Van Heusen Brand in India: Growth through Brand Extensions

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Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. (ABN), a US$ 4 billion company, was part of the Aditya Birla Group3 (ABG) as of 2011.4 It had a presence in both the manufacturing and services sectors and had businesses like textiles, financial services, telecom, insurance, etc. in its fold. Madura FL, the apparel arm of ABN, was one of the first companies to enter the branded apparel business in India. It was credited with revolutionizing the business in the country. Madura FL entered the branded apparel business in India when the branded apparel market in the country was still in its infancy. It launched a number of brands in the branded apparel segment which were successful in the market. The market for branded readymade men's wear was very limited in India till the early 1980s.

The growth rates were also negligible. One of the main reasons for this was that Indian men were accustomed to buying cloth and getting it stitched as per their custom body measurements. This practice hindered the emergence of any national level brands in the apparel business. The market began to change by the mid-1980s and a small market for branded apparel started to emerge. One of the first entrants into this sector was Madura Coats India, a 51 percent subsidiary of the UK-based J&P coats.⁵ It entered the ready to wear garments business in India through three divisions: Madura Garments (ready to wear clothing), Coats India (threads division), and Madura Textiles (fabric supplier). Madura Garments was acquired by ABG in the year 2000 and was later renamed as Madura Fashion and Lifestyle (Madura FL).

The first brand introduced by Madura FL in India was 'Louis Philippe' in 1989. Louis Philippe was launched as a premium designer wear brand in the men's formal wear segment. It proved to be a huge success among office going executives and businessmen. Madura FL entered the market for the super-premium market for branded men's apparel with the launch of the 'Perma Press' and 'Gods and Kings' collections of Louis Philippe in 2001 and 2003. These new collections helped Madura FL enter new price points in branded apparel and they were priced at a 100 percent premium as compared to other premium men's wear brands. Madura FL also entered the market for luxury apparel with the launch of a new sub brand called 'Luxure' in the year 2010. Madura FL launched premium footwear under the Louis Philippe brand in the year 2010...

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3] The Aditya Birla Group is a business conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. The group has a presence in 27 countries in businesses ranging from branded apparel, telecom, financial services, chemicals, fertilizers, etc.
4] "About Us," www.adityabirlanuvo.com.
5] J&P Coats was a UK-based cotton thread manufacturing company. Later, J&P Coats merged with The Clark Thread Co. to form Coats and Clark Inc.

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