Sanjay Vakharia talks about the Indian denim industry, brands, and retail industry with Mary Christine Joy.
Synopsis:
Mr. Prasad Pabrekar's ambition and vision coupled with Mr. Sanjay Vakharia's unwavering passion and strategic intent led to the creation of Spykar, a brand which truly personifies excellence, aspiration and sustainability. Spykar is a brand synonymous with the youth and aspiration. Breaking the confines and expanding the horizon, the brand believes in evolving each day with the ever evolving fashion world. Keeping pace with the fashion dynamism, the brand at every point epitomizes global fashion and is a beacon of effortless style.
Mr. Sanjay Vakharia, has been a pillar of strength for Spykar Jeans since its inception in 1992. With a strategic bent and an opportunist, Mr. Vakharia has been instrumental in creating the brand image for Spykar. With an elaborate experience over two decades and an extensive insight into global trends across markets like USA & UK, coupled with sharp business acumen, Mr. Vakharia gave Spykar the required impetus to transform from a laundry grown to a brand that defines- excellence, aspiration and sustainability. Also his impeccable understanding of the dynamic & ever-changing youth market of the country has always given the brand the edge over his competitors.
Excerpts:
Retailing is all about creating an experience; it is all about providing a 'feel good factor' to consumers. How far do you agree with this statement?
It is true and one should be conscious of it always.
Our researches indicate that Spykar Jeans is expanding its reach beyond denim and casuals. Can you state something about your expansion plans?
It's been a while that Spykar has moved beyond jeans to jeans wear encompassing the entire gamut of clothing and accessories for the youth.
And now we are in the process of consolidating our expertise in jeans and other clothing categories besides lifestyle accessories.
How big is the jeans wear market in India? Can you give us some insights on the market for jeans wear in India?
It is big enough for as many more brands to cater to the growing market. We as an industry have yet just started to address to a small section of the population.
You seem to face more competition from international brands rather than home grown brands. Are home grown brands finding it hard to stand before international brands in the country?
Home grown brands refused to go the whole way on creating brand ecology for themselves, and many took the shortcut of being just a label as opposed to being a brand. A brand is all about more and more sacrifices and minute attention to details with a very long term perspective. And only a few could follow the hard way.
Now that since you are in the marketing business since years, what do you think is the one mantra for brands to succeed in emerging markets like India?
India or anywhere else one has to be honest with the proposition and serve the consumer with utmost sincerity and stay committed to the brand positioning and its promise.
Indian consumers do not exhibit brand loyalty, and this concept is a bit hard to be practiced in India as compared to the other developed countries of the world. Do you agree? Please elaborate your answer.
People are still trying different products and brands. It is still infancy for the category and hence too premature to have loyalists. Having said that all brands still have their loyal followers and patrons, and they will keep growing as the market and its maturity ripens.
Now that jeans wear is no longer preferred by a certain age group of people, do you still target only the people in an age group of 15 to 25 years?
Yes, for Spykar, it's always 18 till I die. We have been and will always be serving the youth of this country, and only offered the most fashion forward clothing. That has been the key to our success, and we will always follow it in the true spirit.
In terms of retailing, what would you prefer - Multi Brand Outlets or exclusive stores? Why is it so?
Both have their pros and cons, but both are critical to the business.
How do you see the market for denim jeans in the Middle-east as compared to India? What are the major differences?
India is by my estimates a much bigger market. We do not cater to that market exhaustively to opine on the differences.
What are the Autumn/Winter 2014 trends for denim in India?
Printed and jacquard denims are making inroads into women's wardrobe. Men's denim will continue to remain slim, in multiple casts. Knitted denims too are here to stay.
Today, when compliance and sustainability is considered a major issue in the industry, how far do you think has the Indian denim industry succeeded in living up to the industry standards?
It is comparable to the best globally.
What do you think of denim as a formal or semi formal wear?
It is so versatile that it can be worn in as formal or semi- formal wear, and in many a more ways.
How do you see the demand for branded jeans in the tier - 1 and tier - 2 cities of India?
It is significantly high and also growing, even in tier - 3 cities.
Published on: 22/09/2014
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.
