Arvind Fashions Ltd is looking to aggressively expand casual lifestyle wear brand US Polo Assn. in the country with a strong focus on store expansion and marketing-led investment. India is the fastest growing market for the brand globally. The company believes the brand has potential to scale up to ₹5,000 crore in terms of sales over the next few years.
Shailesh Chaturvedi, MD & CEO, Arvind Fashions Ltd, said: “US Polo Assn. is the leading casual lifestyle brand. India is the fastest growing global market for the brand. It has achieved a scale of close to ₹2,000 crore (in terms of net sales value) in the market. The expandability of this brand is very high and we have been adding a lot of adjacent categories. Its appeal is also very high in smaller towns and cities. We have an aggressive growth plan for the brand through store rollouts, advertising and marketing investments and strengthening its online play.”
Last year, the company launched the single brand website for US Polo in India. “There is potential for it to scale up to become a ₹5,000-crore brand in the near-term or mid-term. It cuts across gender and age groups. It is strong in both apparel and accessory segments with a large universal appeal,” he added.
Premium line
Recently, US Polo Assn has launched a premium capsule line in association with its brand ambassador Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh, that merges Jaipur’s royal heritage with the “refined elegance” of sports fashion, the company stated. The US Polo Assn. x Pacho Collection is being made available in select stores across India, uspoloassn.in and exclusively on Myntra this autumn, it added.
The brand is currently sold through about 450 stores in the country. “We have given a guidance of expansion at a CAGR of 15 per cent in term of square foot addition. So we think we can add 60-70 stores per year for the brand in that sense. We are also opening large flagship stores for US Polo Assn in 15-20 key locations. These mega stores showcase the entire range including menswear, footwear, womenswear and kidswear,” Chaturvedi added.
Arvind Fashions Ltd portfolio consists of international as well as indigenous brands such as Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Flying Machine.
Responding to a query on the growth outlook, Chaturvedi said, “We are expecting to see higher growth than previous fiscal. It could be high single digit or double digits depending on the conditions. Overall, the mood around the festival season is definitely optimistic.”