Madura Garments withdraws SF Jeans

Madura Garments has said that they are withdrawing their denimwear brand SF Jeans from the market with immediate effect. Although the company confirmed the news, they refused to give the reasons behind the withdrawal.

SF Jeans was launched by the Aditya Birla Nuvo-owned Madura garments in 2002. It was aimed at young consumers and priced between Rs 850-1,800.

The products ranged from basic apparel, handcrafted jeans and cargos to accessories like belts, chains, caps and wallets. In the 2005-06 fiscal, the brand recorded retails sales of Rs 25 crore.

According to the textile consultancy firm KSA Technopak, the brand has been withdrawn from the markets as it has not been able to meet targets and beat competition.

"Madura Garments had been pumping in a lot of funds into SF Jeans but the brand was not profitable for the company. The other reason for shutting it down is that it was a late entrant into the denimwear market, which is heavily dominated by companies like Levi's and was never really able to beat competition," a Technopak executive said.

The Madura employees who were involved with SF Jeans have either joined other companies or have been absorbed into other Madura brands like Allen Solly and Peter England. Louis Phillipe and Van Heusen are its other brands.