Retailers' own label suit all

Shoppers Stop, Ebony, Globus and Life Style's attempts to up the exposure of their inhouse brands should in the natural course cause some concern to bigticket apparel labels.

However, they spot yet another opportunity there. Private label sales, just over a year old, are tipped to be a moneyspinner for the integrated garment firms.

Though national brands compete for shelf space with inhouse labels like Westside, Splash, Stop and ETC, the ranges as such have a common origin "" from the shop floors of the promoters of the big brands.

As such, moves by retail chains to gradually enhance the space of their brands will only push up the 'private label' sales of such apparel firms.

Arvind Mills "" whose group concern Arvind Brands markets several high profile labels like Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and Lee "" has, within a year of conceiving the segment, has seen its sales cross 60,000 to 75,000 pieces a month.

The company expects the number to double in less than 18 months, according to Ashish Pandya, business head of private label business, Arvind Mills.

Others in the fray who are upping the ante include Weekender, Prateek Apparels, Westminister, Venfield and several regional brands.

S Kumar, managing director, Lifestyle adds, "We source our private labels from around 8-10 suppliers. A good majority of our suppliers have their own labels."

Industry players said that private labels range "" currently covering men's and women's casuals "" and mix will be extended. This is because the segment earns higher margins from the segment. Even now, Life Style and Shoppers' Stop's revenues from the segment are double the space it enjoys.

Apparel firms for their part are leaving no stone unturned. They have put in place dedicated back-end expertise for the segment besides separate teams for design and quality.

This is true not just for the segment but also for each chain they service. Further, they extend their skill sets right up to packaging, embellishments and labelling.

A senior official at Shoppers' Stop said, "Garment makers integrate and package together the merchandised line with several value adds like label designing in a very short lead time."

Both the garment and retail industry believes that the private label segment does not cannibalise the existing offerings. A Lifestyle official says, "Our labels are introduced to fill gaps in market segments which have not been addressed by brands. We will not replicate the categories where brands operate in strength."

Quality and design concerns too are driving the move. An Ebony spokesperson said that suppliers are selected based on capacity, quality exclusivity. In a highly fragmented apparel industry, very few have such capacities and those whohave happen to market brands.