Textile major Bombay Dyeing is looking at scaling down prices for its bed and bath portfolio by innovating with new technologies which would bring down the cost of manufacturing but not affect the quality of its products.
Currently its bed and bath offerings retail at price points of Rs 699 and above but by reducing costs, the textile company would enter lower price points pegged between Rs 499 and Rs 699.
The newly-appointed CEO of Bombay Dyeing, Mr Debashis Poddar, said, “We want to expand our market share and cannot afford to have only high-end products. But through some amount of cost engineering, we could look at lowered price points between Rs 499 and Rs 699 using value-added fibres and blends which do not compromise on quality and are more affordable.” In fact, Bombay Dyeing had been reluctant to pass on all input cost increases to consumers. “Even when there were raw material pressures, we did not pass on all the costs”. But now with cotton prices stabilising, we are looking at a new base of fibres which could help in bringing down the price points. There is a back-end strategy at work which would help in bringing down prices but without affecting quality of the product, '' added Mr Poddar.
Expats new targets
At the same time, the company's Rs 400-crore textile division is looking at a new target audience of Indian expatriates in the overseas markets to sell its high-end designer collection from Wendell Rodricks and Sabyasachi Mukerji. “There is a large Indian expat population in places like Dubai and South Asia and they are familiar with our brand. We could take our designer range to these markets and also cater to the locals with the range,” claims Mr Poddar.
Currently Bombay Dyeing is in the process of appointing local distributors in the international markets in countries such as South-East Asia and West Asia. “We are looking at getting local agents who help us with the marketing, retail and wholesale operations and also help in getting institutional sales in the international markets,” added Mr Poddar.
Other avenues of growth in the international markets being explored also include collaborations with bed and bath brands in the UK and the US. As Mr Poddar says, “While they could use our distribution to bring in their brands, we could also stock our brand through them in the European and American markets.''