injectedfresh vigour into
Raymond, transforming it into a modern, industrial conglomerate. Hisson Mr. Gautam Hari
Singhania, the present chairman and managing director has beeninstrumental in restructuring the
group. With the divestment of its non-core businesses,the group has emerged stronger, with a more
focused approach.
Latest Developments
Since 2001 Raymond had been expanding aggressively through divestment,collaborations and joint
ventures with foreign firms, as well as capacity expansions. In2001 it acquired Regency Texteis
Portuguesa—a plant in northern Portugal whichmanufactures suits, jackets and trousers for the
European market—and in 2002 it boughtColorPlus Fashions. Since then it has set up four joint
ventures, namely RaymondZambaiti, Raymond Fedora, Raymond UCO Denim and Gas Apparel. It
has alsoestablished three wholly-owned clothing manufacturing subsidiaries: Silver SparkApparel,
Everblue Apparel and Celebrations Apparel. In addition, it has addedapproximately 25 mn metres of
annual fabric capacity to its existing plants.
Raymond has also become vertically integrated by constructing state-of-the art facilitiesfor its
garment manufacturing companies as well as design studios established throughjoint ventures and
retail operations. Raymond sees retail expansion as an important wayto penetrate the market and
increase sales even further. The company has over 400 retailand brand stores across 170 cities in India
and the Middle East. Recently, it opened its350th The Raymond Shop in India, and plans to increase
this number to 950 by 2010. Italso has exclusive standalone stores which stock its brands—including
Manzoni, ParkAvenue, ColorPlus, Parx, Be and Zapp! These stores are on the increase as the
companybroadens its product portfolio.
Raymond’s Association with the 4 P’s
1. Product
Raymond has under it different brands of shirts and suitings: Raymond Finely Crafted
Garments, Manzoni, Park Avenue, ColorPlus, Parx, Be: and Zapp! and Notting Hill.
Raymond is counted as one of the world's premier manufacturers of worsted suiting
fabric in fine grade wool; in the same league as the finest that Europe has to offer.
The Raymond product range includes pure wools, wool blended with exotic fibres likecamel hair,
cashmere and angora and innovative blends of wool with polyester, linen andsilk. Raymond offers
suiting and trousering fabric for all occasions and needs
Manzoni
Formal Wear
Manzoni formal shirts are available in regular 2 fold 100s, 2 fold 120s upto 2 fold 200swith fine
structures such as dobby, herring-bone, diamond structures, stripes and checks,and solids such as
white, purple, pink, blue, etc. Collars range from regular, semi cutawayand spread collars to two
button collar bands. The buttons on Manzoni shirts are made ofthe finest natural mother of pearl.
Formal suits are made of super fine wool ranging from super 120s to super 150s. Thesesuits have an
Italian silhouette with superb construction and excellent drape. Jackets areoffered in contemporary
styles of single-breasted 2-button and single breasted 3-buttonwith high notch lapels.
Formal trousers have a clean look and are well constructed with a lining that providestotal comfort to
the waistband. Intricate features include French fly, blind stitched loops,rounded belt extensions &
‘D’ bartags at the back pockets for additional strength to thegarment.
Sports wear has a wide and varied range of 100% linen and washed shirts in vibrantcolours available
in half sleeves. Colourful checks, vibrant stripes and bright solids infashion colours like fuchsia,
orange, aqua, blue, green and peach complete the casualItalian look.
Trousers are available in 100% cotton and linen in regular flat front styles, washed for asoft hand feel.
Apart from the basic black, navy blue to off-whites, these trousers are alsoavailable in fashion colours
like Orange, Magenta and Red. Adding to the premiumcasual look are 5-pocket ‘jeans-style’ trousers
in 100% linen and ‘drawstring trouser’ in100% linen.
Manzoni’s Bona Sera evening line consists of washed 100% silk jacquard shirts in
colours like orange, red, blue, purple apart from the classic neutral shades.
Manzoni also has a line of accessories that include fine leather bags, shoes, belts, silk ties
and cotton socks
Be:
Be: offers a wide range of apparel and accessories for women across categories namely -
Women’s Western wear, Women’s Ethnic wear, Lounge Wear and Club wear.
Be: brings a large collection of designer products to a large audience that is increasinglybecoming
aware of designer wear and dreams of possessing one. Affordability,Accessibility and Acceptability
are the three attributes that characterize Be:
Zapp!
Zapp! provides an exciting range of apparel, accessories and lifestyle products for kids
between the age group of 4 to 14 years.
Baby Zapp! consolidates the offering as a specialized category targeted at the 0 to 3infant segment
with great care on safety and comfort. This specially crafted rangeincludes a miniature fashion line,
utility apparel and accessories and a home line.
Parx
Parx is a premium casual lifestyle brand which is positioned to cater to the needs of
consumers of 22-30 year olds. It has categories like Urban, Sport, Excursion and Club.
ColorPlus
ColorPlus is one of India's leading casual wear brands. It offers shirts, trousers, knits,
survival gear and accessories that meet international quality standards.
ColorPlus Woman has been fashioned into an assortment of shirts, trousers, dresses,capris, t-shirts,
skirts, jackets and denim jeans. The newly launched brand offers fivelines of clothing including Day
Wear, Sporty Casual Wear, Outdoor Wear, BusinessCasual Wear and the Evening Wear. Each line
sports distinct styles and fits offered in anarray of exquisite garments to make a woman feel great all
day long. The fabrics used forthe construction of this exclusive range include linen, 100% cotton,
cotton-blends, printedsilks, satin and georgettes.
All the collections are complemented by a matching range of accessories like genuine
leather hand bags, hand braided belts, shoes & scarves.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill reflects style and manifests originality of today's fashion-conscious and
discerning young professionals at an affordable price.
Notting Hill was launched in 2007 to cater to the popular price segment. Designed in-house, the brand
collection features a spectrum of men's lifestyle products comprising ofsuits, shirts, trousers, jeans, t-
shirts and also accessories like ties, handkerchiefs and socks.
2. Place
Raymond reaches its customers through The Raymond Shop and through exclusive
outlets.
The Raymond Shop is a premium retail store offering complete wardrobe solutions for
men which includes top-of-the-line brands - Raymond, Raymond Finely Crafted
Garments, Manzoni, Park Avenue, ColorPlus, Parx and Notting Hill.
The Raymond Shop network started with a small corner shop in Ballard Estate, Mumbaiaround five
decades ago. It has grown multifold with a dedicated team making it thelargest retail store in the
country having 548 stores in prime locations, in over 196 citiesin India.
The Raymond shops are located in different countries
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Kuwait
• Saudi Arabia
• Sri Lanka
• Sultanate Of Oman
• U.A.E.
In India Raymond shops are located at
In southern part:
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Andhra Pradesh
• Karnataka
• Kerala
• Pondicherry
• Tamil Nadu
In northern part:
• Chandigarh
• Delhi
• Haryana
• Himachal Pradesh
• Jammu and Kashmir
• Punjab
• Rajasthan
• Sikkim
• Uttar Pradesh
• Uttaranchal
In western part:
• Chhattisgarh
• Goa
• Gujarat
• Madhya Pradesh
• Maharashtra
In eastern part:
Assam
• Bihar
• Jharkhand
• Meghalaya
• Orissa
• Tripura
• West Bengal
Their overseas network spans 36 stores in 15 plus cities across the Middle East, Saudi
Arabia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Be: from Raymond Ltd. is a 13 store chain. It has a pan India presence with a store each
in Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, two each in Bangalore, Mumbai
and three in Delhi.
Zapp! retails through 20 exclusive stores, is available across Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle,
Pantaloon and Central and the top 120 multibrand kidswear stores in the country. TheZapp! stores
offer both fun while shopping and the best product available in terms ofchoice, design and quality.
With changing rooms designed as igloos, and otherssuspended over glass floors with pebbles, the
stores allow the child to conjure up anadventure. With his own Zapp! membership card, the child is
made to feel the like thespecial customer that he is.
Parx retails through 19 exclusive stores.
ColorPlus is present in over 180 locations in the South and West Asia through exclusive
stores and select 'The Raymond Shop' outlets.
Notting Hill is retailed across India in a phased manner beginning with Pune and other
cities in Maharashtra. By the end of the first year Notting Hill was to be made available
across India with over 400 distribution points.
3. Promotion
Raymond indulges heavily in promoting its brands. Like most companies it relies heavily
on print and TV advertisements for this purpose.
It has full length advertisements featured on the television. Of these the most popularones are those
where the lead character is playing with puppies while still in his suit, thead featuring the relationship
between a father and a son-in-law, between a father and adaughter, father and son and one showing
that between the teacher and his [Link]’s advertisements, thus, always try to show the
sensitive, more refined side of aman and it is followed by their tagline with the distinctive melody
Raymond… TheComplete Man
Although Raymond also has apparels for women, women are seldom the lead characters
of its advertisements, both printed and on TV.
Raymond’s Manzoni organizes Style Icon Awards of the Year.
It makes regular press releases. The latest one of these was on October 22, 2009announcing its
financial results. Before that it received coverage when it announcedinvestment of Rs. 100cr in
opening 300 new retail stores and aiming for Rs. 200cr inrevenue.
Although Raymond sells only through The Raymond Shop and exclusive outlets, it has
made itself visible online through its exhaustive websitew ww .[Link]
Raymond doesn’t believe price reductions alone can draw more people to its stores orboost sales. To
enter small cities such as Gandhidham, Nadiad and Himmatnagar inGujarat and smaller markets in
other states, Raymond banks on franchisees for its ParkAvenue formal menswear and Parx casual
wear, in addition to price cuts.
In recent times, its sales took a real hit due to the slowdown and it decided to boost salesby exploring
its brands, enhancing its portfolio by adding new items and accessories thanjust tweaking prices like
Madura Garments did.
Madura Garments
Raymond’s biggest competitor in apparels is Madura Garments. Madura Garments, adivision of
Aditya Birla Nuvo is India's leading apparel retail company. It enjoys marketleadership in the branded
garments business through its power and popular lifestylebrands — Louis Philippe, Van Heusen,
Allen Solly and Peter England.
The company has won many coveted awards in the fashion world like the “Best Retailerof the Year,
Best Apparel Company of the Year, Best Trouser Brand of the Year, BestSmart Casual Brand of the
Year” etc., at well known forays such as the Reid and TaylorAwards and Images Fashion Awards.
Their thrust is on brand building through development of innovative new merchandise,exciting
communication campaigns and enhancing the product portfolio. The overallmarketing strategy has
been to move from a “Wardrobe" brand to a "Lifestyle" brand
Madura’s Association with the 4 P’s
1. Product
Louis Philippe
It was the first genuinely international garment label introduced in the Indian market in1989. The
brand brings crafted range of silks, trousers, blazers, ties and T-shirts thatmakes an exclusive fashion
statement recognized by its distinctive icon The Upper [Link] brand creates an image of stylish,
confident, spirited, cool ensemble with hiddendetails, slimmer cuts. Lp — the youth brand from Louis
Philippe, has introduced newfashion formals range for today’s young and successful urbanites. The
range exudes élan,style and success which personifies today’s youth.
Van Heusen
Van Heusen, is a work-wear brand, brought to India in 1990. Ithas given corporate attirealtogether a
new look and meaning through continuous product innovation andexclusive collections such as
Autumn Winter, Ken & Tony, Worldwear, Informals, IQClothing, winter wear, knits, innerwear and
accessories.
Cool Pants, designed using breakthrough technology adopted by NASA, or the Oxyrichshirts with
oxygen ions to neutralize high stress levels in the intelligent clothing (IQ)range, are a few examples of
the tradition of innovation that began with the invention ofthe collar in 1919. Worldwear is Van
Heusen's extension of the best-selling range ofcorporate wear for the global Indian.
Men
Spring summer
Worldwear
Accessories
Innerwear
Knits
Women
Relaxed casual wear
Premium formal wear
Refined social wear
Flamboyant clubwear and accessories
Allen Solly
Allen Solly has established itself as the leading western wear brand redefining thewardrobe of the
modern Indian. It has popularized the Friday dressing concept in [Link] the launch of its women's
wear range in December 2001, Allen Solly has made asuccessful foray into the growing women's
work and casual wear market. The brand haswon the most admired brand - Womenswear IFA 2004,
2005, 2007; most admired brand -trousers IFA 2005; most admired brand - smart casuals IFA 2006. It
has also won the IFAImages 2001 best brand award in the readymade menswear category.
Workwear, evening wear & casual day wear.
Men
Sports, casual, urban, prodigy
Women
Casual, city career
Peter England
It portfolio includes shirts, trousers, denim, suits, ties, wallets, socks. It strictly deals with
men’s apparel.
2. Place
Madura Garments has exclusive showroom space which includes several large formatbrand outlets of
world-class standards, providing top quality retail experience to theconsumers. It also has a highly
visible presence in large department and multi brand stores.
Planet Fashion
Planet Fashion is the apparel retailing arm of Madura Garments, Aditya Birla Nuvo [Link] houses not
only their leading (in-house) menswear brands like Louis Philippe, VanHeusen, Allen Solly and Peter
England, but also Levi's denim, Monte Carlo knitwear andmost recently, Jocky innerwear in selected
stores.
It aims to be the complete wardrobe solution for a man - a one-stop destination for all hisapparel
needs. Its product portfolio ranges from corporate formal wear to casual leisurewear, accessories, t-
shirts, winterwear and lately, denims and innerwear.
To bolster its presence significantly in the exploding apparel retail sector, the companyhas started
retailing its life style brand and affordable popular brands through two newformats – Madura
Garments Lifestyle Retail Company Limited and Peter EnglandFashions and Retail Limited.
Current number of stores: 82 in India, 5 international
Cities: Across 50 cities in India, ranging from high streets like Connaught Place and
South Extension to smaller towns like Bareilly, Karnal and Dehradun.
International presence in Dubai (2), Sharjah, Qatar and Kathmandu
3. Promotion
Like its competitor, Madura too relies very heavily on advertisements, both print andTelevision.
However Madura brands have been known to offer more sale opportunities to consumers.
Similarly they have more print advertisements than TV advertisements. Their
advertisements usually feature foreign men and women, indicating that they are a
universal and more international brand catering to both sexes.
Louis Phillipe goes by the tagline: The Upper Crest indicating that it is a premiumproduct meant for
those with a refined taste in apparels. Allen Solly goes by the populartagline My world My way and
recently has adopted I Hate Ugly as its catchphrase. Itindicates a strong sense of sense and speaks of
lifestyle choices especially adventurousand fashion conscious.
Besides having a highly organized retailing and web presence, other more regularpromotion schemes
employed by Madura is continuous improvement in its products andservices, concept of multi brand
outlets, fashion accessories, satisfying consumers ofmultiple wardrobe under one brand and customer
loyalty program where Privilege Cardsare issued to regular and frequent buyers.
By focusing on quality while having competitive prices and a very strong distributionnetwork,
Madura has not only been able to capture a good market share, but it also winsawards for its
innovations and quality. Such awards no doubt further boost its popularityand perception of reliability
in eyes of the consumer.
New Brand lp
Louis Philippe rolls out sub-brand Lp -- Madura Garments in restructuring mode
27 Oct 2007
The story has been read 183 times.
In a bid to cater to the youth, Louis Philippe, the formal premium menswear brand from
Madura Garments, has expanded its offering with the launch of a sub-brand titled Lp.
“The brand is targeted at youth in the age group of 20-30 years. We plan to have a presence in over 60 locations
across the country. Currently, we have opened an EBO for Lp in Bangalore. The brand will soon be available in
select shop-in-shops and Planet Fashion outlets in Chennai, New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. We are looking at 30
EBOs in two years,” a company spokesperson told Indiaretailing.
Priced in the range of Rs 1,299-1,899 for shirts and trousers, Lp will offer workwear that can also be doubled up
as partywear for clubbing. The brand will also offer knits, jackets and suits.
In October 2006, Madura Garments took a brand extension initiative with the launch of V Dot and Van Heusen
Woman – sub-brands from Van Heusen. Meanwhile, Allen Solly is also looking at a brand extension exercise –
possibly a younger line for consumers below 26 years.
Earlier, Indiaretailing had reported about the company’s plans to launch Louis Philippe's sub-brand Lp in the
market.
If our sources are to be believed, Madura Garments is currently going through a structural reshuffle. “As per the
restructuring agenda at Madura, all brands will become separate entities, with their own designing, marketing,
merchandising teams, etc.," sources added.