Shital Mehta, COO, International Business, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle

The denim market in India has grown in leaps and bounds and the demand curve undoubtedly has seen a steady rise. The brand had always been dealing in denims from the time it was launched in India, but had never given much attention to this category. It was not until the Indian consumers who started looking for well-fitted fashionable denims in last three years, that Esprit brought in a major change in its denims collections.

The brand brought in more styles in denims for women, men and EDC - a line that caters to the age group of 14-24 years "so our young customers can now buy their favourite pair of jeans at EDC, a unit launched in 1998," Mehta said. "Denims have become a necessity in everyone's wardrobe. It's not only the teenagers or the college crowd who wear denims. These days even professionals wear them to their work places. The Indian denimwear market has seen a growth in the demand for high quality products by at least 50 per cent. It is estimated to reach $2.1 billion by 2015 and will also see a rise in its production capacity by 12 per cent annually."

Esprit's denims come with the right fit and also makes the wearer look stylish irrespective of their age or body structure. "There are many brands who compromise on the quality of their products even though they charge a bomb," says Mehta. Esprit with its wide collection of denims in different styles and cuts at good price points makes it stand out from the rest. The brand does not believe in disposable fashion rather it delivers merchandise that one can wear on a daily basis for a longer time. Speaking further on Esprit consumers, he said that they do not target fashion victims who only follow fashion trends in the market. Retaining around 60 per cent of their customers, Esprit strongly promotes itself through advertisements and campaigns and sees to it that no compromise is made in the quality of the textile, look, styling and fit of the jeans. To focus more on the variety of the lines, Esprit has also signed Brazilian model, Gisele Bündchen as the face for the brand. Bündchen, according to them represents the Esprit woman who is not only friendly and expressive, but also represents a confident woman, who loves being well-dressed.

Esprit store at select Citywalk Mall, Delhi

Talking about the competition that Esprit faces from other brands, he said, "Ours is more of a lifestyle brand. So comparison with other hardcore denim brands, has never been a problem. We not only sell denims but also retail other products. So when a customer can buy almost everything that makes them look fashionable at Esprit, they tend to visit our stores more often."

This season we are selling classic denims. The washes are more subtle and sophisticated in silhouettes such as skinny, straight and boyfriend fit. Even the seventies inspired wide-leg cut jeans makes an appearance in their latest collections. The brand will launch new collections every month featuring vintage washes and distressed finishes.

Understanding customers' needs
Today Esprit might have made an impressive position in the Indian market, but it had to face several roadblocks to reach to this level. Initially, it lacked in manufacturing well-fitted jeans. "Esprit had to face this problem of jeans not fitting well on Indian customers. But the brand re-worked on its collection and produced a better and wider line of well-fitting stylish jeans," Mehta informed. As a result of this change, "The sale of denims contributes to around 15 per cent of Esprit's total turnover. We expect to see a rise in the figures by another 5 per cent within the next two seasons."

However, what proved to be another obstacle in the success of the brand was high rentals and poor sales due to some of their stores being located at the wrong places. This was the reason behind them shutting down their outlets at Linking Road, Mumbai and Vittal Mallaya Road, Bangalore. "We might be shutting down stores but it has nothing to do with the brand withdrawing their association with Madura Fashion and Lifestyle, even if the licensing agreement expires next year. Esprit will not invest money on a store that does not reap high profits for the company. We are right now looking forward to opening reasonably-priced stores at right locations." Keeping this as their expansion strategy, three new Esprit stores were opened in Maharashtra recently at Infinity-II Mall, Malad; Marketcity Mall, Bandra Kurla Complex and Marketcity Mall, Pune.

Esprit is planning to open 20 more stores by the end of this financial year. In order to establish the brand in tier I and II cities, it would reach out to cities such as Kochi, Dehradun, Jammu, Panchkula, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Surat and Guwahati. And they will be launching their second store in Hyderabad in the coming year.