Savile Row, the iconic clothing and apparel major from London, plans to sell its famed shirts in India at one-tenth of the prices in the UK. It plans to sell shirts at Rs 1,799 to Rs 3,000 apiece, compared to Rs 21,000 in the UK.
It signed an exclusive production and distribution agreement with Alok H&A Ltd, a unit of Alok Industries, on Friday. Alok is into weaving, knitting, processing, home textiles and garments.
“We will do it with the help of our backward integration and good sourcing. The products are manufactured in India which will help us bring prices down,” said Reshabh Raizada, president, Alok H&A.
Alok H&A plans to tap upper middle class shoppers with the Savile Row shirts and other products. However, Savile Row does not have plans to bring its famed suits to India in the near future.
Savile Row had signed a 30-year agreement with Forbes Brands, a unit of the Shapoorji Pallonji group, in 2008 to manufacture and market its products, but both parties ended the agreement a year ago, as the latter wanted to get out of the segment.
For the second innings of Savile Row, Alok H&A plans to open exclusive counters in 25 of its large stores in metros and state capitals and take the total count to 50 in the near future, according to Raizada. “We will also look at exclusive Savile Row stores,” Raizada said.
Savile Row would explore converting the agreement with Alok H&A into a joint venture after three years, depending on the progress of the venture, said Jeffrey Doltis, managing director of The Savile Row Company.
“We are continuing to grow at 15 per cent in the UK despite a 4.5 per cent decline in the menswear market there, but that growth may slow in the coming years. We perceive India as the second-biggest market behind Japan, which is a super market for suits. But India is a big market for shirts,” Doltis said.
Doltis said the company was expecting revenues of $2-3 million (Rs 15 crore) in the first year of operations and 20 per cent annual growth thereafter. Savile Row’s total turnover stands at Rs 1,365 crore (£175 million) and two-thirds of that comes from Asia. Japan contributes Rs 500 crore ($100 million) to its revenues, while it earns Rs 250 crore ($50 million) from its home market.
