Indiantelevision.com Team

(16 May 2007 11:10 pm)

BANGALORE: Arvind Brands (AB) announced the re-launch of their ‘iconic’ jeans wear brand ‘Flying Machine” (FM) yesterday along with new style format stores, four of which were opened in Bangalore itself, with the fifth one due shortly. Bollywood actor Dino Morea inaugurated the Bangalore CMH Road (a high street) FM store.

Over the next few days twenty such retail ‘Fusion stores’, some company run, others through the franchisee route are expected to open across the country according to Arvind Mills md Sanjay Lalbhai. As has been the norm for most products in recent times across all categories and genres, the re-launch focuses on the nation’s young demographics and the ‘young at heart’.

To strike a foreign, modern and chic chord in the heart, the new FM products will be designed in collaboration with a young Italian designer Chicco who has been associated with international brands like ‘Replay’ and ‘Evisu’. The Spring-Summer 07 theme has been inspired by ‘Fashion Tripping’, representative of a young person who travels the world to absorb influences from every fashion capital in his wardrobe according to an official release.

“We plan to be present in all the new malls that open in Bangalore and other major cities. The initial fifty stores will be in major cities. Agra, Jaipur, Lucknow are some of the exceptions, because they have new malls coming up” said AB COO Suresh J.

AB is in discussions with a couple of Bollywood actors as brand ambassadors for their FM brand and is open to a repeat aka their Wrangler brand which boasts of actor ‘John Abraham Collection’.

AB vp and business head (Excalibur and Flying Machine) Alok Dubey says that a mass communication media blitz is being considered towards the end of the 2007. “By then we will have the logistics sorted out and a lot more outlets open too. Also December is around the time that most youngsters buy jeans”. TVC’s are definitely in the offing and AB plans Rs.120 million spends over promotional, marketing and mass communication initiatives.

With the brand repositioning and the new FM outlets, Dubey is confident of increased revenues from the current Rs.350 million to Rs. 500 million by the end of this fiscal (financial year ending March 31, 2008) and to Rs.1 billion by the end of the next fiscal through the FM brand.

Overall, the group’s revenues can be broken up into Rs.16.5 billion through fabric and Rs.6.5 billion through their brands. Lalbhai expects the revenue from apparel brands to exceed revenues from fabric by 2010, since he claims that all the brands under the AB umbrella have been growing by more than 50% year on year. Lalbhai is also open to new brands and new partnerships – kids apparel wear, ladies apparel wear are some of the other avenues that the group may consider, he says.

The CMH road store covers around 700 sq feet and has cost over Rs.1 million to refurbish and set up according to Dubey. Larger stores of around 2500 square feet are planned, besides which FM will be sold through 350 multi-brand retail outlets and stores.

The retail leg of the brand has been re-engineered by British architectural and retail design firm JHP. O&M does the creative work for FM.