presence with 50 exclusive speciality stores across 30 cities.

It offers top-of-the-line garments under exclusive labels such as Wills Classic work wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Clublife evening wear and Wills Signature designer wear for special occasions. To strengthen the lifestyle statement, Wills Lifestyle launched a range of fine fragrances and grooming products under the Essenza Di Wills range and a collection of bath and body care products and complementing accessories under the Fiama Di Wills brand. The growing influence of Wills Lifestyle has been acknowledged on several fronts. In 2007 it was named amongst the Top Luxury Brands of India by Time magazine while at the 2nd Loyalty Summit and Awards it was crowned for Customer and Brand Loyalty in the Retail Sector Large Format Stores. Over the

later it had gained a firm footing. The story of Wills Lifestyle begins here and parallels this epochal development. As the market grew, the demand for highend quality products, too, picked up. For Wills Lifestyle this was the opportunity to differentiate itself. It developed unique fabrics and launched an entire range of innovative designs that were exquisite in style and detailing as well as comfortable to wear. To support this initiative the company expended vast energies to house this display. The chain of exclusive stores that evolved represented a unique shopping experience that matched the world's best. This was a telling combination; it wasn't, therefore, long before the brand had earned the respect of the most critical customer and carved a niche for itself in India's fashion space. The enormous success encouraged the company to nudge customers towards specialised wear. It was from here that several brand extensions emerged: Wills Classic in 2002 and Wills Clublife in 2003. In 2006, Wills Lifestyle became title partner of the country's most premier fashion event Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. Three years later, this five-day bi-annual extravaganza has become part of the social calendar of the rich and famous.

Product
Today, Wills Lifestyle has four sub brands: Wills Classic is the new age work wear; trendy,

Market
The high-end lifestyle industry is booming in India. The effects of this can be seen on the country's streets, discotheques and bars even in shopping malls and multiplexes. In slow measure these are percolating from metros to class I cities and migrating from there into smaller towns. ITC has been an iconic company in India for several decades. In 2000, it entered the lifestyle retailing space with the launch of Wills Lifestyle. At that time the market for this category was just beginning to take shape. But remarkably a number of nationally distributed brands were already entrenched. Small and disparate as they were, Wills Lifestyle did become the original pioneers in popularising the concept of branded apparel. In the initial stages the apparel market was limited to only men's formal wear while the women's western wear market was virtually non-existent. Brands were largely categoryfocused with specialisation in either formal shirts or trousers but no brand offered garments for both men and women. Wills Lifestyle changed all that. It was the first brand to offer a complete wardrobe for both, across all usage occasions. Wills Lifestyle has never looked back. Indeed, the brand can take credit for institutionalising a nascent industry and helping create a greater appreciation for fashion itself.

years Wills Lifestyle has been honoured with a number of other prestigious awards, too. The Most Admired Exclusive Brand Retail Chain of the Year at the Images Fashion Awards, Retailer of the Year award at Idea Zee F Awards, The Most Admired Women's Wear Brand of the Year Award and has also been featured in the Business Standard Brand Derby.

Achievements
Riding on the strength of a growing market, Wills Lifestyle has established a nationwide
188

History
The fashion-conscious market possibly began to take shape about the early 1990s. A decade

innovative, chic and stylish, it reflects the work ethos of gen next. Wills Classic premium shirts are made from the finest Egyptian Cotton while its range of luxurious linen jackets has the unmistakable touch of European master craftsmen. Wills Sport, the fashionable relaxed wear, is designed to complement the lifestyle of today's consumer. Racy stripes, energetic prints and trendy dobbies distinguish its shirts while its cargos, denims, capris and trousers are recognised for their fine finish and gentle hand feel.

SUPERBRANDS

The range of evening wear, Wills Clublife, has been created to complement the preferences of premium consumers. Sensuous satin and sequins embellished on jacquards and alluring prints are the flavour of the evening. Wills Signature, launched in 2006, is a tribute to the evolved consumers' fashion sensibilities. This exquisite line of designer wear has been created by the leading stylists of the country: Anamika Khanna, Ashish Soni, Manish Malhotra, Monisha Jaising, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rohit Bal, Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna, Varun Bahl, Manish Arora and Shantanu-Nikhil. To evolve as a complete fashion wardrobe, Wills Lifestyle has also introduced a vast range of fashion accessories such as ties, shoes, handbags, wallets and belts. Essenza Di Wills, an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath and body care products for men and women, was launched in August 2005 to complete the lifestyle offering. Wills Lifestyle is able to look back with satisfaction and see the enormous contribution it has made especially to women's fashion. Not surprisingly, the brand has garnered a sizeable share of this market. In fact, today, more

collaborated with international design studio Ricardo Rami Studio, Italy for exquisite fashion wear for women and has partnered with leading Indian designers to create a Hi Fashion Wills Signature range.

acclaimed, London-based visual merchandising and designing firm of Elemental Design. The company understands well laid out store- and windowdisplays would be only cosmetic unless the customer was made to feel special. In this pursuit Wills Lifestyle sought the expertise of the Friedman Group. This has led immediately to superior customer service and enhanced productivity. As part of Retail Activation, Wills Lifestyle is exploring synergies with ITCs hotel business. It has recently launched a boutique store at the ITC Maurya in New Delhi and plans to open stores in all upcoming premium ITC hotels.

Promotion
In 2008, Wills Lifestyle developed a campaign voicing the thought 'The World Wants to be You.' The intent has been to take consumer interest in the brand to a new high. The campaign cast a good-looking couple and showcased the inspiring effect they had each time they stepped out in their Wills Lifestyle clothes. The couple is not just noticed, they are emulated by a world which wants to be them.

Recent Developments
The rapid development of the Indian market for fashion wear has attracted the attention of a number of international brands. Wills Lifestyle has taken a professional view of this enhanced competition and has redoubled efforts at protecting its equity. The sponsorship of the prestigious Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week has given the brand an elite status in this evolving world. The high ground it has occupied has allowed it to direct the industry and create the environment where buyers, retailers and designers are able to share a common platform. The enormous success of this event has encouraged Wills Lifestyle to extend it into a bi-annual feature showcasing the country's autumn/winter and spring/summer lines. The brand has also developed a carefully crafted loyalty programme Club Wills. Membership to this guild opens the doors to several special rewards and privileges: exclusive in-store benefits such as priority garment availability; doorstep delivery anywhere in India; fine dining, exotic holidays, stays at luxurious ITC Welcomgroup properties and invitations to Wills Lifestyle sponsored evenings. To provide a pleasurable and premium shopping experience Wills Lifestyle has collaborated with experts from across the world. The company has ramped up its showrooms by working closely with FRCH, a US-based retail design firm. The new Wills Lifestyle stores are intended to international formats and provide a clearly differentiated and premium shopping experience. For its store faade and window displays Wills Lifestyle has signed up the services of the highly

Brand Values
Elegance, sophistication and exclusivity sum up the core values of Wills Lifestyle. It is from these values that the brand derives its strength to provide superior consumer value and to match global standards of performance. International premium quality and vitality are imageries that the brand evokes. All brand communication exercises, from advertising to the retail experience are carefully orchestrated to reflect these values of the brand.

www.willslifestyle.com
Things you didnt know about

Wills Lifestyle
More than 2 million customers walk into Wills Lifestyle stores every year The brand was recognised amongst the top luxury brands of India by Time magazine in 2007 Consumer research has placed Wills Lifestyle as the most admired women's wear brand in the segment Through the 'ramp to rack' initiative, Wills Lifestyle has the ten leading designers of India design the Wills Signature collection In Wills Lifestyle stores customer associates walk the proverbial extra mile to create consumer delight Club Wills, the privileges programme of Wills Lifestyle, has over 67, 000 members Wills Lifestyle prints more than 100,000 copies of its Season Catalogue Wills Lifestyle plans to double its presence to 100 stores in the next two years by expanding in the tier-II and tier-III cities Wills Lifestyle products are also retailed on the net through popular shopping portals

than a third of its turnover comes from here. Its focus on developing the women's wear segment has resulted in the brand being able to offer a fashion wardrobe that complements every occasion in her day: work, leisure, evenings and glamour parties. For her the Wills Lifestyle collection presents a seamless weave of international trends with Indian tastes, preferences and silhouettes. To create world-class products for women and heighten the product equity Wills Lifestyle has done several things. It has, for instance,

SUPERBRANDS

189