Pepe Jeans banks on eastern market

The Mumbai based Pepe Jeans (India) Ltd, a prominent brand in denim and casual wear market, is expecting the fastest growth from the eastern market over the next five years.

Chetan Shah, country head, Pepe Jean (India), said, "We are looking at a annual growth of 50 per cent from this region owing to the change in perception about design, infrastructure development, robust retail sector and enhancing purchasing capacity of the people in this part of the country."

A 100 per cent subsidiary of Pepe Jeans London, the company operates fairly equally in both denims and casual wear segment.

Pepe Jeans' (India) over all operation has been registering a 40 per cent compound annual growth rate (CGAR) over the last three years compared with the overall denim market in the premium segment growing at around 20 per cent, Shah said.

The company operating in the premium segment of the market enjoys 20 per cent market share in premium jeans and 25 per cent market share in premium, casual wears segment, claimed Shah.

Premium segment market contribute to around 20 per cent of the overall market, with super premium's contribution ranging around 5 per cent, he added.

Unorganised players occupies 40 per cent of the lower end of the market and is looked upon as an opportunity maker creating awareness for jeans among the lower section of the society, Shah said.

Levi's have been the closest competitor among international brands, while Killer has been putting competition among the domestic brands, Shah said.

Pepe has adopted a very aggressive pricing strategy to capture both the end of the market, one who wants to go from the domestic to international brand and the other who are willing for an international brand for a less price, he added.

"We have priced our products in a range in between the domestic brands and international brand operating in the premium segment to capture customer from both the segments. Our products are priced nearly 10-15 per cent lower than other international brands," ," said Shah.

This strategy has been performing extremely well since last three years, he added. The company has been operating with 34 Pepe exclusive stores, more than 50 large format stores and more than 750 multi-brands outlet.

The company is planning to come up with two more exclusive outlets in the city, one at Gariahat mall shortly and the other in an upcoming mall in Salt Lake shortly, Shah said.