Abstract

This case deals with the introduction and subsequent growth of the international apparel brand Van Heusen in India. The Van Heusen brand was introduced in the market in the year 1990. Unlike other premium men’s wear brands available at that time, Van Heusen was positioned as premium office wear for young professionals. The brand was an instant success in the Indian market and some high-end collections like ‘World Wear’ were introduced under the Van Heusen brand. Madura Fashion and Lifestyle had perpetual rights to the Van Heusen brand in India which led it to expand the brand to some niche segments. As the number of people below 25 was growing rapidly in India, Van Heusen introduced a sub brand called VDot in 2006 to target them effectively. In 2006, Van Heusen also introduced another sub brand called Van Heusen Woman to target the increasing number of women entering the workforce in India. Van Heusen introduced a new range of sporty looking casuals for young executives under a new sub brand called Van Heusen Sport in 2011. The expansion of the Van Heusen brand in India with the introduction of various sub brands paid off and its sales reached Rs. 6.5 billion for the fiscal year ending March 2011. It planned to increase the brands ‘revenues to Rs. 8.5 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. To reach this goal, Madura FL wanted to increase the reach of the Van Heusen brand by expanding it into smaller cities across India. It also had plans to expand the brand further by diversifying into other product categories like footwear and men’s personal care products. Plans to sell its products online and to expand the brand to some international markets were also on the cards. This case is meant for MBA/MS students as a part of the Brand Management/Marketing Management curriculum.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the issues and challenges faced by companies in differentiating their products and services (form, features, customization, design, reliability, quality, durability, etc.) from that of competitors.
• Understand the different issues involved in positioning a brand in the minds of the consumers.
• Explore ways in which a brand can be extended: Line extension (extending a brand in the same product line at different price and quality levels) and Brand Extension (extending a brand in unrelated product lines).
• Explore the other product lines into which Van Heusen could be extended.
• Explore the circumstances which made Van Heusen expand beyond bigger cities in developing markets like India.

Keywords

Differentiation, Positioning, Brand extensions, Line extensions, Market leader strategy, Retail, Fashion, Lifestyle brand, Brand equity, Distribution agreement, luxury apparel, Competition, hyper-competitive, International retail brands, Branding, Market research, Van Heusen