Raymond's targeting popular segment

In a move aimed at taking on major brands from Madura Garments, and ITC, textiles and apparel major Raymond's announced its entry into the popular price point (P3) segment with the launch of Notting Hill "� a range of shirts, trousers, suits, jackets and accessories including neckties. The Rs 5,300 crore P3 segment is currently dominated by brands such as John Players (ITC) and Peter England (Madura).

The apparel business of the Rs 1,400 crore Raymond Ltd is handled by its wholly owned subsidiary Raymond Apparel Ltd. Notting Hill will offer formal shirts in the price range of Rs 500-700, formal trousers in the Rs 700- 800 range and suits between Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,000. The brand will also offer smart casual option for shirts and trousers.

Shreyas Joshi, president, Raymond Apparel, said the new brand will offer affordable style and fashion to those who are in the process of shifting from "tailored" garments to readymades. Raymond Apparel would carve a niche for itself on the strength of its styling capabilities, Joshi said.

Raymond's flagship brand in men's formals, Park Avenue, is sold in the price bracket of Rs 800-1,400. It also has under its umbrella Parx brand for casuals and the high end series of Manzoni.

"The P3 was the only segment where we were not present and we saw an opportunity as the brand conscious young generation would now draw pride by wearing a Raymond brand which all can afford," Joshi said. He ruled out the possibility of a sub Rs 500 option being introduced by Raymond's.

Notting Hill was launched in Pune, and the the all-India roll out would take about eight months. "We will open 25 exclusive Notting Hill stores in Maharashtra. Once rolled out nationally, the new range will be available through 400 outlets, including 150 exclusive showrooms, he informed. The company is targeting a sales figure of about Rs 50 crore for the brand in the first year, he indicated.

Raymond Apparel is in the midst of ramping up its exclusive stores chain and will add to the number of exclusive stores for all its brands by the end of the current financial year.

On top of the priority list for the roll out is the country's highest selling men's formals brand, Park Avenue. Joshi said the company would open as many of 25 exclusive Park Avenue stores by March, of which six would be flagship stores.

"The flagship stores will be spread over more than 4000 sq ft, will have exclusive interiors and offer the entire range of options under the brand," Joshi elaborated. All these will be company owned and managed stores as opposed to The Raymond Shop chain, which is a mix of company managed and franchisee stores.

Raymond Apparel will increase the number of stores for its top-end brand Manzoni from two now to five by March. Manzoni is currently available in Mumbai and Delhi and will soon be launched in Kolkata and Bangalore with a second store in Delhi, Joshi said.

In the casuals segment, the number of exclusive stores for Parx brand will go up from five now to 12.

While the kid's brand Zapp! will open 10 new stores in addition to two now, the Colour Plus range will be available in 15 more exclusive outlets besides the 40 currently operational. All these stores will require an investment of about Rs 50 lakh each, Joshi said.