Envisioned and nurtured in Andhra Pradesh, Twills began as a dream that soared high, created a niche for itself in one state and then, rapidly spread its wings to other parts of India. Today, the brand is a household name in the Indian fashion sphere. In an exclusive interview with IMAGES BoF, Director, G Srinivasa Naveen, talks about the brand, it’s retail presence and future plans.
Tell us about your brand. How it started and how has the journey been so far?
Twills was launched in the year 1999. The brand grew rapidly thereafter and by 2002, we added a complete range of men’s wear products such as denims, trousers, casual shirts, semi formals and t-shirts. The brand launched a 5,000 sq.ft. exclusive store at MG Road, Vijayawada in 2008. By 2019, the brand had expanded operations pan India. We added another milestone by opening our sales and marketing office in Jogeshwari, Mumbai in 2015.
IBoF: What is the brand’s USP and who are your core audience?
“Value for money products” is the brand USP. Twills is known for its casual wear range that features superior fabrics and the latest trends at mid-segment prices. About 60 percent of our target audience is below the age group of 40 years and 40 percent are the office going category.
Tell us about your present product portfolio. Of the entire product range, what categories enjoy the most demand?
We offer a wide range of casual shirts, cotton trousers, denims, t-shirts and semi-casual shirts for men. Of the entire range that we have, we have noticed that casual shirts and trousers tend to sell the most.
What are the new collections that you have planned for the forthcoming season? Tell us about their key features.
We believe that conceptualised selling adds to the volume. The brand’s designing team comes up with ideas and new sustainable concepts every season.
We have promoted the eco spirit and yoga concepts in the past which enjoyed overwhelming response. The brand’s main concept for the AW’17 collection revolved around sustainability and was named Swaraj. Ecru and Khadi based fabrics are used for the garments in this concept. In addition to this, the collection also features various other concepts and is still a huge hit. The concepts for AW’18 are HIM, INDICODE, PAINTED, CLUB and PURE.
What are your plans regarding new product category expansion?
We are coming up with boys’ wear and a complete knitwear range inclusive of all winter products from AW’19.
Tell us about your primary markets. What response are you getting from online markets?
Twills is present pan India, but honestly, Andhra Pradesh is the brand’s strongest market followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. We were not much active on the online platform till now but from this season, we have started working on our online presence. We aim to have our own portal and market places, very soon.
What are your plans for exploring new markets in India?GSN: We have a lot of plans in the pipeline to get the brand to the next level. Above all, we are keen on launching EBOs in tier -II and -III cities pan India, about 50 EBOs in the next 5 years. Also, we plan to launch ourselves in about 200 SISs and 2,500 MBOs in the next 2 to 3 years.
