The brand width

Battle for retail space among apparel brands is heating up. And one way to differentiate from the growing clutter is to offer a range of products under the same brand.

Earlier this week Madura Garments launched a line of innerwear under the Van Heusen brand in Bangalore. The innerwear will be launched in Delhi and Mumbai before Diwali.

"It's a logical extension of the Van Heusen brand," says Hemchandra Jhaveri, president, Madura Garments. "We're in the process of morphing our brands into lifestyle offerings. To do that, we need to offer a variety of products including accessories."

Logical brand extension is the key, observes Darshan Mehta, president, Arvind Brands Ltd, adding that his company is readying for a December launch of men's innerwear under the Arrow brand.

Over the last couple of years most premium apparel brands have launched a series of accessories such as ties, socks, wallets, belts, cuff links, CD cases and mobile pouches.

Company sources say that after innerwear Madura Garments may get into branding other products such as shoes, watches, sun glasses and umbrellas.

Commenting on brand extensions KSA Technopak's chairman Arvind Singhal says that "the whole exercise is to milk the mother brand. The brand's core values rub off on the accessories."

Trade analysts say that brands that offer a range of products stand a better chance of retaining customers.

"Brand consciousness is increasing and people are willing to pay extra to possess a brand," say R S Roy, editorial director of the fashion retail magazine Images.

"It's also a ploy to bring back the customer as he has a variety of products to buy." Accessories also help the big brands to get into even the smaller retail outlets. Besides they break the monotony of a store by bringing in diverse elements such as leather, metal, silk and knits.

Last but not the least, investments in accessories are nominal as these are outsourced. There is no separate branding expense either. Today, accessories account for close to 10 per cent of a brand's turnover and they are growing by nearly 30 per cent a year.

However, it is not always a win-win situation, warns Singhal. It is important to select the new product range carefully. He says that Pierre Cardin and Gucci had extended their brands indiscriminately.

The premium image of the brands took a dive and the companies had to spend money on damage control. "Remember your target consumer and do not dilute the brand," says Singhal.