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It is a fine line which Page Industries has been toeing, and it seems to have found the perfect balance. It is indeed a marketer's delight to seek such a sweet spot. Page Industries, which is the exclusive licensee in South Asia for the Jockey range of innerwear, has managed to keep the brand at the aspirational level and at the same time kept it accessible.
"It is an important category. We have played a large role in changing the attitude of people towards innerwear. It is evolving pretty fast and people are becoming discerning and getting more brand-conscious. It is this specific wave which we are riding, with the sector growing at around 24 per cent," said Sunder Genomal, Managing Director, Page Industries.
Page Industries operates in the mid and premium category segment, which is worth a little more than Rs 5,000 crore, and which constitutes a third of the total innerwear market in India.
"Jockey is an aspirational brand but an affordable one as well. We want to always be in that segment. We are seeing good conversion from some of the regional and local brands, as people are more discerning and brand conscious. We are starting to advertise on television as well, in addition to being in print and outdoor," Genomal said.
Page Industries has been working with 'Jockey' for the past 17 years in India, but Sunder Genomal has more than five decades of association with the brand. His father started as the licensee of Jockey in the Philippines, and Sunder Genomal grew up in the factories there. "The brand has been part of our family for a long time. We are pretty much aware of how this brand grew and we are growing the business without being influenced," he said.
Page Industries has the licence to sell Jockey range of products in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, and has recently added the United Arab Emirates. In India alone, its distribution encompasses over 23,000-plus retail outlets in 1,200 cities and towns.
The company, with a topline of around Rs 700 crore, grew by 40 per cent from FY11, and may grow by another 20 per cent by the end of FY13. Net profit too grew by a healthy 52 per cent, while the RONW improved to 54 per cent, from 47 per cent in FY12. But with inflation and all input costs biting into many corporations' bottom lines, will Page Industries be able to deliver such healthy numbers, going forward? "Inflation indeed is a concern. Cotton prices have shot up, but we are maintaining prices. We have got a lot of pricing power and we are here for the long term," said Genomal.
Given the level of demand which Page is witnessing in the Jockey range of products, it has hiked its capacity by 22 per cent to 133 million units by spending around Rs 30 crore. The company is light on debt and is expanding its range of products to include leisure wear, including shorts and tee shirts for gyms and some regular casual wear to lounge around.
Even as Page Industries is fast expanding and offering new varieties in the Jockey range, it is looking to replicate this success with the Speedo range of swimwear products in the near future.
Genomal said Speedo is a well-known name in swimwear and this nascent segment is growing at 25 per cent on a base of Rs 200 crore. "We have started populating the market during last year and the response is encouraging. Jockey has been a healthy success for us and we are hoping to replicate the same with Speedo," he added.
Page, which has a licence to manufacture and sell the Speedo range of products such as caps, footwear, nose plugs, ear plugs (besides swimwear) in India, is understood to be in talks with the parent company Speedo of the UK to take it to other South Asian countries.
