 "Spykar flaunts a new look")
Spykar Lifestyle, one of the early homegrown apparel brands that tapped into the demand for denim way back in the nineties is working on a strategy to stay relevant. Now over two decades old, it is staving off the challenge from a crowd of similar labels and looking to exploit the rising demand in small towns. Spykar has changed its logo, launched a new line of clothes for women and has jumped on to the IPL bandwagon to establish its mass credentials.
For connecting with customers, Spykar has been looking at associating with events that resonate well with its target audience. It has signed a Rs 20 crore deal with Rising Pune Super Giants cricket team and looking to associate with music festivals and adventure sports to connect with the young, said Sanjay Vakharia, COO, Spykar Lifestyle.
The boomerang is now a stroke
The brand has just executed a logo change. The previous logo resembled a boomerang while the new one, according to Vakharia, looks like a brush stroke or a sign off. This, he says, is meant to communicate the dynamic and aggressive attitude of the brand. “The change in logo allows us to cut across genders. It is more delicate, more sleek and elongated as against the previous one which was more squarish. It works well for both,” says Vakharia.
More aggressive and more universal, these are the two key aspects the brand wants to reinforce. “We are reinventing Spykar and taking a more aggressive stand, be it in terms of marketing or stores and now logo. We wanted a logo to mimic the attitude we have right now. We had used a form of boomerang on the back pocket as the mnemonic for our brand, which is now a strike and shows the whole mindset at Spykar of energy and dynamism,” says Vakharia.
The new logo will also carry a temporary tagline of ‘Spykar for Freedom’ for a certain period. The taglines will change every season. “We are not going to be a prisoner of taglines. As a brand, we will be open. This season it is about freedom, we will see what it can be for next season, but the logo is here to stay,” Vakharia adds.
Appealing to the young
The company says that is looking at a brand positioning in the ‘premium to mid premium’ segment. All the “younger audience who appreciate fashion,” is how Vakharia describes his target audience. But the potential among tier II and III consumers, he says, is high since they have limited access to brands but are inspired by fashion icons.
Herein lies the big brand challenge. The market is flooded with similar brands, many international ones too are now available at affordable process on a number of e-marketplaces. Has Spykar lost out in this game? Refusing to comment on the company’s growth in the past three-five years, Vakharia said that they are present in over 900 multi-branded outlets, apart from 200-plus standalone stores across 110 cities. It is also present across key large format stores like Shoppers stop, Lifestyle, Pantaloon, Central, and Globus.
According to Prashant Agarwal, joint managing director of Wazir Advisors, a retail consulting firm, “The spurt of homegrown and younger brands have led Spykar to undertake this brand logo change. We found that people still perceived Spykar as an international brand and not an Indian brand, which was an eye opener. Nobody knew it was an Indian brand because of its good product mix. What Spykar has now undertaken will reap positive results.”
Getting the word out
To be done in a gradual manner, Spykar is looking to silently communicate the change of logo through multiple ways. To begin with, as with the previous logo, the new one will be stitched on the back pockets of Spykar jeans. Upcoming stores will also sport the new logo while the old ones will be changed gradually. In addition, the new range of garments will carry just the new logo sans the brand name — a move the company expects will help establish its identity more effectively.
The company says that it will also crowdsource “interesting digital renditions” of the logo. This, the company plans to do through campaigns and contests around ‘design your own t-shirt.’ “There will be lot of brand carriers being created by our graphics team. Do your own T-shirt kind of activity where the play will be with the logo through online contest where t-shirts with the best graphics will be rewarded,” says Vakharia.
For Spykar, sales revenue in FY16 was Rs 245 crore, it is targeting Rs 315 crore in FY17. For that the company has more up its sleeve than a logo change. “A logo never has direct impact on sales. It is just another tool to connect with the consumers. However, Spykar is open to engaging with its customers through different medium such as sports, music and dramatics,” Vakharia adds.
“To go to the next level, they will have to work on connecting with their consumers, apart from reworking on brand logo. Reaching to consumers has two aspects, namely communication and actually being present in terms of sales. The challenge will come in terms of brand communication because it is very costly and needs lot of funding. One can build storyline but communication becomes a challenge. How they will do it will depend on their financial strength. Branding has become costly,” Agarwal says.
