The New Face of Adland!

Rs 45 The Face of Marketing

Volume VI G Issue 7 G April 2009

MARKETING
How the tobacco-to-hospitality
major ITC stormed the
Personal Care and
Premium Apparel markets.
What makes it tick...
 C O V E R S T O RY

MARKETING@ITC
By ONKAR PANDEY

T
ATA, BIRLA, RELIANCE, OR GODREJ. ganically, it created a range of new personal care and
Just look at the making of these business branded apparel brands. The decisive element for its
conglomerates, you will find that diversifica- new brands was having a product that's differentiated
tion into new businesses has been the and superior in value proposition than what the compe-
biggest propellant of their ever-growing size, tition has to offer. The first step in this well-planned
clout and brand prowess. Popularly known as ITC, the strategy was the launch of Wills Lifestyle, the premi-
$5-billion Indian Tobacco Company is a likely addition um branded apparel business in 2002. This business is
to this select club of ambitious desi conglomerates. being spearheaded by CEO Atul Chand from New
Starting from its humble beginnings in 1910 as Imperial Delhi. That ITC was very serious about this new foray
Tobacco Company of India, Virginia House, the group was clear from the fact that it hit the market with four
headquarters in Kolkata, has been the proud witness brands— Wills Classic, Wills Sport, Wills ClubLife and
to many successful new business scripts in the compa- Wills Signature—to cater to the specific apparel needs
ny’s long and varied journey. of men and women of upper and mid-income levels.
As tobacco became a bad word in the last two Besides, it has also launched exclusive men's and
decades, and successive governments began to put women's wear brands—John Players and Miss Players.
many curbs in terms of advertising and other promo- Not stopping at apparel, ITC then moved on to take
tions around tobaccos, it became a tough business envi- the competition head on in the FMCG domain,
ronment to operate in, besides it has started taking a through ITC Foods in August 2001, and personal care
toll on the company's image. Hence, ITC needed to business, which is the focal point of this story, in 2005.
change its track and that too quickly. And like a skin- It has created good impact with its well etched-out
shedding snake, ITC started an earnest exercise in cre- Personal Care Brands, headed by Sandeep Kaul.
ating a new brand image and corporate philosophy by Under this category, brands like Essenza Di Wills,
investing in new business categories like personal care, Fiama Di Wills, Vivel Di Wills, Vivel and the Superia
premium apparel, rural business (e- were designed to take care of various sets of
Choupal) and foods. All along using its consumer segments.
famed distribution strengths built through This feature tries to unravel the behind-
its successful past businesses like ciga- the-brand thoughts and strategy of its per-
rettes, paperboards and packaging, hotels sonal care and branded apparel retail ven-
and agri business, to create synergies tures. How these businesses are panning
across its verticals and help prop up its new out, and how significant a part they are
businessess, like personal care and foods. going to be in the group's growing brand
ITC has a well thought-out strategic portfolio? The story also discusses the
approach. Rather than acquiring weaker road ahead for these new ventures vis-à-
brands to get into these new segments inor- vis the competition.

April 2009 I Pitch I 23

C O V E R S T O RY MARKETING@ITC

GROOMED
Using a six-pillar strategy that straddles consumer insighting to product
development and packaging, ITC has created a powerful personal care
portfolio with five brands across multiple categories and price-points

T
hough, the plans for personal they faced while developing the busi- head the personal care launch. It also
care foray were high on chair- ness from scratch were upfront invest- poached some key talents not only from
man YC Deveshwar's agenda as ment of time and resources to under- across the industry but also a senior sci-
one of the next growth drivers stand consumers and develop consumer entist from the HUL stable to spearhead
for long, it got fructified only in July insights. “We had to have patience for the technology function. That apart, it
2005, after its successful foray into foods converting these consumer insights to also sought help from product formula-
business with brands like Sunfeast, winning consumer value proposition," tion and branding experts in Europe
Ashirwaad Atta and Bingo. concurs Kaul. and America to formulate the fragrance,
But behind this launch was five years As an adage goes 'if you have to win a aesthetics and packaging. Many of the
of intensive on ground research of mar- race, you have to clearly target the No 1', brands have also been developed at its
ket conditions and consumer expecta- ITC too aimed the No 1 which happened R&D centre.
tions. Over one lakh consumers were to be the formidable HUL (which still The results are there for everyone to
surveyed across the country to test var- see. In less than four years, ITC has
ious prototypes. Acceptance benchmark The tobacco major wanted to been able to create brand awareness
was kept as high as 90 percent for the create a personal care portfo- and consumer acceptance for its five
final products. ITC called this exercise product lines—Essenza Di Wills, Fiama
lio that met today’s consumer
as '3E’ approach —explore, establish Di Wills, Vivel Di Wills, Vivel and the
and execute. needs, but without being Superia—each targeted at the needs,
ITC personal care division chief bogged down by the history aspirations and usage behaviour of dif-
executive Sandeep Kaul said, "We, at ferent consumer segments.
of an acquired business
ITC, wanted to create a portfolio on our Kaul informs that the strategy for
own unlike many others who have a reins over 50 percent of the FMCG mar- designing personal care is that everyone
long and varied history of inorganic ket). And ITC's target was HUL and is a potential consumer.
growth, which had its own merits. We P&G only. After all, you get a kick in gun- Now let's dig deeper into the product
had the flexibility to create the portfolio ning for the best. Hence, it went about development side. Each of these brands
to meet the needs of today's consumers its business with a lot of strategy, expe- has been created around six key strate-
without being bogged down by the past rience, innovation, correct marketing- gic pillars. The first of which is 'clear
heritage or the varied history of an mix and better products. It modelled segmentation' across brands and prod-
acquired business. We could develop itself after P&G's proposition of superior uct lines. The second pillar is making
strategies to utilize the innate strength products in every segment it has these products reach far and wide. ITC
of our organisation.” entered. ITC roped in its tobacco busi- cleverly leverages its 'distribution and
Kaul adds that the unique challenges ness veteran Sandeep Kaul to spear- group synergy' strengths to deliver the

24 I Pitch I April 2009

with Care
The Six Success Mantras
1 SEGMENTATION
Creating brands from scratch with no history and lineage, ITC used clear segmenta-
tion across its five product lines and the target audience, each brand was meant for

2 GROUP SYNERGY
Once the five products were created and communication strategies set, ITC leveraged
its properties like hotels, foods and apparel store network to retail these brands

3 COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Like HUL, these brands sport Western names, and different communication. Essenza &
Fiama, meant for the elite, have English communication, while Vivel & Superia use Hindi.

4 BRAND EXTENSIONS
Selective extensions as it doesn’t want to confuse consumers with too many irrel-
evant brand extension & sub-brands. The Essenza range is the only exception.

5 BRAND AMBASSADORS
ITC uses brand ambassadors strategically. While for the Fiama and Vivel ranges it has
roped in brand ambassadors,for the Superia & Essenza ranges the key TG is the real king.

6 PACKAGING
Since packaging plays a key role in product differentiation, ITC uses it to the hilt. It
has taken foreign experts’ help to make its products stand out from competition.

April 2009 I Pitch I 25

C O V E R S T O RY MARKETING@ITC

The Desi Luxe

Essenza, as the Also being dis-
Western name tributed
suggests, targets through ITC ho-
the luxury seek- tels and Wills
ing elite Lifestyle stores

Gender-neutral, Instead of brand-

mostly in English, extensions, it has
and a bit of French sub-brands like
— the language of Inizio, Aqua and
the super elite Mikkle

No brand ambas- Manufactured

sadors; the TG do in France, the
the role as they Essenza packag-
are very individu- ing has an inter-
alistic and are national appeal
super acheivers

products right at the doors of con- Personal Care Stakes

sumers. Focus is on the soap and shampoo categories as they
Though, ITC has a highly successful dominate the personal care business
distribution network for its tobacco
products, it had to quickly devise a dif-
ferent distribution plan for its personal
care brands, as these are positioned in
the premium category. This was
answered by rolling out a wide distribu-
tion infrastructure for ITC Foods’
SHAMPOOS CONDITIONERS SOAPS
brands like Bingo, Ashirwad Atta and
Sunfeast. This helped in quickly rolling
Value in Rs Cr Value in Rs Cr Value in Rs Cr
out the personal care business across
the country, with further support from 2,605 84 7,967
its universally acclaimed e-Choupal net- Value Growth Value Growth Value Growth
work. And today, ITC's distribution 18% 25% 18%
reach is almost at par with market
leader HUL's reach.
The third pillar is a clear communica-
tion for these brands, according to the
Volume in Litres Volume in Litres Volume in Kgs
target consumer sets. The fourth pillar
is the relevant brand extensions around 10,85,49,607 14,35,873 5,68,812,568
which it has created the five product Volume Growth Volume Growth Volume Growth
lines. So far, the effort has been to keep
the focus on the main brands through
14% 29% 4%
Source: The Nielsen Company Data, March 2009

26 I Pitch I April 2009

brand extensions rather than confusing en. Lastly, its sixth strategic pillar is soaps, shampoos, conditioners and hair
consumers with many sub-brands with visible on the packaging side. oils touched Rs 16,612 crore in 2008-09,
different names. But, the same doesn't Explaining the rationale for innovative growing at a healthy rate of over 20 per-
apply to its luxury Essenza Di Wills packaging, Kaul says that the packag- cent in terms of value and 14 percent in
range, which has sub-brands like Inizio, ing for Fiama Di Wills was developed by terms of volume. Soaps alone account
Aqua and Mikkel to cater to exclusive international design houses to ensure for over 40 percent of the personal care
and individualistic desires of its rich tar- high-quality standards. market and along with the shampoos,
get audience. The personal care business is consid- control well over 50 percent of the over-
Since brand ambassadors play a key ered recession-proof as these products all FMCG market. These two are also the
role in creating the top-of-mind recall, are of regular demand and hence a categories of prime focus for ITC. It’s in
the fifth pillar of its strategy rests on lucrative area. And ITC has both—a no hurry to get into every conceivable
associating itself with strategic brand deep pocket to sustain through the ini- FMCG segment. The 2008 ITC annual
ambassadors whenever required. For tial years and the ambition and will report underlines, "We'll continue invest-
example, only the Fiama Di Wills and power to grow large. ing in building a robust personal care
Vivel ranges have brand ambassadors According to Nielsen data, the person- business in line with our strategy of cre-
while the rest two brands are TG-driv- al care space, comprising of skin care, ating multiple growth drivers."

High on Glam Quotient!

Tageted at the young, Besides, being retailed Mostly in the language

urban, aspirational at departmental stores, of the young urban
women. Its core TG is it is also present at Wills woman profession-
the upper and mid-seg- Lifestyle stores, & ITC als—English. Its aspira-
ment urban consumers. hotels tional in nature.

It has been cleverly Sophisticated, young, Premium packaging to

leveraged in the having arrived & beau- compete with the likes
shampoos, shower tiful Deepika Padukone of Dove. Designed with
gels, soap and condi- is used to further the help from American
tioner categories brand recall packaging experts.

April 2009 I Pitch I 27

C O V E R S T O RY MARKETING@ITC

Unlike many other con-

sumer goods players which
have too many brands, but not
The ‘Popular’ Choice
Clever targeting: Retailed at John
all which are not very clearly Vivel Di Wills for Players stores, be-
defined. ITC has kept the focus the upper-middle sides ITC’s tradi-
on its five main brands with class and Vivel for tional distribution
the popular channels
each of them having a unique
mid-segment
brand proposition.
Communication in Vivel & Vivel Di
Now, with high brand aware- Hindi & English to Wills— a clever
ness in place, the focus is on cater to both way to target
driving sales by creating multi- upper-middle & the ‘Lux’ con-
popular mid-seg. sumers of yore
ple touch-points through vari-
ous channels of communica-
Kareena Kapoor Vivel Di Wills has
tion, promotions, different is the brand face a more premium
price-points and leveraging thanks to her packaging, but
the group synergies. popular mass and Vivel has a differ-
class appeal ent packaging

ESSENZA DI WILLS
The first of the four brands to be is the latest addition to the Essenza stores, its premium branded apparel
launched in mid-05, Essenza Di Wills, portfolio, which again is targeted at the retail offering, across 30 cities, and
an exclusive range of fragrances, body high-end men. provides (as these stores offer) an
and bath care products, is targeted at The strategy here is around sophisti- ideal environment for sampling by
the high and snazzy consumers. cation and enigma rather than brand elite consumers who regularly visit
Essenza is a gender-neutral brand, and recall, hence we see sub-brands with these stores. The Essenza range is
hence offers a range of products for the western titles like Inizio, Aqua and also available across the ITC
well-heeled men and women. Mikkel than simple brand extensions, Welcomegroup hotels.
Inizio, the signature range of the as the target consumers in this seg- The communication strategy is well
Essenza brand, has two sub-brands— ment are drawn by exclusivity and defined too. There are no brand ambas-
Inizio Femme and Inizio Homme—and enigma and not by popular brand sadors for this segment, it's the product
offers an exclusive range for women names. An entry level Essenza range of which is the hero; a brand imagery of
and men. The fragrances offered in this fragrance comes for a cool Rs 2,000! allure and enigmatic grandeur has
range were designed by leading French The Essenza caters to the market been created around the Essenza line.
fragrance houses. The brands across segment where established names like Even the brand website communicates
the Essenza line share the same olfac- Lancôme, Olay, Body Shop, Oriflame in English and French, the language of
tory signature creating a harmonious and Avon are present. It's a niche seg- the uber-sophisticated.
experience, and hence the brand recall ment, which is growing fast, and where
for consumers. there's no competition from dominant FIAMA DI WILLS
Since, men constitute a high percent- players like HUL and P&G. ITC feels If Essenza is about luxury, Fiama is
age of luxury consumers, a new line that with its packaging, sales and dis- about premiumness. This second prod-
Aqua Homme has been created. It tribution strength, it has a fair chance uct line, launched in September 2007,
offers a range of grooming products of getting a head start in this high-mar- caters to the premium segment with
like after-shave lotion, deos, hair and gin space the over present players. the mid and upper middle-class as its
body shampoos and soaps for discern- The premium brand is also retailed prime TG, and it is pitched against
ing men. Mikkel, an evening fragrance, across more than 50 Wills Lifestyle HUL's Dove and Vaseline, Nivea,

28 I Pitch I April 2009

 Spencer's Hyper, Big Bazaar and Marico, CavinCare, Godrej, Dabur etc.
Reliance Fresh among others, besides Launched in the first half of 2008,
group hotels. Vivel Di Wills offers two soap variants.
The brand imagery has been created Vivel has both soaps and shampoos,
using different shades of natural catering to a wide range of consumers
colours like green, yellow, blue and in the mid and upper-middle class seg-
orange, conveying gentle and effective ments. The USP of Vivel range is nour-
care through its tagline 'Beautiful you ishment, protection and hydrating
today, tomorrow'. A special fan club ingredients for complete skincare.
'Friends of Fiama' has been created to Vivel, unlike Fiama, is a gender-neu-
increase two-way communication with tral brand.
consumers, where they get a chance to Vivel Di Wills soaps come in two vari-
interact with the brand face Deepika. ants and cater specifically to upper-
To increase brand salience and posi- middle class consumers, and is priced
tion Fiama as a lifestyle product, ITC at Rs 30. While Vivel offers five vari-
positions it as one of the partners of ants, all priced between Rs 16 and Rs
the Wills Fashion Week, held twice 17, while the Vivel shampoos come in
annually, besides an exclusive luxury three variants.
L'Oreal and Garnier shampoos and lounge called Salon Di Wills is created This space is dominated by HUL,
conditioners. Its fragrance, aesthetics at the Wills fashion weeks to experi- whose brands like Lux, Rexona, Liril,
and packaging are developed in consul- ence the effectiveness of Fiama Di Sunsilk and ClinicPlus command over
tation with European experts. Fiama is Wills products. At the 2008 Wills 50 percent market share in soaps and
exclusively targeted at the young, Lifestyle pageant, it has an exclusive over 45 percent in the Rs 2,600-crore
working and modern women who Fiama Di Wills fashion line created by shampoos market, while ITC has only
wants indulgence. Fiama offerings two leading fashion designers titled around 2 percent of the personal care
include shampoos, conditioners, show- 'Lost in an Urban Maze' to showcase a market. Kareena Kapoor is the brand
er gels and soaps. premium imagery. face for Vivel brands and its communi-
The USP of this range is a combina- cation is both in Hindi and English
tion of science and natural extracts for VIVEL DI WILLS & VIVEL unlike Essenza and Fiama which is
shampoos. Developed in collaboration Easily, the most important of all the only in English and French.
with the US-based Cosmetech brands, Vivel Di Wills and Vivel com- Towards the end of 2008, ITC has
Laborataries, these shampoos come in pete in the most competitive, the pop- launched a new anti-dandruff shampoo
five variants, while the shower gel ular market segment, dominated by ‘UltraPro’ under the Vivel umbrella,
comes in three. It has a soap sub-brand well -entrenched players like HUL and pitched against HUL's Clinic AllClear
called ‘SkinSense’ which is priced on P&G, besides smaller players like and P&G's Head & Shoulders in the
par with Dove at Rs 40. rapidly expanding Rs 600-crore dan-
The Bollywood sensation Deepika The five ITC brands druff control segment. Targeted at
Padukone has been strategically used cater to various con- men, UltraPro is endorsed by Hrithik
as the brand ambassador for the Roshan. Besides being available across
sumer segments ac-
Fiama range, thanks to her sophisticat- leading departmental stores and mod-
ed, youthful look and urbane appeal. cording to their needs, ern retail outlets, Vivel is also retailed
Using group synergies, ITC retails usage, aspiration levels, through the John Players showrooms
the Fiama range across Wills Lifestyle — ITC’s men’s wear stores.
and are clearly etched
stores and modern retailers like

April 2009 I Pitch I 29

C O V E R S T O RY MARKETING@ITC
Targeting the Masses Superia is the mass brand
from the ITC stable, cater-
ing to lower income and
rural segments like a
Lifebouy does

Retailed through ITC’s

distribution channels
across the hinterlands,
especially the E-Choupal
for rural reach

Being a mass brand, it

caters to segments where
aspirations are low, and
family is very close-nit. The
brand has a family-ori-
ented communication
strategy too

Superia has four soap No popular brand The only brand which is
variants and three ambassador; the available in sachets,
shampoo variants which focus is on the target Superia has colourful
take on the likes of audience, which is packaging, which is
Clinic AllClear, Lifebouy, the low-income common among mass
Breeze, Godrej No1 etc families brands

SUPERIA THE WAY FORWARD shown a good degree of acceptance to

To cater to the popular mass segment, Sandeep Kaul says that he has a robust our value propositions. The progress so
especially in the hinterlands, where long-term strategy and his portfolio is far, has been as per the internal goals set
HUL's Lifebouy, Hamam and Breeze and designed for multiple price points, which for the business. At a time when most of
Godrej No1 etc compete, ITC has has proved to be working well so far, at the homegrown FMCG brands were
launched the Superia range of soaps least in terms of brand recall, as its mar- looking at going niche, we did not want
and shampoos. Superia soap range is ket share is at under 2 percent is any- to limit our potential. The way forward
available in four variants, the shampoos thing to write home about. While the can be sometimes through an organic
come in two variants, besides an anti- core focus remains further developing route and sometimes through an inor-
dandruff variant. the categories under the belt, by offering ganic route but the growth strategy for
This segment again doesn't have a more value proposition to consumers, us will always be consumer centric,"
brand ambassador as the company proj- besides working on new categories, Kaul further elaborates.
ects its target consumers as its including acquisitions. Now that the brands are out on the
endorsers. The brand communication, Sandeep Kaul says, "Consumers have racks across the country, and con-
mostly in Hindi, is weaved around a sumers have given their thumbs up to
happy family and its various members. ITC brands have re- them, the tough task lies ahead -- to con-
This is also the only segment where tinuously innovate and provide better
ITC has launched its products in
ceived high consumer value to consumers and make them stick
sachets, considering the price-sensitiv- acceptance so far. The around these brands. After all, con-
ity of its TG. On the distribution side, it company says that it’s sumers in the personal care space are a
cleverly uses its e-Choupal network to fickle lot, unlike in the cigarette space
open to inorganic
create deep entrenchment for the (who overwhelmingly prefer the ITC
Superia range among the hinterland growth if a brand fits sticks), and ITC knows it well. I
consumers. its long-term plans. — onkar@pitchonnet.com

30 I Pitch I April 2009

C O V E R S T O RY MARKETING@ITC

On the HIGH S
How Wills Lifestyle has been able to weave a premium success story with its
high-end branded apparel range; and how it plans to sustain this success?

A
S THE ECONOMY STARTED opportunity, and launched its branded Lifestyle retail business division chief
vrooming post-liberalisation, apparel business under the Wills executive. Recalling the initial days,
the retail scenario witnessed Lifestyle brand in 2000. But, it wasn't a Chand says that when they started out,
many convolutions as the work done in a hurry, rather an elaborate organised retail was almost an unknown
last century drew to a close with organ- marketing and branding strategy went concept in the country, as there were
ised retail taking off in a big way. As a behind this to ensure its success as a hardly any exclusive premium outlets or
result, in the past one decade, the brand with premium imagery and high- brands of repute for premium wear for
nation's shopping habit, especially in the aspiration appeal. men and women. Working on these seg-
metros and big cities has changed com- We spent considerable time to figure ment-insights, Wills Lifestyle presented
pletely. The tobaccos-to-foods-to-hotels out the reasons for its huge success with its premium offerings. "It's really chal-
major ITC was quick to sniff at this Atul Chand, the New Delhi-based ITC lenging to start with. There were no
treet
DRESSING UP THE NATION
Industry Break-up 2008 2013
Total Apparel Market 1,28,347 2,29,673
Branded Apparel Market 33,004 59,059
Urban Apparel Market 79,575 142,397
malls, no premium stores and a com-
Urban Market as % of the Total 62 62
plete lack of women's wear. Hence, we
set out to make a strong store imagery. Branded Apparel as % of the Total 41 41
And we've been able to successfully fill (Source: Technopak Advisors; Figures in Rs Crore)
those gaps," shares Chand. sumers are increasingly looking for research and insight, has understood
Since, consumers' shopping habits solutions and not just garments. They this fact and rolled out its strategy
and brand expectations have undergone are looking for brands which offer dis- accordingly. And hence in less than a
a polar change, the unorganised sector tinct apparel,for instance, formals, casu- decade, Wills Lifestyle boasts of over 55
is no more appealing, especially to mid als, sports, club wear, sleepwear, and retail stores across 30 cities and enjoys
and upper-middle class consumers. In innerwear. They want precise solutions around 8 percent of the Rs 2,000-crore
fact, it doesn't stop there; people in and prefer brands which can help them premium branded apparel market.
smaller cities are also hankering for select a piece of functional clothing, Being one of the category leader, ITC has
branded wear and so we see many thereby enriching their quality of life. been successfully fending off steep com-
brands including Wills Lifestyle, with And most marketers, including ITC petition from a host of domestic and for-
presence in tier II and III towns too. Lifestyle, seem to have understood this. eign brands like United Colours of
Industry experts point out that con- ITC, through its deep consumer Benetton, Provogue, Louise Phillip etc.
C O V E R S T O RY MARKETING@ITC

done-up change rooms!

The lifestyle label currently offers four
product lines, each catering to a different
 Its
set of consumers. The formal wear range
the formal wear
range from the under Wills Classic was launched in
Wills Lifestyle stable 2002. The second line, Wills Sport, is the
 The highest selling casual wear range; and there is an
label of the com- evening wear range called Wills ClubLife
pany
launched in 2003. Capping it all is the
 Competes with the
likes of Louis Phillip clearly differentiated designer wear
& Arrow from the range called Wills Signature, which con-
Madura Garments & tributes 15 percent to the overall sales.
Arvind Mills stable,
respectively Wills Lifestyle, as a gender-neutral
 The Classic range brand, offers these four ranges in both
starts around Rs men's and women's segment, and if
1,000 and can go Chand is to be believed, they are one of
upwards of Rs
the largest women's wear brands today.
25,000 for a suit
 Available for both
Women's wear constitutes a significant
men & women portion contributing to close to 35-40 per-
cent of overall revenues. The men's for-
According to retail consultancy shopping experience to event tie-ups to mal range is popular, too.
Technopak Advisors, the domestic in-store visual merchandising to commu- Maximum care has been given to the
branded apparel market is worth over nication, we ensure that there is a con- store location as well. Chand informs
Rs 33,000 crore (2008 figures) or over 20 sistency to the values and imagery that that store presence at the right places is
percent of the Rs 1,28,347-crore domes- these brands offer," Chand concurs. Even a major focus for them. "We ensure that
tic apparel market and 40 percent of the its stores are designed with care. These we are present where consumers are
overall urban apparel market. The same stores use glass, steel and granite exten- shopping extensively -- malls and high
is expected to grow to Rs 59,000 crore sively, thus matching the premiumness of streets. So, your expansion strategy is in
plus by 2013, or around 25 percent of the the apparel they store. This premium line with what and how consumers are
overall apparel market that is forecast to look is also reflected in the spacious and doing and where," he adds.
touch Rs 2,29,673 crore.
 The showpeice collection
STYLISH PAR EXCELLENT of Wills Lifestlye con-
Wills Lifestyle not only offers a vibrant tributes around 15 per-
product portfolio but also an internation- cent to total sales
 Retail creations of a
al shopping experience to the discerning
dozen Indian designers
consumers. Because there is a seamless like Rohit Bal, Manish
flow of careful attention paid to all the Malhotra and the like
four brands in the formal, casual,  Signature range prices
evening wear and the designer ranges start from Rs 2,000 for a
designer shirt and can go
under the respective brand names of
upwards of Rs 10,000 for,
Wills Classic, Wills Sport, Wills ClubLife say, a Rohit Bal jacket.
and Wills Signature. "From products to

34 I Pitch I April 2009

 international advice in areas like people
training, store designing, merchandis-
ing, and fashion trends to keep its loyal
customer base intact.
The company tied up with the US-
based Friedman group to train its people
in selling skills thus converting more
footfalls into sales. It has also tied up
with the London-based Elemental
Design on visual merchandising to make
in-store product presentation more
attractive. The company also collaborat-
ed with the Italian design studios
Alessandra Macchi Studio for flat knits
and Ricardo Rami Studio for fashion
wear for women.
Recently, it has roped in FRCH, a Las
Vegas-based architectural, planning and
interior design services firm, to get a
new-look. Since then, there has been a
20 percent increase in footfalls across its
ATUL CHAND, CEO, ITC Lifestyle Retail Business Division stores and 15-20 percent rise in produc-
tivity, according to industry reports.
A RAMPS-TO-RACKS PRESENCE For its regular wear range, it has an
After creating its retail presence and in-house talent pool of 30 fashion design- INNOVATIVE MEDIA MIX
establishing premium brand imagery, ers, who are clued on to the latest fash- Most of the marketing strategy for the
the brand needed something to keep ion trends across the world. That apart, brands revolve around its flagship event
itself up-to-the-minute to get to the next to ensure future supply of talent and to association with the fashion week, as it
level. And being a premium brand, it promote fashion further, it has tied up gives it a clear chance to promote its
found an easy-fit with India Fashion with leading fashion institutes like NIFT, flagship Signature collection in a big
Week, a bi-annual event title-sponsored NID and Pearl Academy to help budding way. Besides, the chain does extensive
by Wills Lifestyle for some years now. designers showcase their talent, with an promos through mass media advertising
Chand emphasises that there's a per- eye on building future capacity and the like magazines, newspapers, etc.
fect synergy between his brands and capability of the fashion industry. In the light of the slowdown, it’s chan-
the fashion week. "The whole idea is to neling its marketing spend more
take designer wears from the ramp to GOING THE WHOLE HOG towards BTL initiatives like activation,
the rack, making sure that the designer Even as Wills Lifestyle was busy prepar- loyalty leveraging and promo. BTL
wear is glamorous, aspirational and at ing itself to rule the premium segment, spends are expected to go over 60 per-
the same time accessible and afford- many premium category players like cent of the total spends.
able. The fashion week provides a Westside, United Colours of Benetton, The company spends roughly 12 per-
great opportunity to create global Provogue, Madura Garments, Arvind cent of its turnover on advertising and
benchmarks and has worked very well Mills, etc. entered the fray targeting the marketing, and is also looking at
for us with a positive rub-off on us," young and upwardly mobile urban con- FaceBook and YouTube to attract the
Chand says. sumers. ITC changed gears, and sought youth, through personalised marketing.

April 2009 I Pitch I 35

  The casual wear
C O V E R S T O RY MARKETING@ITC range from the
Wills Lifestyle sta-
ble under the
SLOWDOWN CHALLENGES Classic & ClubLife
labels. Price for a
Though slowdown has caught every
shirt or jeans starts
corporate by the gut, Wills Lifestyle from Rs 1,000.
says its less affected owing to the very  Upper price-point
nature of its business i.e. luxe. "The is around Rs 5,000
market is obviously sluggish, but people  Competes against
are still shopping; it's a great opportuni- the likes of Levi’s,
Benetton, etc.
ty for brands like ours to go back to con-
sumers and satisfy their needs in a bet-
ter way. The stronger and more premi- apparel retail scenario is likely to cent growth in 2007-08, higher than the
um brands will survive that much better undergo a rapid transformation in the segment's growth 15 percent growth.
than mid-market or weaker brands. next five years. Concurrently, the con- And despite the slowdown, it hasn't held
"We need to give innovative stuff in sumer behaviour is also likely to show back its expansion plans. Chand
terms of variety and newness. We must some significant changes. These two informs that he will add 10 more stores
continue to surprise our consumers," revolutionary changes shall create an this fiscal and by 2011, it will touch 100
Chand opines. entirely new set of opportunities and stores. To achieve the same, it's plan-
Still, the company is re-working its challenges," says Technopak Advisors ning to take the franchisee route in a
strategy to protect bottom lines and associate vice-president Ashish Dhir. big way, especially in expanding into
check sales drop. It has reportedly cut Dhir adds that traditional strengths tier II and tier III cities.
down its growth forecast for the current of some brands like vast reach and In yet another exercise in premium
fiscal from 30 to 20 percent. It also brand aura are now coming under imagery, Wills Lifestyle will also open
recently shut down four of its loss mak- threat since consumers today are look- boutique stores across the group's
ing stores in Bangalore, Mumbai, etc. ing at retailers who have consolidated hotels. A 1,500 sqft boutique is already
In an effort to boost sales, it's devis- base. They are looking at a hassle-free operational at the ITC Maurya in New
ing special schemes and activation one-stop shopping experience which Delhi, and soon Chennai and Bangalore
events for its 60,000 Club Wills (its loy- has led to success of players like hotels will too have them. ITC runs 14
alty programme card) members, who Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Central etc. star premium hotels across the country.
account for over 50 percent of its sales. These retailers can today increase their Chand states this is a noble way to
sustainability by offering the best brand reach out to international customers at
WAY FORWARD: FRANCHISE & collection in a limited space and with ITC hotels. Does it point towards ITC's
IN-HOTEL RETAILING excellent customer service, he adds. future plans of going global? "Currently,
"With a huge amount of retail invest- And all this augurs well for the ITC. the focus is on India. This is where the
ments in the pipeline, the branded The clothing brand witnessed a 25 per- action is happening. But we are certain-
ly an international-level brand," is all
what Chand would proffer.
So far Wills Lifestyle has had an
exciting nine years of existence in the
country, but it will be worth watching
how the home-grown apparel brand
goes on to cope with the growing com-
 Not among the four Wills Lifestyle brands. Its an independent petition in the premium and luxury
offering from the ITC Retail Division catering to men’s wear. clothing segment, as more and more
 A strategic initiative to take on the likes of LP or Arrow. Also international brands pour in. 
used for retailing like ITC personal care brands such as Vivel. —onkar@pitchonnet.com

36 I Pitch I April 2009