India is now among the top three markets for global clothing brand US Polo, with the brand now doubling down on the Indian market. J Michael Prince, President and CEO, USPA Global Licensing Inc, speaking to CNBC-TV18 said that India contributed 15 percent to $2.3 billion sales the brand clocked globally in 2022.

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Launched in India in 2009, US Polo Assn is currently licensed to Arvind Fashions in India. Kulin Lalbhai, Vice-Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Arvind Fashions said that the brand is currently expanding along multiple vectors. Presently, the brand is on its way to clock Rs 2,000 crore in revenue, which Arvind Fashions hopes of hitting within this fiscal.

Over the weekend, the company launched a standalone website for the brand, along with a women’s line.

“26 percent of the brand’s turnover in India is currently in digital. We see that accelerating further with the website. Adjacencies of the brand are also scaling up very well like footwear, innerwear, kids wear and you will see a lot of visibility from us this year,” Lalbhai said.

Women’s wear in India, he added, is also now being launched online first, with plans to bring it offline as well. Prince said that currently, depending on the market, women’s line of products contribute 20-30 percent to retail sales in a given region.

Lalbhai further added that, as a larger opportunity with this line, the company is not focusing on apparel but is betting on a 360-degree approach with the launch of women’s shoes and will also soon launch bags and accessories.

This is also a part of the company’s plans to expand the non-apparel side. Currently, roughly 15 percent revenue comes from non-apparel products, and Lalbhai said that they see this proportion increase significantly in the years to come.

The opportunity is large, given that the brand has been more than just an apparel brand around the world, Prince said.

“Growth in women's products, kids, footwear is a tremendous opportunity. Globally, at retail, it's a half a billion dollar opportunity for us, and we've got a couple $100 million. Handbags tend to work for us worldwide, we're launching those in different markets as well. And then I love grabbing that younger consumer, which is the kids opportunity and the younger Gen Zs,” Prince adds.

Another area of focus for the brand, Lalbhai added, is the retail presence of the brand as he expects retail and online combined to bring in 80 percent of US Polo’s revenues. The company has plans to open more than 50 stores every year. At present, there are 425 stores of US Polo in India.

“The stores which we are now opening are stores that represent the whole width of the brands. It's no longer a 1000 Sq ft store. We will be opening stores closer to 2000 square feet, with the full expression of the brand and all the categories to create high engagement because we believe retail is at the heart of amplifying the brand,” Lalbhai added.

Ambitious plans around this brand, which falls in the premium category, comes at a time when the overall retail environment in the country has been challenging with most companies seeing a slowdown in sales not just at the entry-level, but among premium segment as well. However, Lalbhai said that this is only transient and expects a recovery in the run up to the festive season.

“This year has been a little challenging. Last year's H1 base had a COVID recovery built in, and so was a little elevated. Compared to that base, growth looked a little muted. Secondly, parts of our consumption are getting a little affected by cost of living, EMI, etc. So, there has been a little bit of sluggishness. But I am not expecting this to be something which is to bother the sector for a long period of time. Independence Day weekend was a strong weekend for most of the retailers, so I remain cautiously optimistic. We're not completely out of that muted sentiment, expect an improvement as we roll towards Diwali,” Lalbhai further said.

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(Edited by : Keshav Singh Chundawat)