Apparel Online India Magazine November 1st Issue 2018 | Page 44

DOMESTIC UPDATE THE LATEST NEWS HAVE YOUR SAY For the latest news on apparel and textile, make sure that you visit https://apparelresources.com/top-news/ Write to Apparel Resources, B-32, South Extension-1, New Delhi (110049), India or email: [email protected] TOONZ SHARES IDEAL STRATEGIES FOR RETAIL SUCCESS IN THE KIDSWEAR MARKET F ounded in 2010, Toonz is a one-stop solution for all kids’ needs. What started off as a business based on licensed cartoon character merchandising, now boasts of over 107 multi-brand stores spanning 15 states in the domestic market. Spotting the overlap with other retailers in the cartoon merchandising space, the brand was quick to spot a huge opportunity area in the kids’ segment in India and tap into it. “Very soon we realised that cartoon merchandise space although a big space isn’t a profitable one. We started looking at some wardrobe studies that made us realise that character merchandise is only 10%-15% of total kid’s wardrobe – and apart from that kids require a lot of other garments as well. We undertook a few feasibility studies and realised that we actually require a pure brand in this space if we want to succeed,” Sharad Venkta, Managing Director supplying good jeans…, we looked for quality certifications which weren’t available for many of these brands, and regional specifications weren’t met – so we decided on creating our own products. This worked well for us because of our strong network in the domestic scenario which made us realise that captive consumption is good enough for us to start a brand.” Sharad Venkta, Managing Director, Toonz If someone comes to my store and doesn’t find what they’re looking for, they will go somewhere else because there are lot of choices in the market. If I lose a customer once, chances are that I’ve lost him forever. at Toonz told Apparel Online, adding, “Initially we started out by tapping a few brands catering to the kidswear market because we envisioned a multi-brand concept. This move was met with its own set of challenges – somebody was supplying good shirts, somebody was good at T-shirts, somebody was 44 Apparel Online India |NOVEMBER 1-15, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com It was then that Toonz came out with two of its own in-house brands called ‘WOWMOM’ and ‘SUPERYOUNG’ in 2012 with a smart casual range. With 300 pieces per style, WOWMOM focuses on the new-borns up to 3 years segment, while SUPERYOUNG caters to kids in the age group of 3 to 12 years. Taking certain learnings along the way, Toonz understood that there was a big gap in the festive space which could not be catered to by the existing casual range, so they launched a ‘SUPERYOUNG CELEBRATION’ line which includes