Van Heusen Woman: A new face

Lifestyle and corporate wear brand Van Heusen Woman has signed model and debutante actress Nargis Fakhri as its brand ambassador. While just one film old, the company believes she is a good representative for the brand as her career is poised to take off just like Van Heusen Woman is “on the cusp of steep growth,” according to Ajay Ramachandran, brand head, Van Heusen India.

The company is planning a promotional campaign around her that would include print ads and below the line activities. While the print ads will be placed in English dailies and lifestyle magazines, there will be online contests to keep the customers engaged.

One such online contest is a dress festival, Eye Candy, for the women members of the Van Heusen India Facebook page, wherein they can upload their pictures wearing Van Heusen Woman clothes. The best picture, selected by Fakhri, wins the member a gift voucher. The contest, which started in November, will continue till end-December. For the print campaign, Fakhri will be shot by international photographer Justin Polkey. There are no television ads in the pipeline as of now.

Van Heusen, which was launched in India in 1990, started off as a corporate wear brand. It gradually launched a separate club wear line for men, V Dot, to diversify the product offering and now positions itself as a lifestyle cum corporate wear brand offering apparels for all occasions, be they formal or casual. The brand operates under licence to Madura Fashion & Lifestyle in India and South East Asia. Van Heusen Woman, launched in 2006, caters to the working woman in the age-group of 25-35 years.

Although figures for the western women’s wear market in India are not available with Ramachandran, he feels Van Heusen Woman has managed to become a dominant player in the category. The umbrella brand Van Heusen currently has 145 stores across the country and looks set to achieve its target of 150 stores by the year end. The number of exclusive Van Heusen Woman stores stands at four, two each in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, and 15 new stores will be added in the coming year.

“We benchmark ourselves against international brands like Zara, Promod, Mango, Tommy, Esprit etc. In terms of pricing, we try to make our dresses affordable to Indian women," says Ramachandran. "The average price point for Van Heusen Woman is Rs 1,500 and the range goes up to Rs 10,000 at the upper end,” he adds.

The increasing focus of the brand on lifestyle wear is part of a larger strategy. “By 2012, we aim to become the ‘dress destination’ in the country by selling the highest number of dresses by a home-grown western fashion formal brand," claims Ramachandran. It makes one wonder whether the company will introduce a separate lifestyle or club wear brand for women, à la V Dot for men. “We are working on some exciting ideas which will be disclosed at the right time,” he says.