Significantly, the tremendous energy in India’s fashion market is flowing from both
inside and outside the country. For global fashion brands, India is a land brimming
with opportunities. The signs of growth are equally impressive on the domestic front as
India is the only one with a major fashion industry of its own. There are countless
Indian national and regional ready-to-wear brands, which have been highly successful
with domestic consumers.
The country’s robust economy has, in turn, fed the country’s self-confidence.
Because of strong and sustained internal demand, domestic fashion businesses are
now reaching a certain maturation point – expanding their reach with diffusion lines
and new stores. The Indian cultural identity with ethnicwear is posing a great promise
to the future growth of fashion. Men’s wear are already organised and the women’s wear
business offers new growth levels to mall business.
One of the biggest factors for the growth of fashion can be credited to the malls built
around the country. Shopping malls are today packed with customers, who are actually
spending, witnessing the creative energy, talking about the new fashion trends and
leading to the growth of business of fashion.
We talk to some of the prominent mall developers, who share their insights on how
the fashion business has transformed in the last few years and what are the categories
which have championed its growth.
Shopping Centres leaders in the study:
Rajneesh Mahajan, Executive Director, Inorbit Malls
Rajendra Kalkar, Sr. Centre Director, The Phoenix Mills Limited
Sachin Dhanawade, Centre Head, Virtuous Retail
Pushpa Bector, Sr. Vice President – Leasing & Mall Head, DLF Mall of India
Ketan Sanghvi, Chief Operating Officer, Amanora Town Centre
Pallavi More, President – Marketing, Growel’s 101
Shibu Philips, Business Head, LuLu International Shopping Mall
Anoop Bartaria, Chairman & Managing Director, World Trade Park
INORBIT MALL
Inorbit Mall, a subsidiary of the K Raheja Corporation, has pioneered mall culture in India, when they opened its first mall to the public in early 2004 in Malad, Mumbai. Since then, Inorbit has repeated its success with world-class malls in Vashi, Hyberabad, Pune, Whitefield in Bengaluru and Vadodra. Inorbit Malls have a universal class and appeal, and they seek to provide a one-stop destination for fashion, lifestyle, food and entertainment leading to an international experience for families.
Rajneesh Mahajan, Executive Director, Inorbit Malls shares his views on how a new breed of fashion conscious mall shoppers is emerging in the country, which is leading to the growth trajectory.
What is the share of fashion category in your mall?
Rajneesh Mahajan (RM): The fashion category is growing sustainably. Women’s wear category, fashion accessories and the advent of new brands are fuelling the growth in our malls. The availability of brands is increasing inside the mall whether it is womenswear, menswear or a unisex brand. Brands like Jack & Jones and Celio have expanded their presence in the country and are generating good growth.
With more and more brands marking their presence with the fashion magazines and other
media channels, customers are able to stay more connected with the brands and remain updated.
Health is another major influencer on fashion. The number of marathons which happen in the country today is uplifting the social standards of a person and one is also getting younger and is indirectly fuelling the growth of fashion. Typically, any mall would have 50 percent anchors that would be the large box fashion retailers whether it is somebody like Shoppers Stop, Central, Lifestyle, Pantaloon, Westside, Zara or Reliance Trends. Then you will have 50 percent in-line stores in which 40 percent will be in fashion, accessories, food and beverages. Apparel remains the largest consumption inside a mall and with fashion concepts, it is growing pretty well.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
RM: There are a couple of levels where we are observing the change. The customer has gone through a transitional change over the years. They are more fashionable, trendier, healthier and ready to experiment with the apparel they wish to wear.
Firstly, I see a differentiation coming in with officewear, casualwear, partywear and
eveningwear. People are now categorising the kind of fashion they need for a particular
occasion. Nevertheless, the customer is getting influenced by fashion detailing where they are choosing accessories to pair them with their coordinated dresses. Secondly, higher price points are getting acceptance now. Fashion brands that are slightly premium in their price-points are being chosen by consumers. Thirdly, there is lot of media exposure, which is fuelling the growth of fashion.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
RM: I definitely see a movement in fashion. Categories like casualwear are emerging
strong in our malls contrary to formalwear, which has always been an established one.
The reason for this is evident by the fact that our work-wear is now not strictly formal.
Casualwear categories like denims are growing.
I also see a lot of movement in the footwear category. This is growing as the consumer is
now shopping for multiple shoes for different occasions. This trend is now even seen with
men consumers. Fashion is getting defined sharply in this segment.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional,
national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
RM: If you look at a macro-level, what we need in our mall is a good brand, which is appreciated by the customer and brings in a strong connect. There is no point in having a regional brand when it is not selling. At the same time, there is no point in housing an international brand which does not sell. So we need to have a sharp focus while planning our brand mix. International fashion and brands needs to be looked at the relevance of the price-points they serve. In certain markets, those price-points may not be relevant despite the brand doing very well in those markets. We do not look at brands with their national, international or regional identity. Instead, we look at the brand with the relevance of that catchment. At the end of the day, we are creating a product which the customer has to enjoy.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
RM: Luxury has a rather peculiar journey. The first product which goes out as a luxury is
the fashion accessories. In the premium micro-market locations, the apparel also starts
moving for example in places like South Delhi and South Mumbai.
In our malls, we have brands like Omega and Mont Blanc, which are selling pretty well.
Similarly, handbags and leather products, which are so expensive, are also doing a good
business in the suburban markets.
What are the promotional strategies that you are running to boost the fashion segment? Tell us about the social media activations.
RM: We lay a lot of emphasis on promotional campaigns and social media. Inorbit is
strongest in its social media campaigns. In terms of activation and events, there is
always an effort to be different from other players in the market. We recently did a
meaningful movie-making summer camp for kids. Amol Gupte, one of the prominent film
directors of India, was part of this camp. We are training kids for acting, dialogue writing,
etc. We believe that such initiatives will help the kids grow and nurture their talent. This
event is of a different scale altogether.
What is your take on the overall scenario of business of fashion in India?
RM: We need to bring more and more fashion brands, which bring out products which are relevant for the time-frame they are servicing in the country. What I mean clearly is not bring products which are before time for our country or something which are old to catch up. We need to understand customer movement and up-gradation from micro-market perspective.
Please share some future tips.
RM: The industry has to establish an important connect with the consumers. This will happen with initiatives to educate the customers that help them move and upgrade faster in the fashion cycle. This will also reduce the customer struggle to choose brands and be clear in their tastes and preferences.
PHOENIX MILLS
Phoenix Mills Limited has carved a niche in the booming Indian real estate sector. Be it mega retail malls, entertainment complexes, commercial space or hospitality units, the group is determined to make its presence felt in India. Phoenix Mills has been a pioneer in converting mill land into modern, multi-use integrated property. High Street Phoenix was the first consumption centre developed in India. The complex has been developed on a 1.5 million sq.ft. of space and houses retail and entertainment, commercial and residential complexes. Phoenix has also ventured in creating a destination for luxury – Palladium in Mumbai.
Rajendra Kalkar, Sr. Centre Director, The Phoenix Mills shares his views on Indian Fashion and explains how it is emerging different from others.
What has been the share of fashion category in your mall?
Rajendra Kalkar (RK): Fashion is one of the biggest contributors in our mall and as I foresee, it will only grow. People are really getting fashion conscious and follow trends regularly. Earlier, spring-summer or autumn-winter seasons were for namesake but today their identity is taken more seriously. If you look at our malls, fashion is growing at
an average of 30 percent.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
RK: Until five years back, buying a Kenneth Cole shoe would be a thing to dream of. Today, it is a reality where people are investing in such luxury brands. The first movement has happened with the fashion accessories segment, which has grown tremendously and created plenty of options.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
RK: Fashion accessories and sportswear are emerging in a stronger way in my mall.
Sportswear earlier was bought for functional and comfort needs, but today it is more of a
fashion statement.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional,
national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
RK: A lot of research goes into it. It is more of a demand and supply situation. We are always on a lookout for what the consumers are looking and a lot of decisions happen on the basis of this research. The fashion and brand trends, to a large extent, are driven by the consumers.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
RK: We are one of those rare mall developers who look at the bridge to luxury and luxury segment. We are proud to say that as on date we have 28 of such brands which are exclusive in Mumbai with their single store. We really look at the special and exclusive needs of a customer shopping for luxury.
When we started with the luxury segment, it was not easy for us to make this exclusive
customer shop in Mumbai leaving behind Dubai, Singapore and London. It was a tough
call for us but it was worth it. For a customer shopping for luxury fashion, it is the overall
experience that counts rather than the price. They have certain requirements for
their shopping and one has to match it to their expectations. The trend from fashion
accessories to apparel has picked up in the luxury segment. We are growing at around
30-40 percent in the luxury segment.
What are the promotional strategies that you are running to boost the fashion
segment? Tell us about the social media activations.
RK: One should understand that the digital and social media is not a primary resource to
attract fashion; it is more to create a buzz. The real customers walk in when you have special events, previews, and extraordinary products lined up for them.
Kindly share some future tips.
RK: For something that is launched today in Milan or Paris, it takes around one month more to come to India. I think the way India is becoming a centre-stage of fashion, you can see launches happening in Mumbai and Delhi soon.
VIRTUOUS RETAIL
Virtuous Retail is an institutionally owned developer-operator of community-oriented premium lifestyle shopping centres in India’s top cities. Today, Virtuous Retail is operational in Surat and is upcoming with pan India portfolio, which includes prime city centre locations in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune making it the leading platform of quality retail real estate in one of the world’s most attractive consumer markets for organised retail.
Sachin Dhanawade, Center Head, Virtuous Retail speaks on how their business in a smaller city has flourished and how their mall has become one of the favourite fashion destinations for the who’s who in the city.
What is the share of fashion category in your mall?
Sachin Dhanawade (SD): Fashion is about 80 percent and the remaining would be a mix of entertainment and F&B. Anchors cover a major portion of our mall,
which is about 50 percent.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
SD: If I compare the quotient of malls as a family entertainment centre, then this is definitely going up with my mall and Surat as a city. The trend is growing and fashion is occupying a major role in malls. This has even evolved in smaller towns and cities in India.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
SD: As a category, the percentage of growth in the women’s westernwear segment is on a higher side. The reason is clearly defined, where Surat as a city has evolved over a period of time and especially in the last five years. People are becoming highly fashion conscious today. Just to give an example, as far as our mall is concerned we have brands like Zara, which pioneer the concept of fast fashion. When it comes to a department store, we have a Shoppers Stop, which has a mix of shop-inshop stores.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional,
national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
SD: The percentage that the regional brands occupy in our malls is on a lesser side.
We planned the mall in that manner. The quantum of national and international brands
occupies the major portion. Apart from Zara and Shoppers Stop, we have international
players like Marks & Spencer, cosmetic players like MAC, Forest Essentials, etc. We have provided an eminent gateway to Surat to come and experience the best of the national and international brands in our mall. We do not deny the fact that regional players also make a good mix. We are in talks with some of the prominent names in this region to come on board with us.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
SD: We are today focusing on the right mix of international, national and regional players
in our mall. Bridge to luxury and luxury is not on the cards as of now. There is a very niche audience for luxury fashion segment in Surat. The ones who aspire to buy luxury products are the ones who look at bigger cities like Mumbai for the same.
What are the promotional strategies that you are running to boost the fashion
segment? Tell us about the social media activations.
SD: We do e-mailers and we have creatives, which showcase the brands present in our mall. We are active on social media platforms and keep updating our customers about the brands in our mall and their new collections. We organise around five major events in the mall every year, which establishes a good connect with our customers.
What is your take on the overall scenario of business of fashion in India? How do you estimate its future?
SD: A city like Surat, where we have our mall with brands like Zara, M&S and others, proves the success story of smaller cities in India. Overall, the business of fashion is at a very promising growth level. The pull towards organised retail is happening quickly and the numbers are growing.
DLF MALLS
DLF has always been a front-runner of the retail revolution in the country. DLF’s retail portfolio is uniquely managed by a seamless integration of design, construction, leasing, operations, asset management and strategic marketing. An outstanding example of this is DLF Emporio, the first luxury shopping centre in India that is home to a unique mix of over 180 international and Indian luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Cartier, Salvatore Ferragamo, etc.
Pushpa Bector, Sr. Vice President – Leasing & Mall Head, DLF speaks on how their business in a smaller city has flourished and how their mall has become one of the favourite fashion destinations for the who’s who in the city.
What is the share of fashion category in your mall?
Pushpa Bector (PB): Fashion contributes almost 55-60 percent of our business and that is really the way forward for us. DLF malls has pioneered being fashion forward with the consumers. So creating new lines and reaching out to the consumer is what relates to our way of managing malls. Consumers are very positively oriented. They have faith that if there is a new season in a DLF property, where fresh merchandise is available, it consist of something special. We have explored fashion in a manner where it makes a good money sense.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
PB: International fast fashion has grown manifolds in the country. There are a number of brands that have carved an international success story with fast fashion and they are now coming to India. Also, there is the advent of newer international brands that are looking at lower price-points and changing the merchandise every 15 days. This makes it extremely
exciting for a consumer to have something new. Nevertheless, this makes good sense
for a developer as the consumer visits the mall frequently. Indian fashion has changed
dramatically over the years. This would be an interesting thing to go forward. We have
realised that people like to wear both Indian and western clothing with equal fervour. The
fashion sense of Indianwear has evolved and there is a lot of focus today on fits, form and
colour combinations. They have taken hues and inspiration from western fashion, which
has made another interesting line-up.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
PB: Womenswear has taken a lead. This section of buyers is spending more on clothing and fashion. If you look at the matrix, women’s wear contributes to around 55-60 percent in the overall pie.
With men, the metro-sexual man is getting very fashion conscious and is sending much
more on himself. If you look at our new DLF Mall of India, we have dedicated more space to men’s wear as we believe there is a huge growth potential in this category.
The kidswear category is also growing; there are interesting brands like Children’s
Place, etc. coming into the country. This will grow at the rate of 15 percent.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional, national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
PB: We have a fair mix of both national and international brands in our malls. In Mall of
India, I have the entire plate called the highstreet, which is dedicated to local Indian fusion ethnic wear players.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
PB: I think one cannot create a pure uber-luxury product; there is uniqueness to it which is going to be few, far and between. However, bridge to luxury gives a nice blend to a mall, which is dedicated to fast fashion. We are addressing this bridge to luxury segment
in our malls as we think that there is an aspirant crowd which wants to own this. This
thought has been specially taken care of in the upcoming project Mall of India.
What kind of promotional strategies are you running to boost the fashion segment?
Tell us about the social media activations.
PB: According to me, digital and fashion go hand-in-hand. Whenever there is a new collection, we try to promote it digitally. This gives a lot of traction as people like to talk about it and reaches out to the right audience, which is fashion conscious, and this ultimately leads to direct conversions.
What is your take on the overall scenario of business of fashion in India? How do you estimate its future?
PB: Business of fashion is here to stay and will grow further. We estimate its growth to around 20-25 percent.
AMANORA TOWN CENTRE
Amanora Town Centre is one of the favourite shopping destinations in Pune. Spread across an expanse of 1.2 million sq.ft., it is not just a mall, it is almost like a charming little town. The mall’s architecture has two separate blocks: west and east, each unique in its design.
Ketan Sanghvi, COO , Amanora Town Centre talks about how the fashion category has transformed his business and how the customers’ preferences are changing rapidly
What has been the share of fashion category in your mall?
Ketan Sanghvi(KS): Fashion is an evolving category, especially in a city like Pune. We see growth especially in the women’s westernwear category. The reason is very strongly backed by the need to dress up appropriately, as the young women today are highly fashion conscious. The women’s wear category is adapting a fast fashion approach.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
KS: Considering fashion as a main driver in malls, the Indo-western categories have evolved to a great deal in the last few years. That is the reason why you can see the emergence of brands like Global Desi, etc., who are scoring well in fashion-conscious markets.
In terms of business, another category which has been evolving is the kidswear segment. I would still say that there are not enough players in kids fashion and there is tremendous scope in this category.
Fast fashion has emerged very strongly and if you see carefully, brands like Zara, Vero Moda and Forever New are doing good business in India. Nevertheless, looking at this potential, many international brands like H&M and other fast fashion brands are eyeing India as a potential market. In the last five years or so, India has adapted more towards ready-to-wear and fast fashion.
The menswear category has evolved more towards semi-formal with a trend shifting towards natural fabrics like cotton, linen, etc.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
KS: Amanora Town Centre in Pune is based in the vicinity of an IT hub. If you look at the buying patterns of this customer segment, they generally buy clothing which is semi formal or even casual and look forward to very aggressive price-points.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional, national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
KS: At Amanora, we have a mix of international, national and local brands; so our mix is fairly balanced. We do a good business with all. Categories like Indo-western women’s wear have done quite well in our mall. Our customers are young with double income groups, who shop frequently.
Around 70 percent of the placement is in the mid-segment, 20 percent is with the upper mid, and five per cent is with the premium brands; another five per cent is with the super premium ones. This is how it works with our customers.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
KS: Based on the primary catchment that we have, we would restrict bridge to luxury and encourage super-premium category. We keep around 5-7 percent in our portfolio, which would address to the aspirational consumers who come in to our mall.
What are the promotional strategies that you are running to boost the fashion segment?
Tell us about the social media activations.
KS: I think going forward malls are working veryclosely with retailers. They have strategies to further glamorise fashion within the mall and do more branding solutions.
Getting a mix of regional flavour within a mall keeps the customer interest alive and acts as a differentiator between malls.
Amanora is highly active on Facebook; it showcases each and every brand present with
us and updates on the new collections in store. Another promotional strategy which we
follow is that we have mannequins, which are placed in strategic locations around the mall to display the new collection of brands present in our mall.
Kindly share some future tips.
KS: I strongly believe that shopping is still a pleasure and buying fashion tops in the
priority list. People will still enjoy shopping in malls. On the other hand, it is the duty of
the mall managers to make it more exciting, inviting and a pleasurable experience for their customers.
GROWEL’S 101
Growel’s 101 is strategically located in the western suburbs of Mumbai in Kandivali. The mall specifies a theme of European hill towns and is designed by Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz and Form4. The design revolves around a typical neoclassical architecture with the use of many arches, colonnades, stoned flooring, and extensive use of internal and façade lighting to enhance the mood within the mall and give the visitors a European feel. Growel’s 101 has an ideal mix of fashion, retail, department stores, white goods, books, health and beauty, family entertainment centres, fine dining restaurants, food court and a 4-screen multiplex.
Pallavi More, President – Marketing, Growel’s 101 shares how their mall is motivated by the need to meet consumer demand for offering a greater diversity of fashion retailers and how their business has evolved with this catchment.
What is the share of fashion category in your mall?
Pallavi More (PM): In our mall, the fashion category is around 60-70 percent and we are extremely conscious that if a store is going in change in our mall, we would replace it with a fashion one.
Fashion always brings a fresh perspective to a mall and it is an invitation for customers
to keep visiting the mall. Depending on the customers who shop with our mall, we try to
keep a mix of what they can buy and what they aspire to buy.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
PM: Initially, we did try to get 10 percent of the stores who were opening for the first or the second time so that the customers could see a change in the brand mix compared to other malls. However, unfortunately, they did not reflect the need to show themselves as a brand. They lacked in their customer service and development.
The second issue in Mumbai concerns the ethnic brands, which are not present in the
malls as they do not believe in renting spaces. This has been a challenge for mall managers to get high-street regional ethnic players into the mall. I am of the view to give a chance to fresh and new entrants in fashion in our mall.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
PM: Though I would say the catchment is very strong for ethnic, but this is being looked upon as a value format. The westernwear which is sported by the younger generation is emerging in a strong way. Customers today prefer to visit the vanilla stores and departmental stores, which house a mix of brands.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional,
national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
PM: At Growel, we are giving space to mini anchor type of departmental stores, which may range between 10,000 and 5,000 sq.ft. and which have the best products to offer. We have opened 2-3 of such stores in our mall. We have kept a couple of international brands as we feel that these brands are available with quite a few of the malls in the vicinity. We believe in providing fashion, which is evolving and best represented by a domestic national brand or a regional brand.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
PM: We started with luxury category such as accessories. Today, we are still touching the
premium quotient and want to be positioned as a value-based mall for our target audience.
What are the promotional strategies that you are running to boost the fashion
segment? Tell us about the social media activations.
PM: Our loyalty programmes are doing extremely well. We have been able to communicate with our customers and tell them what is new. The customers enjoy returning to our mall, as they are able to explore fresh aspects with their shopping. We are active on Facebook with regular updates on our new collections and happenings.
What is your take on the overall scenario of business of fashion in India? How do you estimate its future?
PM: Everybody tries to dress appropriately today and there has been a lot of fashion
consciousness with the customers. They understand colours and trends. There has been
a big shift with the women’s segment, who are today ready to experiment more and visit the malls frequently to explore and check out what they aspire to wear.
LULU MALL
Lulu Mall is a division of the Lulu Group headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The group, with its flagship retail chain of Lulu hypermarkets and supermarkets, has operations spread over 31 countries. Lulu Mall opened its first mall in India in 2013, at Kerala under the dynamic leadership of Padmashri Yusuffali M A, Managing Director, Lulu Group. The mall has changed the way people shop in Kerala. Also, within the mall’s expansive campus is the Marriott, a magnificent 300-room hotel that caters to the unique accommodation needs of visitors and tourists to the God’s own country.
Shibu Philips, Business Head, Lulu International Shopp ing Mall shares how their mall has met the demands of a fashion-conscious and discerning customer in Kerala. He talks about how Kerala as a market is special on the map of India and its key learnings.
What has been the share of fashion category in your mall?
Shibu Philips (SP): The fashion component is around 70 percent, leaving apart the hypermarket and food courts. What we are saw in Kerala is that it only had formal and ethnicwear fashion trading with both men and women. There were very few options for westernwear for men coming from brands like Tommy Hilfiger, etc. The category was completely lacking behind. Now, with the coming of our mall, we see that the customers in this city are evolving and experimenting with western fashion. We have seen this change with the opening of stores like Marks & Spencer in our mall. This has given us confidence of getting more of western brands.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
SP: Kerala was not a place where every brand wanted to enter. However, the national and
international brands were looking at the e-commerce data where it reflected good
sales coming through this region without the physical appearance of their store. With the
coming of our mall, the brands decided to have their brick-and-mortar presence and cater
to this discerning market. If you look at our brand mix, we have brands like Steve Maiden, Gas, Mango, etc., which have extended the westernwear portfolio in this new market.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
SP: Kidswear is emerging as a strong segment in our mall. The numbers which the brands like UCB Kids, Tommy Hilfiger Childrenwear and Gini & Jony are pushing is showing a tremendous response. We now see Allen Solly kids and other kidswear brands that are willing to take space in our mall.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional,
national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
SP: We have a mix of all. We have an international retailer like Marks & Spencer and a national retailer like Westside anchoring their position in our mall. The other international brands which are anchoring in western fashion are Tommy Hilfiger, Vero Moda, Jack & Jones and Calvin Klein.
In addition, we have a mix of national brands for men’s and women’s formals. We also have regional ethnic players from Kerala under Lulu Celebrate, which has Kerala saris, local homegrown designer brands like Mantra, Labelmm, etc. Then we have the fabindia, Bandhej, Aurelia, Global Desi, etc. We are strong on fashion accessories with brands like Rolex, etc.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
SP: We are currently not in this space. We are positioned as a mid-segment mall and trying to get into the mid-premium category.
What are the promotional strategies that you are running to boost the fashion
segment? Tell us about the social media activations.
SP: We are strong on our social media platform. We have around four lakh thirty thousand people who are following us. Fashion is given a lot of relevance through our social media interactions. Nevertheless, a lot of brands present in our mall organise fashion shows where they showcase their latest collections. We also hold sessions where our customers are given tips and highlights on latest fashion and beauty category.
Kindly share some future tips.
SP: The fashion consumption pattern of Kerala has improved significantly and the customers are now demanding for more brands. There is a huge opportunity to tap.
WORLD TRADE PARK
The World Trade Park in Jaipur primarily underlines the concept of international trade and business activities all under one roof. World Trade Park provides and features world-class and worldwide connectivity to expand the reach of their business. World Trade Park is a nodal centre for taking business global. It is a bridge between the seller and the buyer, thereby giving both a common platform to reach out for new trade horizons.
Anoop Bartaria, Chairman and Managing Director, World Trade Park speaks about the growing fashion consciousness in India, which has made all cities and towns come together on a global platform.
What is the share of fashion category in your mall?
Anoop Bartaria (AB): The share of fashion is around 70 percent. At the end of the day, malls have become synonymous to selling fashion. Fashion plays a big role with us and the brands we have are doing really well. Jaipur as a tier-II city is doing phenomenally well than some tier-I cities in the country. I feel proud to state that the fashion sense with tier-II cities is at par with tier-I and there is hardly any difference. Categories like ethnic, modern, contemporary and westernwear are selling well in this large customer base.
How has the share of fashion category changed and evolved in the last five years?
AB: I see it in a different angle, where a mall like us has actually helped the people of Jaipur to adopt new styles of fashion. I can see the change happening in society. It is not that the people of Jaipur could not afford to buy fashion brands; rather, they lacked the opportunity to do so. Moreover, there is social media which has given a vide canvas to fashion. This has become a centre where new collection, forecasts, colour combinations, new styles, etc. are being discussed.
Within fashion what are the categories that are emerging strong in your mall? What do you think is the reason for the same?
AB: Fashion is still largely driven by brand positioning, which is an important factor be
it men’s or womenswear. When somebody decides to make purchase, they take the
decision based on two factors: whether it is affordable to their pocket and the recognition
of the brand in the market.
Tell us about the different fashion retailers in your mall. What is the mix of regional,
national brands, international brands, and other smaller brands in your mall?
AB: The first thought that we had was not to create space but rather create an extended store so that it is able to serve the recipe for everybody. The second formula we followed was do decide on the categories and take the top five out of every one. In our mall, we have women’s, men’s, casual, and unisexwear. We have a separate leather and denim zone. The footwear zone is separate. We even have kidswear and toys along with some miscellaneous products. Apart from profiling the mall in different fashion categories, we have actually demarcated the zoning of that category with different interiors. So, for example, if you go to denim or a leather zone, you will have wooden flooring, leather art, etc. We have blended designs and zones together, which gives an impression of visiting a single store rather than visiting a mall with 150-200 stores.
How are you addressing bridge to luxury and the luxury segment in your mall?
AB: The human aspiration is to desire and upgrade. If you talk about bridge to luxury, one has to upgrade step-by-step to reach a level to buy a luxury product. Then there is the mentality of the buyer. We are addressing the same, where we are placing the bridge to luxury brands right before the customers in our mall to upgrade and choose.
What are the promotional strategies that you are running to boost the fashion segment? Tell us about the social media activations.
AB: We are soon going to start our own mobile application. Promotional activities in our mall have been kept in a way where they serve a purpose. It is not a thing to watch, look by and move ahead. We have events which involve the customers. This is our regular practice and is not limited to special occasions and festivities. Some famous events that we host are the Jaipur marathon, etc.
What is your take on the overall scenario of business of fashion in India? How do you estimate its future?
AB: I think the business of fashion cycle is very active. The growth is very promising and we should keep delivering new ideas, which would lead to the betterment of this industry.
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