Pepe Jeans to set up two 'Pepe 1016' stores in Hyd

Pepe Jeans (India) Limited plans to set up two 'Pepe 1016' exclusive stores in Hyderabad, at an investment of around Rs 1 crore in the next 12 months. The company also plans to set up such stores in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore in the near future.

Speaking to Business Standard, Chetan Shah, country head of Pepe Jeans (India) Limited, said: "Through an in-house research, we found out that the 10-16-year-olds are the most neglected lot as far as styling of clothes is concerned. They either have to make do with the styling for kids or are forced to wear what is on offer for adults. We identified this gap and decided to foray into this category."

Each Pepe 1016 store will involve an investment between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh and will occupy an area of around 500-1,000 sq ft, Shah added. The first exclusive Pepe 1016 store was launched last month in Mumbai.

"The present jeanswear market in India is about Rs 1,900 crore with 35 million customers of 45 million pairs of jeans. Pepe Jeans India has a market share of 25 per cent in the premium jeans market and 20 per cent in the casual wear market, with Andhra Pradesh contributing to about 50 per cent of our total countrywide sales," Shah said. Our topline has been growing at a rate of 35 per cent, he added.

In India, Pepe today has a presence through 28 flagship stores, 600 multi-brand stores and 50 shop-in-shops at locations like Shoppers' Stop, Pantaloons, Lifestyle and Globus.

"We plan to set up three more flagship stores in Noida, Goa and Pune in the next three months," Shah said.

India contributes to about 10 per cent of the global business of Pepe Jeans London, Shah said, adding that five years ago it contributed only about five per cent. Pepe's business in India can broadly be classified into three categories with jeans comprising 45 per cent, fashion denim 55 per cent and women's wear 35 per cent.

Pepe spends about 10 per cent of its sales revenue on above-the-line and below-the-line promotions.

"Our above-the-line promotions include print advertisements and billboards and below-the-line promotions include in-store promotions, point-of-sale advertising and promotions on channels like MTV and Channel V," Shah said.