Khadi collection: Raymond blends in with the desi spirit

Raymond turns to khadi to stay relevant and ride the rising nationalistic fervour among urban young

With an alliance with the Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Raymond is hoping to leverage the growing appeal for homegrown products among consumers while spinning a more contemporary brand story around khadi,  the age-old, all-Indian fabric. The company is eyeing a five per cent revenue contribution from the upcoming khadi line to its overall branded apparel business, but more importantly, it hopes that this move will help it get in step with the changing tastes of the Indian customer.

Ram Bhatnagar, who is Raymond’s vice president and head of sales, said that the company will add value to the fabric it sources from KVIC. “We will make the product ‘aspirational’ which will help it connect with the modern youth,” he said. According to an agreement with KVIC, Raymond is set to procure khadi textiles worth Rs 2.5 crore every year and use the name ‘khadi’ on the apparel it spins from the fabric. Besides Raymond textiles will also be available in some KVIC outlets.

Brand experts say that the company, like many others across different categories, is riding the Indian-ness wave that has the country in its grip. According to the ‘Brandz Top 50 Most Valuable Brands in India 2016’, Indian-ness has a new appeal among Indian consumers. Unlike the past, when foreign labels were automatically accorded premium status, a brand’s Indian Association now works in its favour. 

“It has been the perception (in the past) that products or brands with an international presence are of superior quality. That is the reason we found most of the companies, some of which are Indian as well, using foreign models in their ad campaigns. However, it is changing,” N Chandramouli, CEO at Brand Insights said.

Among apparel brands, khadi presents the perfect platform to address the new customer. Apart from its strong national association, it is also perceived as a natural fabric, best suited for the tropical climate. Several labels have leveraged the connection in the past; Fab India was among the most prominent brands to successfully use khadi until it ran afoul of KVIC for using the khadi name without a license. Raymond has steered clear of that hurdle by getting into an alliance with the Commission. 

While khadi lets apparel brands catapult into the Indian consciousness with ease, experts point out that the nationalistic ardour has been best leveraged by FMCG brand Patanjali. Brands such as Raymond are following the Patanjali lead on positioning said Chandramouli. Patanjali, he believes, has been able to chip away at the aspirational status associated with foreign brands in the FMCG sector quite successfully, thereby opening the door for a similar strategy in other categories too. “A huge vacuum has been created in every field of consumer products after Patanjali’s success and there is a huge opportunity for companies to explore and fill this ‘desi’ space if their products are of good quality,” Chandramouli added.

But khadi is not in favour only for its Indian connections, it is also sought after for its non-synthetic origins. Adding more value to the khadi label is its successful makeover into a contemporary fashion fabric over the past few years. “Fabindia, Manyavar, Jashn and several others are good examples of Indian labels that have been able to create a market for natural fibres,” Ambi Parameswaran, founder at Brand-Building.com said. He believes that Raymond has taken a smart call by aligning itself with khadi. Not only does it help the brand to become “more Indian”, but it also helps the company become more prominent in the premium clothing space he said.

Raymond said that it has appointed 40 textile designers across KVIC clusters who are re-engineering how khadi is made. They will play a big role in creating a robust fabric that can be used to create suits and jackets and thereby develop a premium line. “The whole idea is to make khadi modern and trendy so that it becomes an aspirational product. It is already the fabric of the nation and we will provide design inputs to add appeal for this fabric,” Bhatnagar said. 

Given the supply constraints (as khadi is purely handmade), the company has chosen to make the khadi collection available in 300 stores, majorly in the metro cities. It will also rely on special shows during ‘fashion weeks’ organised across the country to promote the line among targeted consumers. The company plans to take the collection to global shows too as Bhatnagar believes that the fabric has international appeal as a natural product.

Parameswaran said the success of this new initiative will largely depend on how Raymond is able to convert the ‘classic white piece of clothing’ to a ‘modern, colourful and premium’ one as concerns over quality prevail in the market. Bhatnagar said that the company is aware of the challenges, but the company is taking measured steps with production and retail plans. 

Raymond plans to launch the collection on October 2 (Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary), further driving home the association. That should tick all the boxes with its target audience.