Bombay Dyeing to re-enter readymade apparel segment

After a long gap, Wadia group’s textile company Bombay Dyeing is looking at entering readymade apparel once again with menswear products. Earlier, it had an apparel brand, Vivaldi, which the company sold to Proline to manage.

“There is a huge demand from southern India for readymade apparel. We will test market it in South and take it to other markets over a period of time,” said Aloke Banerjee, chief executive officer for retail at Bombay Dyeing. The merchandise will be priced below Rs 1,000 apiece.

Currently, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly and other brands of Aditya Birla’s Madura Fashion & Lifestyle are market leaders in menswear segment. Raymond has Color Plus, Park Avenue and Parx, and Arvind has brands, such as Arrow, in this segment. RIL sold its iconic brand Only Vimal earlier to a Chinese company earlier.

Bombay Dyeing was also coming up with bedsheets on which customers can print digital prints like a home printer, Banerjee said. Customers can submit their photos in Bombay Dyeing stores or upload it on the company website. The company will charge charge Rs 1,999 and get it printed in 30 days. It has started campaigning the new products this month. Banejeree said the company would also enter Central Asia, wherein it will sell its products in multi-brand stores. The firm is looking at opening 100 franchisee stores this year, mainly in tier II and III cities. It has 200 franchisee stores, 27 company-owned stores and 3,000 multi-brand outlets.