Fun patches for boys’ polos |
Upcoming prints in trend for Boy’ s collection
the stakeholders at Gini & Jony believe in the power a customer holds. As a trial run for new collections, stylists are placed in their stores to survey the customers visiting them. They use customers’ feedback to make combos of categories while providing them with alternate ways to shop if they find something missing. Kiran Lakhani, Category Manager for the Girls’ segment says it is crucial to try new things and get feedback as,“ People like that and we are paying attention. In India it is still all about service.”
The brand uses its offerings, loyalty programmes and USP of creating products that are not‘ just cute’ to increase their popularity. They are conformed to the wearer rather than
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All-over embroidery has replaced AOP as a trend as AOP was very common. Another new trend is washes. We experiment with them and sometimes fuse washes with AOP too. We strive for innovation at fabric level too.
Retail avenues show potential in Tier-2 markets as customers in metros are more aware of bigger retail brands. The Tier-2 customers now have increased access to disposable income and demand is booming there.
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the parents. They want the kids to feel comfortable in their own skin and strictly avoid the use of uncomfortable fabrics like shiny polyesters, rexine, etc. even for the festive collections.
Kiran sheds further light on this as she talks about Gini & Jony Gold, a brand which deals with boys’ festive offerings like linen kurtas.“ We work with fancy fabrics, while still avoiding uncomfortable materials like mesh and sequins; it gets hard for the kid. Girl’ s category isn’ t too big as the acceptability of such westernized clothing is less. Boys wear is our strength. It sells really well, we are very good with basics – nobody does graphics better than us,” she adds.
STRIVING FOR NEW: THE INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE TRENDS
When asked about trends, the category specialists showed enthusiasm for All- Over-Embroidery, and their recent venture that explores several washes for their collections to give them an edge over competitors.
Kiran further states that,“ A very new trend is washes. We have done many experiments in washes like organic wash, bubble dyeing, cold pigment dyeing, reverse dyeing across all our categories. We sometimes fuse washes with AOP, washes make fabric soft.” Washes resonate with denims, and Gini & Jony strives to make denim an innovative and sustainable product category as Sailesh chimes in,“ We use different fabrics and we definitely avoid polyester. We are now exploring a lot of blended fabrics – cotton + tencel, linen + viscose, rayon, and bamboo fabrics. Our mills are always up-to-date with fabric trends. We prefer innovation at fabric level too. Tencel and linen are great fabrics. They keep you both cool and warm. We use linen in denim and non-denim both.”
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FUTURE PLANS: METROS, TIER-2 MARKETS AND BEYOND
Gini & Jony has effectively divided the product range and price points conforming them best to suit the places they are being sold in. They retail their sub-brand, Palm Tree, in the Tier-2 cities at 30 per cent cheaper rates. They believe that the Tier-2 market has better prospective for the Indian brands due to inclination of metropolitan consumers towards bigger brands and the increasing access to disposable income of Tier-2 customers.
Kiran adds,“ The retail avenues might be better in Tier-2 markets as customers in metros are more aware of the bigger retail brands. The Tier- 2 customers are showing interest in investing in clothing now and it promises potential. To enhance our hold in the metros, we are going to retail via new MBOs like Shoppers Stop( with about 60 stores), Central( 35) and Lifestyle( 60-70 stores). Even Reliance, with about 2,000 outlets, is showing interest as they are looking for B2B operations avenues.”
Targeting larger MBOs in metros and smaller EBOs in Tier-2, Gini & Jony is expecting about 250 store openings next year. The brand is also eyeing Nepal with a recent inauguration of a seven-store franchise there. Their only aim is to make a pioneer brand for kids spun out of Western trends woven in Indian hues.
Sailesh compares the Indian retail sector to a jungle that runs on the rule of survival of the fittest and further adds that,“ Within this environment, Indian brands have to prove their worth, how they are better than their international counterparts. They can grow by understanding the sensitivity of Indian consumers and make them relate to us. We have loyal customers. We try to convince the new millennial parents to use our products; we do a lot of investment in them. We look to promote trust on individual basis and promote technical comfort. Our product is our main weapon.”
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