Menswear market in India fastest growing apparel segment

In 2010, GQ's annual best-dressed 50 in Britain had the then PM-in-waiting David Cameron at No. 8. Simply for knowing "the importance of a good suit and tie". Apparently a good suit, and tie, makes you successful, gains you an in into coveted lists and heck, even wins you the elections.

Since then, Cameron might have slid on the subsequent lists but was lauded, by what many people treat as a style Bible, as the ambassador for suits. For the record, the man has a proclivity for £3,500 Saville Row suits.

The Mecca of bespoke might not be here in India but the experience is, courtesy the luxury menswear brands that are catering to the Indian man's newfound zeal to be dapper. The men's ready-to-wear gets a new sheen and spin thanks to a host of luxury brands available.

Gucci, Hugo Boss, Salvatore Ferragamo, Armani, Versace, Brioni, Ermenegildo Zegna, Canali, Corneliani, Alfred Dunhill, Cadini, are all in the race to clothe the new sartorially savvy Indian man.

The Men are Buying
According to Technopak Advisors, a retail consultancy, the entire textile and apparel industry (2010 estimates), including domestic and exports, is pegged at Rs 3,27,000 crore and is expected to grow by 11% to Rs 10,32,000 crore by 2020. Currently menswear is the major chunk of the market at 43% (Rs 72,000 crore) and is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%.

The menswear market in India is the fastest growing apparel segment. The India Menswear Market Analysis 2010-2014 by Venn Research found that total revenue from menswear was $11.8 billion in 2009, representing a CAGR of 8.6% from 2005 to 2009. Industry estimates peg the formal suits, jackets and blazers segment at Rs 4,500 crore. Clearly the men want to look dapper.

The fact that it's the fastest growing luxury segment is no surprise, points out Pinaki Ranjan Mishra, partner & national leader, retail & consumer products at Ernst & Young, a consultancy. "The men's apparel is more westernised unlike women where even in the high-end you would see many of them opting for Indianwear. Hence, standardisation of products is simpler and easier," he says.

Then again, the men have always been the prime spenders and are now finding avenues to explore. Mishra says: "Even in case of equal spending power, by nature women might buy more jewellery while men show a preference for technology and apparel."

As the man about in business Abhay Gupta, executive director of Blues Clothing Company that promotes exclusive menswear brands like Cadini, Corneliani, Versace Collection and operates in four cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore), agrees with Mishra, but adds that men are fundamentally quick shoppers.

"They take faster decisions and have more brand loyalty," he says. Then again, he adds, the fact that westernised wear does offer more standardisation for men than women, not only for style but for colours too. "In terms of sizes and specifications, men's ready-to-wear is simpler and unlike womenwear, there are fewer attributes to customise," he says.

Twenty-five-year-old Delhi businessman Vikram Sawhney is the type of customer Gupta and others are looking at. Sawhney was introduced to the impeccable Italian cut by his Dubai-based friends. And as the saying goes, "Once you go Italian, you can't go back", he was shopping for luxury ready-to-wear on his trips abroad.

Image consultant and grooming coach to various corporates Yatan Ahluwalia notes that over the past few years, men under 25 and over 35 have become a major consumer base for luxury ready-to-wear. There's a marked shift from tailoring to ready-to-wear brands. "With an increase in disposable income and a greater brand consciousness, the market is set to double over the next few years," he says.

London-based designer brand Paul Smith, which is planning to open its third store in Mumbai's Palladium Annexe in June 2012 in addition to its existing two in Delhi and Bangalore, has noticed the demand shifting from simple businesswear to lifestyle space with occasion-based formalwear.

"A lot of young customers are now interested in dressing up more formally. While earlier a majority of the demand for high-end tailoring came from senior management and business owners. Now a lot of young men are treating a good suit or jacket as an investment, essential for a work wardrobe," says a spokesperson of Paul Smith India.

Gupta says there's not one type of luxury buyer. He classifies them into four categories: the old money brought up in the lap of luxury and needs no introductions to the brands; the new professionals who have made money, are well-travelled and developing some brand loyalty; the entry to luxury category that will start with the lesser-priced brand and will move up the value chain and the aspiring class that waits for the end of season sales to get an in into luxury.

Ahluwalia contends the label is still the deciding factor. "Indian men base their buying decision on exclusivity and brand recognition and very rarely on design innovation," he says. Agrees Mishra, who says that branding is critical in shaping buying decisions. For instance, if an Armani shirt with a visible logo was sold along with one where the branding is not clear, Indians by nature would pick the one with the obvious branding.

The Price is Right
According to Technopak, the luxury market in India is set to reach $30 billion by 2015. Little wonder then that the men are being wooed by the western sartorialists. The latest cuts, colours, fabrics are here, fresh from the foreign runways. But a luxury suit comes at a price.

The suits start at Rs 70,000 with the likes of Paul Smith and can go up to Rs 1,60,000 and above for brands like Corneliani, Versace Collection and Canali. The entry to luxury brands like Boggi Milano and Cadini can come for Rs 25,000. But if you are looking to go bespoke, then we are talking `20-25 lakh for a suit.

But then you just don't buy the brand, you buy into the philosophy. Brioni, the Italian suitmakers favoured by the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Bill Clinton and Lakshmi Mittal, has been around since 1945. Each Brioni suit is cut and stitched at a factory in Penne, Italy. In fact, the company claims that no one can cut a Brioni suit without undergoing training for at least four years with one year of specialisation.

Ermenegildo Zegna, retailing for Rs 11,000 for a tie to Rs 1,50,000, was founded in 1910. In fact, Zegna owes nearly 49% of its 2010 revenue of s963 million to the Asia-Pacific region. At Zegna you can choose from 800 exclusive fabrics that are a blend of linen, cashmere, wool and silk.

Even their summer suits are a natural fabric blend that makes them breathable for the season. Paul Smith offers quirky aside to each of their design. Expect surprising lapel details or a contrast cuff, the brand likes to keep things surprising.

"The real challenge for luxury brands starts after opening the first store. There's a dearth of premium malls and scaling up becomes a problem as real estate becomes difficult to come by," says Mishra of E&Y.

The Way They Shop
With premium tag comes premium service. To build loyalty, all luxury brands offer services that will make any man feel like a king. After all, relationship management and personalised services are the only ways to maintain stickiness as the competition intensifies.

Most brands from Salvatore Ferragamo to Paul Smith to Canali to Corneliani offer personal shopping. Your personal shopper is your very own stylist who will take you through the new line, suggest what will suit you and in some places also offers colour consultancies.

While you'd usually be dismissive of a salesman, a personal shopper is a status symbol. Some like Ferragamo also offer exclusive previews of their forthcoming range to special clients. Zegna has launched an exclusive service called Su Misura, which is their custom-tailored service making it possible to produce tailor-made suits, leather garments, jackets, pants, coats, shirts, ties shoes and belts, according to the customer's size and needs. The delivery time is four weeks in any Zegna store.

Paul Smith and Canali offer home shopping. It's the delivery at the doorstep aimed at on-the-go professionals. In addition, Canali organises a made-to-measure event where their master stylist comes to India, once or twice a year for consultation. According to industry estimates, personal shopping service contributes 15% of the total sales in India.

Value-added services aside, Ahluwalia says, for luxury brands to stay relevant in India, they should make India-specific clothes, using fabrics and materials suited to our climate, and styles, cuts and colours that cater to the average Indian built and skin tone. "What works in Paris or Milan, can't always be worn in New Delhi or Mumbai," he says. Maybe the brands are listening. Zegna has already launched its Indian bandhgala jacket and Canali too has added Indian influences to its designs.

Going Indian is a fair strategy to address the market, as formalwear goes beyond offices in India. But the brands have to be cautious and not become fuddy-duddy. And if you are paying a packet to buy Italian, you can't end up looking too Indian. That would be a fashion faux pas.

Luxury Lexicon
If you are shopping for luxury menswear, know these terms or be branded a boor.

Bespoke: In simpler English, it means customised tailoring. It is the height of exclusivity. Bespoke is an English term and an English tradition. Here the clothes are made according to the customer's specifications and request.

Made-to-measure: The difference from bespoke, besides the price, is that it has some standardisation. It's what you call a tailored suit. Fit is better than the ready-to-wear variant and more expensive.

Off the Shelf: It's what you would call off the rack. Basically you walk in, pick your size and walk out to a dinner party or the typical workday, no nip-tuck required. For most it's the entry-into-luxury clothing.

Personal Shopping: Your personal shopper is the showroom assistant. They are the ones who tell you what's in, will it look good on you, help you pair it and also keep in touch with you regarding new lines, offerings, etc.

Casa Grande enters Coimbatore market

Coimbatore: The high-end real estate market in Coimbatore city, which already has seen some of the big guns of the industry like Sobha Developers and Ceebros giving competition to local players, is set to witness increased competition with the Chennai-based Casa Grande announcing the launch of a luxury villa project in the city.

The company looks at Coimbatore as a lucrative market and expects to garner a turnover of about Rs 200 crore over the next two years.

Speaking to newsmen in Coimbatore, Mr M. Arun Kumar, Managing Director, Casa Grande Private Ltd, Chennai, said starting from 2004, the company has so far built about 1.2 million sq.ft of residential space across twenty four projects. The turnover this year is expected to be about Rs 100 crore-110 crore and the goal is to take the turnover to Rs 1,000 crore by 2016-17. The company has about Rs 700 crore-800 crore worth projects in the pipeline.

He said the company was also focussing on helping its customers maintain their properties through a separate division for leasing and maintenance. These services would be offered not only to the customers of Casa Grande but buyers of properties from other builders as well.

Mr D.Senthil Kumar, partner, Coimbatore Region, Casa Grande Pvt Ltd, said the Coimbatore project, coming up on the Kalapatti-Kurumbapalayam road about 7 km off the Coimbatore airport, would have 90 independent and semi-independent villas of 1,600-2,000 sq ft. The villas would be priced in the range of Rs 50- Rs 70 lakh and the project would be completed in 12-15 months.

He said more potential properties have been identified in Coimbatore and he was hopeful of notching up a turnover of Rs 200 crore by 2014-15 from the Coimbatore region itself.

Mr Arun Kumar said while the company would look at other cities like Tiruchi, it would rather prefer to focus on limited markets for solid performance.

Canali, Genesis form JV to sell products in India

New Delhi: Italian luxury major Canali has entered into a 51:49 joint venture with Genesis Luxury Fashion, which currently has distribution rights of Canali-branded products in India. The company also plans to invest Rs 7.65 crore in India. The joint venture company will now sell Canali branded products in India exclusively.

Canali had sought approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which gave its clearance last week.

"India is a market with a remarkable potential still to be exploited. By teaming up with Genesis Luxury we are confident we will be in a better position to strengthen our leadership in Indian luxury menswear market," said Stefano Canali, general manager and third generation of the Canali family in business.

The Italian brand, which currently operates five exclusive stores in India through a marketing and distribution arrangement with Genesis Luxury, has had a successful business association with Genesis Luxury for over four years now and the joint venture was the next logical step, said Sanjay Kapoor, managing director, Genesis Luxury. The JV will now accelerate the brands growth in India by opening 10-15 stores over the next three-four years.

Canali is the first luxury brand to invest in India since 100% FDI in single brand retailing was allowed by the government earlier this year. Genesis, a franchise for several global luxury brands, has been operating five Canali stores in India-two in the National Capital Region, at the DLF Emporio Mall and at the Oberoi hotel in Gurgaon, and one each in Mumbai's Palladium mall, Hyderabad's Taj Krishna hotel and Bangalore's UB City mall.

Now, ATMs can advertise financial products

New Delhi: Banks with a large network of automated teller machines (ATM) will now be able to generate additional revenue by advertising financial products offered by other institutions.

With an eye on financial inclusion and to incentivise banks for opening ATMs in remote areas, the finance ministry has allowed bank-owned as well as outsourced ATMs to display advertisements of other financial products. RBI will soon issue guidelines in this regard.

There are about 80,000 ATMs in the country today and the State Bank of India, which has the largest share in these ATMs, is likely to benefit most. Among private players, Axis Bank and HDFC could also gain. Banks with a small ATM network would benefit by getting more visibility for their products at large bank ATMs.

These products carry the approval of various regulators like the Reserve Bank of India, Securities & Exchange Board of India, Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority and the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority.

A finance ministry official said it had been a long standing demand of the industry to allow outside vendors to advertise financial products of other banks and financial institutions apart from the products of the sponsoring bank for a fee. The official added that the advertising revenue would enable banks to reduce transaction costs of ATMs.

Currently, banks work on a outsourced model based on per transaction basis for ATM deployment. The cost of setting up of an ATM is about Rs 5-6 lakh. Advertising revenues can offset a part of this cost and make the proposition more viable for banks.

Iraq, a new market for India's basmati exports

New Delhi: Iraq is emerging as a new market for Indian basmati as exports of the aromatic rice have picked up in the post-Saddam era. Exporters are bullish on the prospects and hope to double shipments to about 2.5 lakh tonnes in the current financial year.

“People are shifting to quality products due to the openness in the system in the post-dictatorial era. This is resulting in increased demand for the quality Indian rice,” said Mr Vijay Sethia, President of the All-India Rice Exporters Association.

Basmati exports to Iraq in 2010-11 were around 1.25 lakh tonnes, estimates Mr Sethia. Of this, direct exports were about 31,239 tonnes, while the rest was shipped indirectly through Dubai. “Now the direct exports have picked up and we hope to do a total of around 2.5 lakh tonnes this year,” he said.

Iraq accounts for a fraction of the country's total basmati consignments. Neighbouring Iran is the largest buyer of Indian aromatic rice and shipments stood at close a million tonnes last year. However, the recent instances of payment defaults from Iran could possibly hamper the volumes this year even though exporters have welcomed the Government's recent move to allow opening of letter of credits in rupee terms.

Mr Sethia said the recent reduction of minimum export price (MEP) on basmati to $700 from $900 per tonne should aid the shipments. In the current fiscal, the Indian basmati exports could touch 2.5 million tonnes, up from 2.18 mt in the previous year, he said.

The reduction in MEP will also aid the shipments of par-boiled and unpolished basmati rice, which are relatively less priced, Mr Sethia said. Europe mainly prefers the unpolished rice, while the par-boiled or semi-processed rice is exported to Saudi Arabia.

TCS in JV with Mitsubishi for Japan mkt

Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest information technology services provider, on Wednesday announced a joint venture (JV) with Mitsubishi Corporation, to increase penetration in Japan, the world’s second largest IT market.

With an initial investment of $5 million (Rs 24.5 crore) from TCS, the company will have 60 per cent holding in the JV, to be named Nippon TCS Solution Centre. It will also establish a nearshore delivery centre in Japan and have 1,500 employees.

For TCS, the JV is part of a strategy to increase presence in that market. At present revenue from Japan is less than $100 million for the firm. With this JV, it expects revenue to touch $500 million in the next four to five years.

“This is part of TCS strategy, to focus on markets like Germany and Japan. We think the partnership with Mitsubishi will significantly accelerate our presence in Japan. The new joint venture will provide strong local market knowhow and deep domain knowledge, as well as bring in best practices to help Japanese corporations effectively respond to their global IT needs. Mitsubishi is also a large industrial house and will give TCS opportunity to look at a business opportunity,” said N Chandrasekaran, managing director and chief executive officer of TCS.

Nippon TCS Solution Center will offer a full-service suite of IT, business process outsourcing and infrastructure services to Japanese corporations.

This is only the second time that TCS has opted for a JV route to enter a new market. TCS had presence in China since 2002 and chose the JV route with the government there in in 2007, as it started to expand into the domestic Chinese market. TCS has had presence in the Japan market for close to 20 years.

Several other companies have been trying to enter the Japanese IT services market but none have met great success. For Infosys, Wipro and others, revenue from Japan as a proportion of the total is still in single digits.

When asked if Japanese clients were now much more open to work with Indian service providers, Chandrasekaran said: “We have seen much more traction from Japanese enterprise in the last few years for services from players like us. The entry also validates two developments — one, Japanese clients and markets are much more open to partner with players like us and, two, TCS has also become a scale player. Which gives us the ability to make serious investment in new markets.”

The JV comes against the backdrop of a strong yen, the globalisation of supply chains and a growing trend toward mergers and acquisitions abroad, all a catalyst for the increasing globalisation of Japanese companies. This has brought heightened interest in the role of ‘global IT services’ to link domestic and foreign operations.

In recent times, Japanese IT service companies have also become aggressive in increasing their presence in India. NTT Corporation is an instance.

Last year, NTT Data Corp, the IT services company of the group, had acquired Hyderabad-based Intelligroup Inc for $200 million. It had also acquired US-based Keane International, that has significant presence in India, for $1.2 billion. The Fujitsu Group, another leader in the Japanese market, has been increasing its presence in the Indian market, both as a service provider and a delivery point.

Jindal steel to spend $300 million to develop new, existing mines in Africa

Johannesburg: Jindal Steel and Power, India's biggest producer of the alloy by market value, plans to spend $300 million in developing new and existing mines in Africa.

The move is part of the company's strategy to source coal assets abroad to meet raw material demand of its steel and power plants at home. Jindal Africa, the company's Africa subsidiary, would invest $250 million in developing a coalmine in Mozambique's coal-rich Moatize region, Ashish Kumar, CEO of Jindal Africa, told ET on the sidelines of an international mining meet.

He said the remaining funds would be used to expand the capacity of its mine in Piet Retief in South Africa's Mpumalanga province. Kumar said the Mozambique mine is expected to start operations this year, producing 1 million tonne of coal.

He said the company would raise its capacity to 10 mt over the next few years. The capacity of the South Africa mine would be raised from 0.8 mt to 1.3 mt by fiscal 2013, he said. The steel and power producer is expanding its footprint in Africa, a continent known for its rich and largely untapped mineral wealth.

Jindal Africa has so far acquired 30 prospecting licenses for coal, manganese , iron ore and diamonds in Tanzania, Zambia, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa. The group is also constructing rail and port infrastructure in Mozambique and has agreed to build a 2,600 MW thermal power plant in the country.

"We came into Africa only in 2008 and since then we have been investing in the projects," Kumar told Mining Indaba, a conference of mining companies from across the world. "It is only of late that we have decided to build our corporate brand presence across the continent ."

Jindal Africa was the first foreign company to secure a mining license in Mozambique. It was also the first to get into the difficult terrain south of Zambezi river. "Our presence there has opened up doors for many other investors to come into the region," said Manoj Gupta, country head of Jindal Africa.

"While we have made reasonable progress in Mozambique and South Africa, we are at an exploratory stage in Tanzania, Zambia and Madagascar. It will take us 2 to 3 years to take up mining there."

Indo-Norwegian research initiative on solar modules

Hyderabad: A project funded by the Research Council of Norway, involving a major R&D company from Norway, Elkem Labs, Titan Energy Systems Ltd, based in Hyderabad, and Dr B.V. Raju Institute of Technology, an engineering college located in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh, is seeking to test the feasibility of a cost effective solar grade silicon for use in solar modules.
“The use of solar grade silicon, with lower purities compared to polysilicon used in manufacture of silicon chips, wafers etc., will bring down the cost of deploying solar modules by about 25-30 per cent. This has been researched by us in Norway and we are seeking to test this through this association,” said Dr Jan Vedde, Product Development of Elkem Solar AS, Research, based in Norway.

The agreement by Elkem with Titan Energy and later with the institute is part of the protocol for co-operation in clean energy technologies entered into between the Governments of India and Norway.

The Vice-Chairman of Sri Vishnu Educational Society, Mr Ravichandran Rajagopal, said that this would entail a research assistance of one million Kroners a year over the next five years. Under this various forms of solar modules would be tested for their efficiencies through a specially created lab under the guidance of experts.

Mr Vedde said that the special features of Elkem Solar's silicon technology includes less energy consumption during production, lower carbon dioxide emission during manufacture and lower production cost. All these lead to significant savings. The Managing Director of Titan Energy, Mr Rao Y.S. Chodagam, said, “Titan Energy and BVRIT were chosen to take up this innovative research project. We expect that this will play a role in the long-term, once its efficiencies are compared with polysilicon modules etc.”

Railways revenue earnings up by 10.41 per cent during April 2011- January 2012

New Delhi: Indian Railways have generated earnings of Rs 84,155 crore during the period from April 2011 to January 2012 as compared to Rs. 76,223 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 10.41 per cent.

The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs 50,916 crore during the period April 2010 - 31 stJanuary 2011 to Rs. 56,247 crore during the same period of the current fiscal, registering an increase of 10.47 per cent.

The total passenger revenue earnings during first ten months of the financial year 2011-12 were Rs. 23,345 crore compared to Rs. 21,337 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 9.41 per cent.

Revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 2,354 crore during April 2011 - January 2012 compared to Rs. 2,094 crore during the same period last year, an increase of 12.42 per cent.

The total approximate numbers of passengers booked during April 2011 - January 2012 were 6912 million compared to 6577 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 5 per cent.

In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the numbers of passengers booked during April 2011- January 2012 were 3652 million and 3260 million compared to 3525 million and 3052 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 3.60 per cent and 6.80 per cent respectively.

Australia-India bilateral trade poised to reach Rs 2 lakh crore in three years

Australia-India bilateral trade poised to reach Rs 2 lakh crore in three years

The Economic Times: February 09, 2012

Australia-India bilateral trade is poised to reach Rs 2 lakh crore (A$40 billion) in the next three years. Growth in two-way trade reached Rs 1.1 lakh crore (A$22 billion) in 2010-11. Australia is an important source for India's gold, chickpea, coal, copper ores, lead and wool requirements, as well as education and skills based training. It is also a collaboration partner in research and innovation in the automotive, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

The country is an international investment destination for Indian businesses. Indian investment in Australia has now reached an estimated Rs 50,000 crore (A$10 billion). Indian investments in Australia are concentrated around mining and resources, information technology, infrastructure and the financial services sector. Over the past 3 years, there has also been a growing interest from Indian investors to invest in renewable energy, tourism infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, and to carry out cutting edge research and development in Australia. The relationship between the two countries has also strengthened with growth of trade and investment in tourism, films, sports, architectural and design services. India is Australia's 4th largest trading partner.

Speaking at a meet in the city recently, Grayson Perry, Australian Trade and Investment Commissioner, said, "Eastern India is a significant business destination for Australian companies. Australia can provide competitive solutions and expertise both in traditional and emerging sectors for Indian businesses. Sectors for potential Australian involvement in Eastern India include mining; education-based learning and skill development. It also covers food and beverage and agri business. Australia can also participate in boosting infrastructure and, more broadly, building and construction, clean energy solutions for energy generation as well as water and waste management. At the same time, the scope of our involvement embraces sports, health and medical products, services and training. The Australian Trade Commission can also assist Indian companies as they look to invest in Australia."

The workshop, 'Doing Business and Investing with Australia', was fielded by the Australian Trade Commission and was supported by Gujarat NRE and the University of Wollongong's innovation campus.