One of the first few Indian denim brands, Spykar, established in 1992, was witnessing a 20-25 per cent growth till the pandemic struck. Sanjay Vakharia, Founder CEO, Spykar Lifestyles, talks to Fibre2Fashion how it fared in the last one year and lots more.
What is your growth story in the last three years (excluding 2020)?
In the last 3 years we have seen about 20-25 per cent growth, which was on account of command on product line and strong relations with vendors and customers.
What has been the impact of Covid in terms of sales, staff cutdown, rentals, stocks etc?
The brand will close at 65 per cent of last year sales. Staff cutdown was negligible. There was 20 per cent cutdown in the rentals and 25 per cent lesser inventory.
Which are the categories that the brand is into?
We are into menswear, womenswear, footwear, accessories, loungewear.
Who are your target audience?
Young and restless youth of the country
What is the USP of your products?
Top quality and stylish “Made in India” products at attractive prices.
Which category sells the most?
Denims, the core product category of the brand, sell the most. We are known as denim and casual wear brand. We are performing well in the shirts and t-shirt segment as well.
What are the Spykar price points?
Denims – Rs 2199+ to 3999; t-shirts – Rs 899 - 1799 or 1899; shirts – Rs 1499 - 2599
What is your retail presence like?
We are present in approximately 211 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs), 900+ multi-brand outlets (MBOs) and 450+ large format stores.
What is your brand’s online presence?
We are present across all marketplaces like Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Ajio, and own website.
Which are your major markets in India and abroad?
All major cities. We are strongly present in tier I, tier II and tier III cities.
Where are your manufacturing facilities based at? If you are looking for vendors, what are the top qualities you look for beyond the givens of quality, lead time, compliances etc?
Spykar handles its manufacturing work through vendors at Bangalore, Tirrupur, Ludhiana, Mumbai, and Vapi. And when we look to onboard a vendor, we look for the following attributes: market reputation; manufacturing capacity; cooperation with external inspections and audits; innovation; quick turnkey response.
What is the annual production capacity?
45 lakh pieces
How does your supply chain network work?
We have 1 main warehouse in Mumbai and at the same time we are working with approximately 13 warehouses which cater to requirements all across India.
Sustainability and circularity are the buzz words today. How do you incorporate them into your product lines?
Currently, we have solar powered plants. We do not use fossil fuels in our manufacturing process. Additionally, we recycle the water used in the plant and deploy innovative washing techniques which have helped us in reducing our per denim water consumption to one glass. We offer an organic cotton rich product and use very less material in our clothes that is not sustainable. We have also drastically reduced water wash.
What are your long-term sustainability goals?
We are up to the mark on the technical front. In the future we will surely utilise the best possible sustainable materials to keep up with the sustainability mark. (PC)
This article was first published in the February 2021edition of the print magazine.
Published on: 09/03/2021
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.
