'Indian stores allocate very little space to lingerie unlike other Asian countries'

Q&A: Thorsten Allenstein

Luxury innerwear is gaining ground in the Indian market. Little surprise, then, that the international lingerie brand Triumph has set up its own manufacturing unit in Chennai.

Thorsten Allenstein, general manager and country head (India & Sri Lanka) at Triumph, tells Neha Bhatt that lingerie requires more space in Indian stores. Excerpts:

With your new production facility in Chennai in full swing, will your marketing strategy in the country change?

Indians are gradually opening up to luxury lingerie and we are looking at bringing our global edition to India. We are introducing seasonality, which means that we will introduce our products here simultaneously with their launch in developed markets.

We are also in the process of holding a Triumph Inspiration Award, which is a platform for design students from across the world to give us inspiring designs for lingerie. Even though no design school in India has a formal course in lingerie designing, the participation from India has been overwhelming.

Any comments on Triumph's challenges in India?

Our growth here has been great with our revenue doubling by the year. But that's not much in our global revenue of $2.8 billion because our base here has been small. The trend is encouraging as organised retailers are coming up.

Foreign brands have been kept away because of FDI restrictions. But we have already given local players a run for their money even though our brand is not meant for the masses and retailed through kirana stores.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to find suppliers that meet our standards. Also, we find ourselves in a Catch-22 situation in India. The total space allocated to lingerie in lifestyle stores is just about 2 per cent today.

In other Asian countries like Malaysia it's 10 to 12 per cent. While retailers in India ask for a better turnover, we ask for more space to achieve a better turnover.

How is the line of products you bring to India different from what is available in other markets?

The Indian market is gradually accepting lingerie as part of its lifestyle. We are playing with a variety of colours, fabrics and textures.

There are small differences in styling for the Indian market. Our collection will be tailor-made for Indian women. We plan to launch 10-20 stores across the country.

Which is your biggest market?

Many countries in Europe, along with Japan and China are big on lingerie fashion. Japan has inspired many unique designs which may not go into mass production but are pegged on a social cause or trend.

Take for example the special eco-friendly piece that would disintegrate completely or the swimsuit piece that's designed with solar cells and can charge an iPod, cellophane and a laptop.