Crusoe, the Indian premium innerwear brand from Jagannath Textiles, is all set to capture 7 percent market share of the total branded innerwear market, which sizes Rs 13,000 crore in value. “Crusoe has already captured 1 percent of the modern innerwear market within three years of its launch, we expect the 7 percent market share to be captured by 2015,” said , , Chief Marketing Officer, Crusoe.
The brand, which targets men in the age group between 18 and 35, is positioned as a lifestyle product in the premium segment and the brand identity has been designed around “Adventure” appealing to the youth.
Although innerwear is normally sell out through MBOs and department stores, Crusoe provides its customers an opportunity to buy such essentials. “Now a days all premium lifestyle brands venture into exclusive brand outlets (EBOs), to ensure its customer the optimum service and hence letting the customer feel the brand at very close corners. Also, the entire range can be displayed in an EBO for the exact brand communication,” he stated.
Tibrewal said that innerwear as a category is in a transitional mode from the least important item in one’s wardrobe to an item where the focus is not only on comfort but also on design, style, feel, and fit. In India the maximum percentage of growth in the innerwear segment is being witnessed in the premium category.
“In an already crowded innerwear market, the challenge for Jagannath Textile was to launch an Indian brand among the international giants and to get a strong foot hold in the elite league with a ‘made in India’ label where the other major international brands dominate,” he added.
Tibrewal highlighted that the last few years have witnessed a drastic change in taste and preferences of Indian men. Nowadays, young men prefer bright and flashy colours instead of sober or dark colours which were prevailing earlier. Coming to styling also there has been a change. Men now prefer boxers and boxer briefs instead of regular briefs. People are becoming more and more brand conscious now.
Talking about the expansion plans, Tibrewal said: “We are planning to launch three more stores, one each at Coimbatore (second in the city), Cochin, and Chennai before the second quarter this year. The brand also targets to launch women’s and kid’s innerwear by 2013 and to expand its geographical presence.”
Crusoe is currently present in nearly 5,000 MBOs and 3 EBOs one each in Coimbatore, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
-Payal Kapoor
