Siyaram Silk Mills Limited has bought ownership rights to manufacture and market Italian lifestyle brand, Cadini‘s fabrics in India, Sri Lanka and few other countries in Middle East. Excerpts from the interview with Ramesh Poddar, CMD, Siyaram Silk Mills Limited and Daniella Nicolle Faralli, Brand Director, Cadini.
Cadini is one of the most popular fashion brands from Italy with its presence across 40 countries, including England, India, Mexico, Russia, USA, China, etc. The brand produces the finest quality materials in its own factories in Tuscany, Italy. It has established its position as a leader in textile menswear business. From their fabrics and designs to their final products, it shows an ongoing commitment to quality. The collection consists of luxury men’s suits, shirts, fabrics, jackets, exquisite silk ties, stylised leather shoes and a variety of accessories. The brand has 40 exclusive franchising stores across the globe.
Ramesh Poddar, Chairman and Managing Director, Siyaram Silk Mills Limited, shares key insights into the launch of Cadini in India and its future.
Tell us about the research which you have done for launching Cadini in India?
Ramesh Poddar (RP): We were eyeing Italian taste since the last 20 years and we feel whenever and whatever we were buying from Italy was very expensive. We saw this gap in the Indian market wherein we wanted to give the consumer a truly Italian product at a reasonable price band. We have done thorough market research in visiting lot of companies, estimating the market gap and working on the designs which will work. Cadini will rightly position the mid-premium segment in India.
Tell us about Cadini’s product portfolio?
RP: Cadini’s product portfolio will have an exclusive range of fabrics in 100 percent long staple cotton, 100 percent Giza cotton, 100 percent linen, wool cashmere, wool-silk-linen, 100 percent silk, wool blends, jacketing fabrics in 100 percent linen and TR etc. We want to give Indian consumers the Italian feel at a reasonable price by customising it to our market. Some products will be imported from Italy, but a major portion will be from India. We will bring the Italian innovation and manufacture it over here with a comfortable price spectrum ranging from Rs. 500 and going upto Rs. 20,000 per meter. We will be working on a two-season approach i.e. spring summer and autumn winter.
How do you see your business expansion with the coming of the new season?
RP: Siyaram’s has spent `80 crore to modernise its manufacturing facility this year and will spend around Rs. 70 crore next year funded through internal accruals as well as government incentive Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS). Siyaram’s currently has annual revenue of around Rs. 1,550 crore and this will enable the company to add 10-15 percent more to its monthly sales of 65 lakh meters of fabric per month
With the addition of Cadini what is the kind of revenues the group is estimating?
RP: We expect Cadini to contribute around Rs. 100 crore of our total revenues in the next financial year. Cadini will also help Siyaram’s in sourcing and designing and the brand will be available in India in superior fabrics followed by garments and accessories and will also open its own exclusive outlets and shop-in-shop in the near future.
Tell us about the retail planning for Cadini?
RP: We already have a strong retail network of 1,00,000 shops across India. Many of which will house Cadini. Our starting point will be fabrics and then it will be garments and then exclusive retail outlets.
Expecting a great response from the humongous and fastest growing Indian market Daniella Nicolle Faralli, Brand Director, Cadini shares her views on Cadini presence internationally and its latest venture and growth plans in India.
Tell us about Cadini in Italy and global space?
Daniella Nicolle Faralli (DNF): Cadini is a company which exports to around 42 countries all over the world and it is for a niche market as it is a very high quality product. This is exclusively ‘Made in Italy’ starting from the fabrics to the finished products especially in suiting and men’s custom wear. Our range includes shirts, suits, ties, pants and leather accessories covering the total product portfolio in men’s wear.
For Cadini it was a very important decision to expand in the Indian market. We know Ramesh Poddar, Chairman and Managing Director, Siyaram Silk Mills Limited and his company from the last 15 years and thus we decided to go in for a partnership between the two companies.
We wanted a knowledgeable and reliable partner in India and hence stuck a relationship with Siyaram’s. This venture has not only provided us a platform to showcase our collection to the Indian consumer but has also helped us to discover various avenues in terms of global marketing. Our brand intends to touch upon the expectations of the discerning Indian, who is closely identical to an Italian in terms of giving importance to their respective heritage, values and beliefs. Cadini derives 95 percent of its revenues from international market and only 5 percent from Italian market.
What does the name Cadini stand for?
DNF: The brand and the company is called by the name of the group of mountains “il Gruppo dei Cadini di Misurina”, close to the lake of Misurina in Cortina (Northern Italy). It is a group of dolomites, which have exclusive variety of rocks, types of hills and valleys.
It is coherent with the company’s big range of products, which include classic and casual men’s wear and also complementing accessories, which creates a complete contemporary “total look”. Moreover, the word “ciadin”, from which derives the name of the mountain group itself, means “amphitheatre”.
Even the logo of the bronze horse stands for the origin of its name. This was taken from the Etruscans, which were an ancient population which lived in Italy before the Romans, this we are talking about 2500-3000 years Before Christ. They have a big imprint in Italian history with a deep tradition of sculpture manufacture. In their heritage of bronze sculptures, one of these symbols became the logo of the company: a picture of a styled etruscan bronze horse which was used to represents strength and power, features of a confident contemporary man.
Tell us about Cadini’s positioning in Italy and globally and what are key markets?
DNF: In all countries it is positioned as a high level brand. And the countries which we exports belong to the richest part of the market segment.
Very good market for Cadini is China at the moment as our target customers in this country are very comfortable in paying prices for an imported Italian product. We are also working on a good scale in South and Central America. Our sales in the United States have increased.
Is this the first exposure of Cadini to the Indian market?
DNF: We have made some attempts in the past to enter the India market. For us the market is not new. We did some small sales with some prominent retailers. But now our partnership with Siyaram will take Cadini to new heights. Siyaram will own Cadini for India. The Cadini group will help Siyaram to develop range with their expertise of innovation in Italian fashion.
Where do you see Cadini growing in the Indian market in the next 2-3 years?
DNF: I am quite positive that our partnership with Siyaram will lead to a very good expansion. I am very confident that there marketing strategies will help us grow in this country.
For the moment we are concentrating on the fabrics as a core business. Moving ahead we are also looking at launching our finished garments in the near future.
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