Vimal's new look

The textile brand is making a comeback with a new campaign, new logo and a new target customer.

It was the textile brand of the 1980s. Vimal started off as a saree and dress materials brand and soon became a leader in suiting fabrics.

At its peak, the Reliance Industries group brand was worth close to Rs 500 crore. It advertised heavily; so much so that the signature tune and tagline "" Only Vimal "" are still instantly recognised.

But, somewhere in the 1990s, Vimal started unravelling. The consumer shift towards ready-to-wear and casuals, couple with the cotton and handloom revival proved to be the polyester biggie's undoing. By the late 1990s, Vimal was barely noticed.

Now, after a decade-long slumber, Vimal is making a comeback. It's got a new logo, new product offerings, new stores, a new, focused target customer and a new advertising campaign. "We are offering fashion for everyone," says Anand Parekh, president, textile business, Reliance Industries, echoing the catchline of his new campaign.

Well, not exactly. Vimal is now a fabric and men's-wear brand, offering readymade apparel in three sub-brands. No more sarees and dress material. That's a first for the company "" in its earlier avatar, it had limited its product offering to sarees and fabric.

But the company hasn't forgotten its heritage. The new logo, for instance, retains the red background of the original, although the letters are more widely spaced. Vimal's new marketing strategy, too, has its roots in learnings from the previous round and even the television commercial seeks to forge links with the past.

The 60-second commercial by Grey Worldwide shows a father readying his son to take over his business empire. He picks his own brand "" Vimal, of course. The ad ends with the original theme tune and tagline "" created by Mudra back in the 1980s.

"The campaign has a single-minded focus of acknowledging traits that are inherent to the Indian consumer "" youthful, contemporary, global and progressive, while being deeply rooted in India's rich heritage," points out Nirvik Singh, chairman, south Asia and president, south-east Asia, Grey Worldwide.

The high-visibility campaign "" estimated ad spends: Rs 40 crore "" includes television, radio spots and print ads, apart from extensive point-of-sale promotions.

What prompted the relaunch? Market conditions, for the main part. The Indian textiles and apparel market is expected to grow from Rs 95,000 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 190,000 crore by 2010-11.

A significant portion of fibre demand is likely to be met by polyester and blends "" Reliance's forte "" since the demand-supply gap in cotton is only increasing. If Vimal had to make a comeback, it couldn't be on the back of sarees, though: the market is extremely competitive and price-sensitive, besides being dominated by the unorganised sector.

On the other hand, men's wear was booming, especially in urban India. Internal research by Reliance Textiles suggested that men's ready-to-wear was a Rs 22,000-crore market, of which nearly 60 per cent was accounted for by branded apparel.

The India Apparel Report by Images Technopak confirms the market's potential. Men's apparel (the largest segment with a 44.9 per cent share) shows a value growth of 12.7 per cent and a volume growth of 4.6 per cent, while the industry as a whole grew by 14.7 and 5.3 per cent, respectively, in 2006. "This provided us a natural walk-in," says Parekh.

But men's wear is also the most competitive. While Vimal was dozing the past decade, brands like Park Avenue from Raymond, Madura Garments (Louis Phillipe, Allen Solly, Van Heusen), Arvind Brands (Arrow), Zodiac and Reid & Taylor have strengthened their presence. Meanwhile, premium international brands like Brioni, Alfred Dunhill and Ermenegildo Zegna have also entered the Indian market.

Reliance is playing to its strengths. In the 1980s, when the brand ventured into suitings, it fought established players like Grasim and Raymond with a well-crafted strategy that included banking on superior technology, providing cutting edge design and roping in high-profile brand ambassadors such as Ravi Shastri, Viv Richards and Allan Border.

To play up its technology trump card, Reliance boasted that Vimal fabrics were made in the most modern plant in India. For the first time, visuals of textile machinery were on display in the suiting ads.

This time, Parekh points out that the company will focus on developing superior fibre technology that will tap into fulfilling consumer need gaps.

"Our technological expertise will go beyond style and comfort," he says. Already, Vimal has introduced fabrics with blends of natural fibres such as soya and bamboo. In the pipeline are innovative finishes and fabrics with advanced moisture management.

As it did last time, Vimal is weaving a fashion-centred marketing strategy. In the 1980s, the brand featured well-known fashion designers like Rohit Bal and proffered advice from local designers on how to put together a good wardrobe.

This time round, it has brought home Italian designer Maurizio Bonas to train Indian tailors on the latest in global styles and to launch a special range of premium apparel, Vimal Black, which will be retailed only through exclusive Vimal outlets.

Vimal has also been careful to appeal to different price segments. It has created three sub-brands that straddle all price points. Vimal Red offers basic formal wear for the popular segment (formal shirts for Rs 699-899), Vimal White, which is trendier apparel, is the mid-price range (Rs 799-1,099), while Vimal Black is the company's premium offering (Rs 999-1,800).

"We have ensured that the pricing is more attractive than what is available in the market in terms of delivering value to customers," declares Parekh.

While the Vimal range will be sold in the company's exclusive stores and franchisees, it is also counting on Reliance Retail's own stores to help promote the men's wear brand, especially Vimal Red. Already, fabric sales have been initiated at Reliance Trendz and Reliance Mart stores.

Will Vimal's new look pay off? Industry watchers offer mixed views. "Retaining the 'Only Vimal' theme was a smart move," says a competitor.

But another points out, "Consumers strongly associate certain imagery to each brand. It's unclear how Vimal will straddle every price point without putting off the premium buyer."

For its part, Vimal has no doubts. "We will carve a niche for ourselves in product, pricing and retailing," says Parekh confidently.