Century falls for women power

Century, the heritage apparel brand, best remembered as a bare-bodied man carrying a globe on his head will soon show its feminine side.

Century Textiles and Industries Ltd, part of the Mumbai-based BK Birla Group, plans to launch a cotton based women's wear formal brand. It will also foray into denim wear in three-four months.

The women's brand would have a line up of both ethnic and western formal wear, while the denim brand will target both men and women.

"We are yet to decide the names for the new brands, but expect the launch to happen in three to four months. The new brands will be initially be available in select exclusive brand outlets before gaining a wider footprint through the other exclusive brand outlets and multi-brand outlets," said Subrata Siddhanta, business head (apparel division), Century Textiles and Industry.

The brands are expected to be priced in the same category as the present men's wear brand, Cottons by Century (Rs 495-1495 range). The women's brand is expected to also appeal to both the working woman and the housewife who are seeking value for money for a quality product.

The company presently has 67 exclusive brand outlets, to which it plans to add another 30 EBO's by the end of the financial year. It is also available in about 140 multi brand outlets, a number that is likely to cross the 300

mark by the year end.

While 80 per cent of the firm's apparel realisations come from EBO's, 15 per cent come from MBO's, the remaining comes through other channels such as e-business. Company officials expect the share of MBO's to jump to 35-40 per cent within a year.

Among the cities that are coming on to Century's apparel radar are Calicut, Mussorie, Dehra Dun, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. The company will also increase its presence in larger cities as part of a two-pronged strategy to increase its footprint.

"In big cities, we will have between five to eight stores, while in the smaller cities we will add two to three stores. You need to have a multi-store presence in every place you set foot to gather a certain critical mass for profitability," said Siddhanta.

Siddhanta added that the company had to double its retail presence every year for atleast the next three years to be able to survive in what would become a crowded marketplace. The apparel division of Century posted a turnover of Rs 24 crore (Rs 240 million) in 2005-06, which is expected to double in the current financial year.

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