Arvind Lifestyle Brands, a subsidiary of Arvind Ltd, has acquired the licence to manufacture and distribute inner wear brands Hanes and Wonderbra (also a part of US-based Hanes Brands Inc). It would be spending Rs 15 crore in buying out the existing stock of the products in India and there would be no cost in acquiring the licence for the brands.
Hanes Brands has been present in India for the past five years. It posted a turnover of Rs 45 crore this fiscal and has 3 per cent share in the inner wear category, where it competes with players such as Jockey and Rupa.
With this deal, Arvind would be entering the lingerie and undergarments category which it estimates at Rs 18,000 crore, growing at 18 per cent on a yearly basis. Of this, men’s inner wear is estimated at Rs 7,200 crore, while women’s is the balance at Rs 10,800 crore. Only 60 per cent of the category is organised, according to the company.
Addressing a press conference, Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman and Managing Director, Arvind, said, “Hanes would be sold like an FMCG product, as we have a wide distribution network. We intend to increase the points of sale from the current 5,000 to 15,000 in the next three years.”
Arvind would also be taking the Hanes brand to department stores where it currently lacks presence and also retail it under its own formats such as Megamart. It intends scaling up the Hanes brand to reach Rs 500 crore in the next four years.
“We would continue to acquire brands and also sign up with brands globally while building our own portfolio. We expect the acquired brands to generate a turnover Rs 2,000 crore of the Rs 5,000 crore targeted revenues from brands and the retail business in the next five years,” added Lalbhai.
Recently, Arvind acquired the brands and business of Debenhams, Next and Nautica for Rs 55 crore to add to its own international portfolio of Arrow and Gant. It has also entered into a licensing arrangement with Iconix Lifestyle to manufacture and distribute the Ed Hardy brand in India.