Louis Philippe, India's menswear superbrand and the benchmark in formal

menswear in India has capitalized on its equity as "The Upper Crest" and

crossed the Rs. 175 crore mark (MRP Sales) in the last fiscal.

Launched in 1989, Louis Philippe heralded the creation of the super premium

segment in the Indian market. Launched as signed designer wear with the

product promise of being the perfect shirt, it soon moved into a position where

it stood for being the Upper Crest and with the product promise of offering

'Nothing but the best'.How has Louis Philippe achieved this benchmark?

The chief driver for the brand is the tremendous emotional connect that the

brand enjoys with the consumer due to the values it stands for and the values its

symbol, the crest, stands for — fine taste and fine living

Louis Philippe has constantly innovated and ensured that for every occasion the

consumer wore a readymade garment, it had 'nothing but the best' in its product

offering. It has always stretched the price value equation in favor of the

consumer and constantly upgraded him. The way it does this is that it identifies

each possible occasion of its consumer and offers ' Nothing but the best' in

merchandise.

This has led to a slew of innovative products that only the brand offers or ones

in which it is a major player

Apart from new products, Louis Philippe has always been at the forefront of

bringing the latest international trends and fashion to India. Whether it was

Cubix in 1999, Riviera in 2002 or the Spirit of Italy in Spring Summer 2005,

Louis Philippe has been bringing the latest in fashion to the Indian consumer,

whether it is in fabric design or styling.

While it was launched as a shirt brand, it has quickly moved into leadership

positions in trousers, suits and is aggressively looking at the tee shirt and winter

wear market. It also has a strong presence in accessories like ties, belts, socks,

cufflinks, etc. Today it is a complete wardrobe brand and on its way to being a

lifestyle brand.

Unique and exclusive feature like made to measure in suits and trousers, which

in its comprehensive nature is not offered by any other premium readymade

garment brand in the country.

While a lot of competition brands are expected to be reeling under the onslaught

of international brands, Louis Philippe expects to strengthen its position in the

market in the coming three years. This is primarily because of the following

reasons

The Indian market is different from the international market in the fact that for

the international market, the shirt is a innerwear garment whereas in India, it is

the outerwear garment.

The brand's sharp knowledge of the Indian consumer over 15 years of consumer

bonding and market research ensures that it does not make the merchandise

mistakes a lot of international brands are bound to make.

The brand has superior distribution strength and is well accepted even in

multibrand outlets.

It is rapidly redefining consumer experience with its chain of exclusive flagship

stores in the top cities in the country

Speaking about Louis Philippe's achievement, Mr. Hemchandra Javeri,

President, Madura Garments, states, "This is just the beginning. Louis Philippe

sees the arrival of international brands as an opportunity as it will further stoke

consumer interest in the super premium category of readymade garments, a

category that Louis Philippe has been slowly developing and seeding. Today, it

is poised to reap the benefits and is all set to target high growth (in MRP sales)

within the next three years "

The brand is available in flagship stores, exclusive brand outlets, Planet

Fashion, Trouser Town, departmental stores and major multibrand outlets.

It was the first genuinely international garment label introduced in the Indian

market in1989. The brand brings crafted range of silks, trousers, blazers, ties

and T-shirts thatmakes an exclusive fashion statement recognized by its

distinctive icon The Upper Crest.The brand creates an image of stylish,

confident, spirited, cool ensemble with hiddendetails, slimmer cuts. Lp — the

youth brand from Louis Philippe, has introduced newfashion formals range for

today’s young and successful urbanites. The range exudes élan,style and success

which personifies today’s youth.

Aditya Birla Group menswear brand Louis Philippe today forayed into the

footwear segment, expecting the new category to contribute at least 15 per cent

to its annual sales within 2-3 years. The brand, which clocked an annual

turnover of Rs 400 crore last fiscal, will launch its footwear range under the

names 'Louis Philippe' and super luxury sub brand 'Luxure'.

"We want to fill the void in the formal category men's footwear brand in the

country, which lacks established players. Our aim is to be the market leader in

the segment...Maybe within two years," Louis Philippe Chief Operating Officer

Vishak Kumar said.

Expressing confidence that the footwear business would do well, he said: "We

believe that footwear will comprise at least 15 per cent of our annual sales

within 2-3 years."

Initially, the footwear range will be available in 30 Louis Philippe flagship

showrooms across the country, before the company expands further in India and

overseas. While the Louis Philippe collection will come at a price range of Rs

2,000-5,000, the higher-end Luxure collection will be priced up to Rs 10,000,

he said.

The footwear venture completes Louis Philippe's ambition of being a complete

solution provider in the men's wear segment, after its apparels and accessories

range, Kumar said, and added that it aims to be the biggest player in the

estimated Rs 2,000 crore premium men's shoes market in the country within two

years.

Owned by Aditya Birla Group company Madura Garments, Louis Philippe has

an annual turnover of Rs 400 crore and is growing at 15 per cent annually, he

added. The company has set up an in-house studio to design its footwear range.

It will start with 40 designs, and plans to have two collections - summer and fall

- every year.

It is sourcing the products from both the domestic market as well as Italy and

Turkey. "In the near future, we also plan to launch a semi-formal footwear

range as well," he added.

The Indian footwear market is of around Rs 30,000 crore, of which only about

Rs 2,000 crore is the size of the men's premium segment that includes footwear

of above Rs 1,500. "We will roll out our range in 30 of our major showrooms

across the country, before expanding nationwide and into the international

markets," Kumar said.

Louis Philippe has 60 exclusive showrooms across India, besides being present

through another 800-odd multi-branded outlets. It also has presence in Sri

Lanka and Middle East. Launched in the UK in 1960, the premium brand was

acquired by the Aditya Birla Group in 2000 from its earlier owner, Coats

Viyella.