Spykar turns 25; plans to open 400 standalone stores by 2020

Spykar, the brand known for its youth appeal and vigour, has completed 25 years of existence in the Indian retail scenario. The first chapter of its success story was written when its founder and managing director Prasad Pabrekar, a qualified engineer with laundry business background, found his calling in the denim industry. The vast repertoire of technical knowledge in denim finishing gained via laundry business came in handy for him while setting up his own denim manufacturing venture.
Incepted as a denim manufacturer in 1992, Spykar today has earned for itself strong brand equity as India’s leading young fashion retailer. Even as denim remains its core product, the company has continued to add a range of products and categories to its portfolio to keep up with the changing market dynamics.
And in a bid to strengthen its portfolio, fashion apparel brand Spykar plans to launch its range of footwear this year and will invest Rs 90 crore in the category by 2020.
In an exclusive interview with Indiaretailing Bureau, Director & COO, Spkyar, Sanjay Vakharia talks about brand journey, competition, Omnichannel initiatives and future of the brand.
How has been the brand journey so far?
The journey started way back in 1992, when Prasad Pabrekar, founder Spykar, launched the brand. He wanted to create a brand – one which embodied passion, creativity and youthfulness. From day zero, the brand created was aimed at and confined to a very young audience. We complete 25 years this year – Spykar’s commitment to offer best in class, stylish wardrobe with highest level of quality has been unbeatable. Its vow to wow the youth with high fashion denims is phenomenal. The inception of Spykar was with the mom-n-pop stores and today we have a pan India presence across all sales formats.
Spykar is now a part of the Lord Bagri promoted Metdist Group, a diversified portfolio of companies.
Throw some light on your business model?
We operate through sales formats like – multi-brand outlets, large format stores, exclusive brand outlets, all key fashion portals and marketplaces and our own website spykar.com.
What is your pricing strategy?
The price range for denims at Spykar starts from Rs 2,300 and goes up to Rs 6,000. The popular moving price segment for denims is around Rs 3,000-3,200. For tops, the price range starts from Rs 600 to Rs 2,500. With respect to the product offered, we offer attractive pricing.
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How many product categories do you offer under your brand? Which are the typically faster moving categories?
Top wear – shirts, tees, jackets, tunics for women
Bottomwear – Trackpants, trousers, denims, shorts for both men and women
Accessories – wallet, perfume, belts, socks.
The fastest moving category is denims
Many well-established foreign players have entered India of late and have taken the consumer base by storm. What is your approach to the competition?
The product Spykar offers in terms of quality, style, pricing and fit has no comparison to what is offered by the other brands in the similar space. Furthermore, with a presence of 25 years in the business, the brand has a stronghold across India in all the retail formats.
Elaborate on assortment and monetary expectation from the men’s and women’s collection across stores.
In industry, the consumption ratio is typically segmented into 80 per cent men and 20 per cent women. Spykar aims the women segment to grow exponentially. The brand enjoys 12 per cent of the revenue for the women collection while the plan is to grow the portfolio by 30 per cent in the next two years.
READ MORE: Spykar expands product portfolio; launches perfume for men
Tell us a bit about Spykar’s initiatives on the Omnichannel front?
Spykar reaches out to a very young audience and hence being present on the Internet was a seamless decision. Being online is a natural destination but not on the cost of offline. Traditionally, India has been offline and Spykar has also had its business come out of offline. Hence, the brand engages in such a manner that there is a peaceful course between the two. Spykar is present online across all portals but do not aggressively push it. With an Omnichannel strategy, the pricing is exactly the same online and offline. If you buy the current merchandise offline or online, it comes at the same cost.
Please share your revenue target for the current fiscal.
For 2017, Spykar’s estimated revenue is Rs 325 crore and the profits are expected to be in-line of how the industry works. The sales should grow by at least 30 per cent year-on-year.
What are your future/ expansion plans?
Spykar aims to open 400 standalone stores by 2020 and focus on Tier II and Tier III cities. Currently, Spykar has 207 brand outlets and plan to launch 4 to 5 stores every month. The brand forecasts to open 40 stores this year.
ALSO READ: Apparel maker Spykar to enter footwear segment in 2017
Where do you see the brand five years from now?
Brand is looking to clock Rs 750 crore revenue. We are looking forward to build the brand in Tamil Nadu and Kerala with a marketing push. We want the women segment to grow exponentially from current 12 per cent to 30 per cent in next two years.