POSITIONING OF MEN’S SHIRT

BRANDS IN THE INDIAN MARKET

Submitted for

Prof. Bharti Moitra

Marketing Management

Master of Fashion Management (2010-12)

NIFT, Kolkata

Submitted by

Kanika Mathur

Roll No. 5

Master of Fashion Management (2010-12)

NIFT, Kolkata
 Introduction

A Product’s position is the way the product is defined by consumers on important

attributes – the place the product occupies in the consumers’ minds relative to
competing products. Positioning involves implanting the brand’s unique benefits and
differentiation in customers’ minds.

To simplify the buying process, consumers organize products, services, and companies
into categories and “position” them in their minds. A product’s position is the complex
set of perceptions, impressions, and feelings that consumers have for the product
compared with competing products.

The positioning task consists of three steps:

1- Identifying a set of possible competitive advantage upon which to build a position

2- Choosing the right competitive advantages

3- Selecting an overall positioning strategy

Consumers position products with or without the help of marketers. But marketers donot
want to leave their products’ positions to chance. They must plan positions that will give
their products the greatest advantage in selected target markets, and they must design
marketing mixes to create these planned positions. The company must then effectively
communicate and deliver the chosen position to the market.
John Players :
Play It Cool

Brand : John Players

Company: ITC
Ad Agency: FCB Ulka

John Players is the mass market apparel brand of ITC. Launched in December 2002,
the brand is poised for becoming a major player in the Rs 6000 crore ready-to- wear
market in India. John Players when launched in 2002 faced a luke warm response from
the market, primarily because of quality and positioning issues.

John Players is positioned as a brand with a cool attitude. It is positioned as " Style
With a Playful Side" exemplified in its tagline " Play It Cool". The brand rightfully fills the
gap of a Cool Brand in the mass market category. The brand is being endorsed by the
style icon Hrithik Roshan and the advertising campaign featuring Hrithik was well
executed. The brand has a price range of Rs 500-900 for its shirts and Rs 800+ for the
trouser range.

Although the positioning platform of being a " Cool " brand is a wonderful proposition, it
is a task that is difficult to achieve. It is like a very abstract concept. It is not possible to
make a brand or a person " COOL" by just saying that it is " Cool", the customer has to
perceive it as a Cool brand. That cool attitude should come into the brand DNA. Hence
it is a tricky situation and a tough task for the brand manager. The marketer has to
create a lot of subliminal cues to make the brand cool. Hence the brand logo, colors,
ads, models, colors etc has significant impact
on making the brand " COOL". That is the
reason why there are a few COOL brands in
our country.

Louis Philippe : The Upper Crest

Brand : Louis Philippe
Company: Aditya Birla Nuvo
Ad Agency : Contract

Louis Philippe can be termed as a brand which has an iconic status in India. The brand
was launched in 1989 and it created the super premium segment in the Rs 5000 crore
men's readymade category.The brand originally belonged to Madura garments and was
later acquired by Indian Rayons ( now Aditya Birla Nuvo)

The brand is known for its craftsmanship and attention to detail.

The brand has a life that beats the other brands by miles. It is
this value that had captured the minds of the Indian consumer.

Louis Philippe was positioned as an aspirational brand. The

brand element, Crest has now become a symbol of success. You
wear the shirt with the upper crest, you make a statement of
being well dressed. Seldom brands achieve that status.
The brand initially positioned as "Signed Designer wear" later extended the positioning
to create a sense of exclusivity. The brand became the symbol of being " Arrived".
The premium pricing and the exclusive Brand element reinforced the premium image of
this brand. Louis Philippe also made sure that it offer maximum value for the premium it
charges. The Black and White Collections (1996) and the super premium Gods and
Kings (2003 ) ensured that the fans are excited about the brand.

The brand primarily relies on print ads in magazines for promotions .The first ever TVC
was created in 2000 carried the message that the brand is unreachable for " lesser
ones". The print ads were carefully drafted and in all the ads, the brand was the star and
not the models. Initially the brand was primarily known as the shirt brand but later it
easily extended itself to become a complete menswear brand.

Peter England : Honestly Impressive

Brand: Peter England
Company: Madura Garments
Ad Agency: Mudra
Peter England is a brand that sells without any marketing
gimmick and that too successfully. Launched in the year 1997, this brand has captured
the Indian middle class mind. That too honestly.
Peter England as a brand has a rich heritage. It began in the year 1885 when
foundation was struck for 5 storied building in Ireland. In 1888 Peter England factory
came in to being. It was during 1889-1902 that the company expanded when it got the
order for outfits for British soldiers for the Boer war. The order was large and it
demanded quality merchandise at Honest –to- goodness price.
Peter England was initially positioned as an “Honest Shirt”. It was a very precise
campaign that categorically told the TG that the brand is of good quality and honest- to
– goodness price. The strategy clicked and has to click because
the product was very good and the price was excellent. It just fit
in to ones budget. The TG for the brand was the 24-28 ambitious
and career oriented youth.
In order to make sure that the excitement remains, Peter
England came out with various ranges and varieties of shirts.
The brand also extended to trousers with the same positioning. Although some of the
variants like English Cottons compromised on quality , the brand still enjoys a good
equity in the TG’s mind.

In 2002 the brand made a slight makeover. The positioning changed to “Honestly
Impressive”. The aim is to make the brand more than just value for money proposition
but also as a lifestyle brand. It has maintained its value proposition unchanged.

Peter England is a brand that clearly shows a marketer that it is possible to sell...
Honestly.

Zodiac : Finest Quality Shirt Makers

Brand : Zodiac

Company: Zodiac clothing

Ad Agency: FCB Ulka

Zodiac is India's premium and one of the oldest brands in

the readymade menswear category. The company started off as an exporting firm
launched Zodiac in the domestic market in late 80's. In the Indian readymade menswear
category which is estimated to be around 6000 crore, Zodiac have a market share of 17
% in the branded premium category.

Zodiac as a brand is promoted very subtly. You seldom see the campaigns in mass
media. But if you read magazines, you are not going to miss the ads either in the back
cover or inside cover. The ads are crafted in similar format and
without any celebrities or fantasies, it is shirt all the way.

Zodiac is positioned as shirts from "Finest Quality Shirt

Makers". The core qualities of the product are the unmatched
quality and the designing. Zodiac follows the design and retail
focus. The shirts which are available across the globe take fashion
cues from the west and the designers back in India puts it into the
shirts.

Zodiac targets at the upwardly mobile executives and is still sticking to the traditional
concept of formal wear. Not wanting to lag behind the emergence of new breakaway
categories, Zodiac launched its club wear brand ZOD! in 2002. Zodiac have also an
impressive range of Ties where it have captured a commanding position in that
category. Zodiac have maintained its positioning through these years as World's finest
shirt makers.But with the competition taking the categories and discovering new
categories, Zodiac cannot afford to be silent. The brand needs larger doses of
promotion to survive in the Indian market.

Allen Solly : My World , My Way

Brand : Allen Solly

Company : Madura Garments

Ad Agency : Ogilvy

Allen Solly is a brand that changed the dressing habits of Indian executives. Launched
in 1993, Allen Solly attained a near cult status in a highly competitive readymade market
within a short period of time.

Allen Solly's heritage dates back to 1744 when this brand was created by William
Hollins & Co . In 1990, the brand was taken over by Madura Garments which launched
it in India in 1993. Madura Garments which was looking for an unconventional brand
targeting young professionals found a fitting brand in Allen Solly.

Allen Solly launched office wears in colored shirts and Khaki trousers which became an
instant hit. For the first time, Indian consumers were exposed to the idea of relaxed
formals. Indian consumers took the bait and rushed to color coordinate their wardrobe
with enthusiasm.

The brand further reinforced its cult status with the launch of wrinkle free cottons and
checked formal shirts. The young restless generation lapped up the unconventional
formals and used it as an expression of their personal freedom.

In 2009, the brand went for a repositioning exercise. Allen Solly found that there is a
shift in the demographics of the target segment. While the workforce of 1990s were
predominantly of the age group of 26 +, now youngsters of age 22-23 yrs have started
entering the workforce. The brand wanted to be more relevant to the new young
working class. Also the brand somehow wanted to attract consumers beyond the
workplace. The worldview of the young consumers have also changed. Earlier success
in life was measured based on work. But now the success is more holistic . Allen Solly
wanted to reflect this change of perspective of the young consumers.

This thinking prompted the brand to change its positioning from a work-wear to a
fashion brand. The brand positioned itself as a casual brand for all occasions.
To reflect the change in positioning, the brand changed its brand campaigns. In 2009,
the brand launched its famous "I Hate Ugly " campaign targeting the youth.

The basic proposition was to reflect the irreverent, non-compromising attitude of

youngsters towards life. This in-your- face communication struck a chord with the
consumers and critics and the brand was able to break the earlier association of the
brand as a formal wear.

The brand created a big noise in the market with I Hate Ugly campaign and it will be
interesting to see how the brand carries forward the momentum.

Allen Solly also changed the tagline to " My World , My Way " to reflect the new
brand proposition. My World, My Way reflects the strong individualistic view of the
youngsters who own their world and create their own rules.

In a way, the brand has completely shed its earlier DNA. No

longer the brand is associated with formal wears. The brand
literally exited the category of relaxed formal wears which it
has created.

In the new avatar, Allen Solly is targeting the ever- fickle

young generation whose concept of fashion changes by the
day. The brand has identified a gap for a premium fashion brand specifically targeting
this segment. Although brands like Levi's have a strong equity in the market, there is a
gap for a player like Allen Solly.

Allen Solly's repositioning is a loss to the generation who saw the Friday Dressing
avatar of this brand. Lets us hope that Allen Solly will repeat what it has done to the
Work-wear market in 1993.