Louis Philippe, the formal premium menswear brand from Madura Garments, plans to drop its menswear tag with the launch of an exclusive range for women. The company intends to launch a sub-brand for women under Louis Philippe brand by the end of next fiscal.
Speaking to Indiaretailing, Vishak Kumar H, brand director, Louis Philippe, informed: “The ultimate goal of any apparel brand is to become a complete lifestyle brand. So, like any other brand, Louis Philippe is also poised towards becoming a complete lifestyle brand. We plan to shed its menswear tag in the next one year’s time. By April 2008 Louis Philippe will add another sub-brand, and the next target would be to offer an exclusive range for women.”
Targeting the youth, Louis Philippe recently launched a sub-brand titled Lp. The company plans to open 10-15 Lp EBOs across the country in this fiscal. “We have been very selective in terms of selecting retail space for Lp. Even we do not want to put Lp in every Louis Philippe store; we have identified a few stores where younger consumers are coming and Lp is retailed only through those stores. Today, Lp is retailed through five EBOs, 20 Louis Philippe stores, and about 22 Planet Fashion stores. The company plans to open 10-15 EBOs in this fiscal,” said Anand Iyer, brand manager, Lp.
The first store was opened in Garuda in Bengaluru; the second store, which is the flagship store (2,400 square feet) of Lp, is at Connaught Place in New Delhi; the third store is in Spencer Plaza in Chennai; the fourth is at a leading mall in Ahmedabad; and the fifth is in Ambience Mall, Gurgaon.
When quizzed about the business expected, Iyer said: “Lp is a very big initiative from Madura Garments as a whole, not just Louis Philippe. Lp is a retail-driven brand and the initial response was very good. We have got fantastic sell-through in most of the markets. Be it visual merchandising, product line, or distribution, we want to keep it as exclusive and best as possible. There has been an internal budgeting done for it, and all I can tell you is that the number will be big.”
About the new market trend, Iyer said, “With an average medium age of 25 years among the population, this younger brand is definitely poised towards becoming a success. Also, I think that is the reason why more international brands are coming to the market – targeting this age group of 20-25 years.”
Earlier, Louis Philippe was targeted at men who were ‘achievers in life’. With Lp, the brand targets the younger ones who are on their ‘way to success’. If our sources are to be believed, the upcoming sub-brand will be targeted at teens between 13 and 20 years of age.
Meanwhile, Louis Philippe plans to have 50 EBOs operational across the country in this fiscal. Recently, the company opened two Louis Philippe EBOs at Saket and South Extension in New Delhi. Kochi will soon have a 7,500 square feet Louis Philippe EBO.
“This is really an exciting time for Louis Philippe as far as retailing and new products are concerned. New York-based international design consultant Think Tank together with the team in Bengaluru has created the sub-brand Lp. Meanwhile, Louis Philippe has associated with an Italian architect John Marsala to create a new look for the House of Louis Philippe flagship stores. You will soon see a new store in Bengaluru as well,” Kumar said.
When quizzed more about the House of Louis Philippe phrase, Kumar explained, “It is just an internal phrase we are using to talk about the retail concept that has got Louis Philippe as well as the sub-brands.”
– Vishnu Rageev R, Bengaluru Bureau
