Clothing brand Rare Rabbit recently unveiled its latest retail ventures in Kolkata, West Bengal, and Kochi, Kerala. These new stores are aimed at introducing Rare Rabbit's Western-style casual wear to fresh audiences and extending its physical presence throughout India.

Kolkata store debut

The brand showcased its Kolkata store at Quest Mall on Syed Amir Ali Avenue. The store proudly flaunts a novel collection inspired by India's diverse and multicultural cities. From printed shirts to signature tees, polos, jackets, trousers, cargo pants, and more, there's an assortment catering to different styles.

Quest Mall haven

Nestled in Ballygunge, Rare Rabbit's Kolkata outlet finds its home within the expansive Quest Mall, sprawling over 7 lakh square feet. This mall, established in 2013, is a hub for prominent brands like Bally, Adidas, Gucci, and Coach, as well as FabIndia, Boss, Indya, and more, creating a vibrant shopping environment.

Enhanced Kochi presence

In Kochi, Rare Rabbit bolsters its retail footprint in Kerala, joining its stores in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. This new addition in Kochi showcases the brand's comprehensive range, encompassing printed tees, shirts, smart casual attire, and distinctive separates.

Origin of Rare Rabbit

Rare Rabbit, a creation of House of Rare, made its debut as a premium menswear label in 2015. Beyond physical stores, the brand thrives through its direct-to-customer e-commerce platform, ensuring widespread access to its unique apparel.

11 August 2023, Mumbai

In collaboration with over 1500 weavers across India, Birla Cellulose, a part of Aditya Birla Group, is revitalizing the handloom sector.

By introducing sustainable and cost-effective materials, they empower weavers to create high-quality products while preserving the art of handloom.

LIVA

Timely and consistent delivery of quality yarn at stable prices enhances weavers' capabilities, boosting productivity.

Birla Cellulose champions natural fibers like Viscose, Modal, and Excel through the Liva brand, creating awareness and supplying 50 tons of yarn in the past year.

Unique proposition

India's handloom industry embodies cultural identity, known for its eco-friendly, adaptable, and less capital-intensive nature.

Despite challenges like lower income and fast fashion's impact, Birla Cellulose's initiatives inspire new artists, fostering demand consistency. Their holistic approach encompasses rural outreach, technical seminars, and post-production support, extending from tagging to promotions.

"Navyasa," the saree brand under Liva, rejuvenates traditional fabrics, weaving together centuries-old cultural magic. Birla Cellulose's commitment drives economic, cultural, and social growth in the handloom sector, preserving India's heritage sustainably.

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Rare Rabbit, an omni-channel men's fashion brand, unveiled its newest store in Chandigarh's Sector 17. Earlier, in April, the company celebrated its 100th physical store opening at Bengaluru's Vega City Mall.

The brand offers a wide range of men's apparel, including t-shirts, joggers, ethnic wear, and more, with sizes spanning from S to 4XL. Apart from brick-and-mortar stores, Rare Rabbit also sells through its e-commerce site, The House of Rare, and various online platforms such as Myntra, Flipkart, and Nykaa.

Founded in 2015 by Manish Poddar's The House of Rare, the brand continues to make waves in the fashion industry.

07 August 2023, Mumbai

Kewal Kiran Clothing Ltd (KKCL) reports a strong Q1 performance with a 56% surge in net profit to Rs 34 crore ($4.2 million) compared to Rs 22 crore last year.

The company's revenue also grows by 15% to Rs 178 crore.

Growth trends

Chairman Kewalchand P Jain highlights positive growth trends, robust distribution, and plans to expand product categories. KKCL opened 27 brand outlets during April-June and aims to open 50 more in the future.

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10 August 2023, Mumbai

Trent, a retail entity under the Tata Group, reported a significant 46% surge in consolidated revenue, reaching 26.28 billion rupees ($317.4 million) for the quarter concluding on June 30, 2023.

This notable growth was attributed to an upswing in foot traffic and the expansion of its store network.

Head to Head

In the same period, like-for-like sales at Trent's upscale Westside and budget-friendly Zudio outlets demonstrated a noteworthy 12% year-on-year upturn.

The company introduced seven new Westside stores and expanded its Zudio presence by 40 stores during the quarter.

Trade dynamics

The company's overall net profit on a consolidated basis exhibited a commendable increase of over 30%, reaching 1.73 billion rupees ($20.9 million) for the quarter.

However, there was a substantial rise of nearly 44% in total expenses, primarily driven by elevated stock-in-trade purchases and increased employee-related costs. 

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04 August 2023, Mumbai

Max Fashion has been a popular brand for the Indian diaspora living in the Gulf countries for the longest time and it is only befitting that Max Fashion’s flagship store is in Kochi (Kerala), where most Gulf Indians are from.

Known for its trendy and budget-friendly clothing, accessories, and footwear, the UAE-based Landmark Group has not only spun a success story around this label in the Middle East but is taking on the likes of Trent’s Zudio, Reliance Trends, and Shoppers Stop Intune.

Proliferates

As market expansion in the value apparel, accessories, and footwear segment expands prolifically across India, particularly in Tier II and III cities, Max wants to get ahead in the game.

Harminder Sahni, Co-founder of Gurgaon-based retail consultancy Wazir Advisors, says the shift towards value retail will help companies such as Max Fashion, catch consumers who are shifting from unbranded to branded products.

Nearly 500 stores and counting

The brand opened its first outlet in Indore in Madhya Pradesh, the choice being a strategic one, targeting Tier II youth moving from unbranded to branded, and today Max Fashion is present in over 200 cities, covering Tiers I, II, and III.

By next year, Max Fashion plans to add another 100 stores across India. 

This aggressive expansion plan seems to be taking on a similar journey that another popular Indian value-fashion brand Zudio is already on. Max Fashion’s 465^th outlet is in Kochi which is also the brand’s biggest – a comprehensive big-format retail experience.

Spoilt for choice

At the launch of the flagship store, Sumit Chandana, Deputy CEO, of Max Fashion India said the consumer will be spoilt for choice in the 25,000 sq. ft store. South India is a key market for Max Fashion as it relies on the Indian expat community’s familiarity and the Kochi store is a strategic step towards consolidation of the Kerala market.

This is the retailer’s way of giving back to the community as an Onam gift.

Recently, Max Fashion opened an outlet at The Whitehouse Shopping Center in Bapu Nagar, Ahmedabad.  The other new big retail outlet launch was in Udaipur. Spread across 18,000 sq. ft, the store is located at Bhumika Group-owned Urban Square Mall.

Marquee brands; This mall also features other brands like Adidas, Puma, Asics, Shoppers Stop, Marks & Spencer, Tata Westside, Tata Zudio, Reliance Trends, and Levi’s among others. Max Fashion has positioned its products at an economical Rs 129 per unit for kids and Rs 199 onwards for youth.

Turning the heat on competitors

Max Fashion is playing in the value retail space where competition is tough and most players have ramped up their marketing and sale network. Tata Trent’s Zudio is a case of aggressive expansion and growth.

Trent has cottoned on to where the expansion lies– it is not growing its mid-market brand Westside as much as Zudio the value retail brand. While opening 14 new Westside stores the numbers are different for Zudio.

On the roll

Touted as the biggest success for Trent, Zudio would open 200 more stores in FY 2024 compared to the 117 stores opened in FY 2023.

Currently, Zudio’s pan-India store count is 352. Boasting high-quality products in the value-fashion segment, Zudio’s pricing is below Rs 1,000 for collections.

Apple of one's eye; Zudio is also the pride and joy of the Tata Group’s retail division as its revenue grew 61 percent to Rs 2,171 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2023 and saw a tidy profit of 21 percent.

On the expected lines

Along similar lines, Shoppers Stop’s Intune has priced its products under Rs 500 per unit for men, women, and children.  

In the April-June period, three Intune stores were opened on a trial basis. The plan is to take up the number to 10 in the next few months. Venu Nair, MD and CEO of Shoppers Stop stated that Intune was created in a fashion-for-all format directly targeting young families.

The new format will be 100 percent sell private labels but not follow the Shoppers Stop format under which it also retails third-party brands. The outlets will also be smaller, focussing on affordable products.

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