Nischal Puri
Managing Director Artimas Fashions Pvt Ltd
One8 innerwear’s philosophy is comfort and style for youth
Artimas Fashions Private Limited (AFPL), a subsidiary of Lux Industries, manufactures innerwear and garments with an installed capacity of more than 3 million pieces per annum. AFPL has exclusive license for One8—an athleisure brand launched by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, AFPL Managing Director Nischal Puri discusses India’s innerwear market, the best performing categories, and the USP of One8.
When was One8 founded?
In 2018, Artimas Fashions collaborated with Virat Kohli to launch the One8 innerwear range in 2019.
One8 was conceptualised and is owned by Virat Kohli with the purpose of developing a lifestyle brand that has youth appeal. The brand is uniquely positioned in multiple categories and has all the elements to be an international brand with global reach.
One8 innerwear has rapidly established itself as a formidable competitor to its peers. It has consistently proven exceptional product development and market innovation throughout the years. As a brand, we also strive to constantly improve and deliver the best customer service possible by producing high-quality items. The brand offers an outstanding selection of items like boxers/trunks, briefs, vests, and boxer shorts.
What is the philosophy of the brand?
One8 innerwear’s core philosophy is comfort and style for the youth. The brand has premium imagery, and it inspires confidence and premium feel.
Our primary philosophy as a company is to ‘Bring Comfort to the Restless’, and we make it a point to work towards that goal with every one of our product offerings, ensuring comfort for those who lead an active lifestyle. This assists us in reaching our goal of becoming the most successful innerwear business in India and leading the industry towards long-term growth.
What is the size of the innerwear market in India? At what rate is it growing?
The men’s innerwear market is currently at ₹9,600 crore and the medium and premium market is approximately ₹6,000 crore. The mid-market is growing at 12 per cent per annum while the premium market is growing at 20 per cent per annum. The growth is being catalysed by the growing urbanisation and growth of demanding consumer. The consumer is desiring more comfort and better quality now. The economy segment of the category is growing at 5 per cent per annum.
Which are your major markets in India?
Currently, we are focusing primarily on the tier 1 cities and its sales are evenly split between retail and e-commerce. Our products are sold across 5,000 retail stores in India and through e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra.
Which are your best performing categories?
One8 innerwear has very explicit range of innerwear. Trunks, briefs and vests are the bestselling categories of the brand. The brand has another category called Game and it’s made of premium cotton and spandex. Our Luxury range is in the super premium category made with modal cotton spandex. The Edge collection is made with 100 per cent premium cotton and is the highest selling collection of the brand.
What is the USP of One8?
The market for men’s undergarments has traditionally been regarded as a very basic segment of the clothing industry; however, the uniqueness of One8 products is the combination of premium comfort and contemporary design. The high youth quotient of the brand differentiates it from the sea of undifferentiated products in the market.
Do you plan to open physical stores anytime soon?
We are planning to operate 40 franchised stores in the next 18 months to sell One8 products. Of the 40 stores, we have already signed eight franchises.
What has been your growth story for the last two years?
Artimas Fashions has reported a turnover of ₹26 crore in FY22, and we hope to hit ₹45 crore by the end of this fiscal.
Which new brands do you plan to collaborate with in the future?
We are dedicated to build One8 innerwear to make it the leading brand in its segment and do not plan on collaborating with any other brand currently. We feel the men’s innerwear category needs a youth-oriented brand with cutting edge positioning and One8 fits the bill.
What new product categories do you plan to add to your basket?
We will soon be launching One 8 sleepwear. The launch of this category will be a growth propeller for Artimas Fashions.
What is the way forward at One8 – digital or physical expansion?
India’s innerwear market is pegged at about ₹32,000 crore, of which men’s products account for a little over 30 per cent. We, as a brand, hope to gain a larger share of the pie of the market with Virat Kohli as its face. We will be expanding online and offline presence with increased focus on marketing in the near future. The brand is close to raise series 1 funding from private equity in the very near future.
Published on: 17/10/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
