li ning brand debut

T R E N D S | M A R K E T I N G | R E T A I L I N G

DEcEMbER 2014 | VOL. 6 | NO. 12 | `100 | US$20An Images Group Publicationwww.shoesandaccessories.in

Advent of E-Commerce and how retailers must adapt

E-CommErCE SpECial

JAKARTAFASHION WEEK

SOpHIA pREmJEE

A week in pictures

CII to corroborate with AIFMRATata Int’l launches Aersoles

Now a shoe-networking website

LI-NINgBrand Debut

TRENDS

News Watch

Changing role of bags

footnotE

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March 18-20, 2015 | Mumbai | India

Dec 14.indd 2-3 12/19/2014 2:08:09 PM

E ditor’s LetterLast month of the year brings cheer and a certain festive spirit that is undeniable and immersive. What also is a big trend for the past few years is holiday shopping for family and loved ones. This makes for a busy time for retailers as they entice the buyers with every trick in the book. From year-end discounts, to EMIs, from shopping carnivals to attractive freebies, there is no stone left unturned to vie for the wallet share of the Indian consumer.

Take the Indian e-commerce industry for instance. They pulled all plugs in the last few weeks to move the inventory to their buyers and what a job they did of that! It is the golden period of e-commerce here as more and more investors are plugging in funds to get a chunk of the fattening pie. But what does it mean for the brick-and-mortar retailers? How fast should they adapt to not be lost in the crowd? More importantly, how will the Indian consumer reshape himself by the advent of e-commerce? These and many more are questions that we seek to answer in this year’s final cover story.

December is, for us, all about sexy heels, cool sunglasses, dapper watches and a barrage of other accessories. Walk with us to see what suave accessories are accomplices of style this winter season.

One of South Asia’s biggest fashion and trade event, The Jakarta Fashion Week, concluded this month. We have shortlisted the trends, designs, patterns and hues that turned heads and were the talk of the town… for you. Have a dekko and get inspired.

The Chinese major sportswear brand, Li Ning, opened its first in a series of stores in Delhi and it immediately caught our attention. We spoke to the brand to understand their plans for India, what their unique proposition is and how they are going to take on American and European competition head-on. We can’t wait for you to read it.

From the monthly round-up of industry news to a tête-à-tête with Sophia Premjee of Lord’s, from the firsthand report of the Agra Leather, Footwear, Components Fair to understanding the success mantra of Inc. 5, read it all here in the December 2014 issue of Shoes & Accessories!

From the entire team of S&A, here’s wishing you a MErry CHrISTMAS and a Very HAPPy NEW yEAr!

AMITABH TANEJAEditor-in-Chief

12) The Month That Was | Updates: India | International | Sq. Ft. | Brand Debut

32) Produc Watch | Launch Trends | Heel the World

48) So Hot | Accessories Trends | Your Access to Accessories

58) Brand Debut | Li Ning | Enter the Dragon

62) The Shoot | Expressions | All that’s right with Heels

84) Cover Story | E-Commerce | Bricks and clicks

96) Industry Speak | Reliance Footprint | Footprints of Success

102) Brand Watch | Crocs | Croc it off!

106) Research | Bags & Wallets | More than a necessity: The changing role of bags and wallets

112) Reasearch | Accessories | The Fashion Accessories Market in India

124) Industry Speak | Meet at Agra | A-fair for Agra

128) Footnote | Sophia Premjee | Lady of Lord’s

Cover Courtesy: Shutterstock

ContentDecember 2014

84

59

106

128

Cover Story-E-commerce Special

Brand Debut-Li Ning

Research-Bags & Wallets

Foot

note

-Sop

hia

Pre

mje

e Ad IndexWoodland

Inside Front Cover

Alberto Torresi

Inside Back Cover

Alberto Torresi

Back Cover

ISAF

Front Gate Fold

Brand Page No.Woly 5

Hidesign 7

Top Grain 9

Bellini 11

Provogue 15

Egoss 17

Famizi (Innovation) 19

Brand Page No.Banish 21

Derby 23

Hitz 25

Helios 27

Happy Feet 29

Zebba 35

Bonjour 37

Brand Page No.FDDI 39

Year Book 41

I-Pad 56

Li Ning 57

Expo Riva 95

S&A 111

Subscription 127

30 SHOES & ACCESSORIESdecember 2014

the month that wasStore Opening

What: INC 5 opens an R-City Store in MumbaiLocation: GhatkoparArea: 1843 sq. feetProduct range: Men’s speciality store housing casual brands like Skechers, Aerosoles, Estd 1977, Franco Leone, Privo, Egoss, Alberto Toressi to premium brands such as Atesber, Roush, Famozi and Aura. Price points for men’s range from `1990 to `13000.Catchment area and target audience- The new store in Ghatkopar is primarily targeting and the plush corporate township of Powai. These are all with middle to high disposable incomes. Price range: Women- `1,190 `5,000Men- from `1,990 - `13,000Retail Presence: The brand, Inc. 5, was formed to fulfill the gap catering to the 16-35 years old segment, by designing trendy footwear. After starting from a small 100-sq feet

store in Heera Panna Shopping Arcade in Mumbai, the brand has grown to 255 shop-in-shops, and 48 stores pan India. Fixtures, Props and Graphics: We believe in a clean straight-line look as far as store designs are concerned. In this particular format, being our second of its kind store, after the men’s speciality giant store at South Extension Part 2, it’s also made keeping in mind brand justice done due to every brand where each brand is given a slat wall to display its product according to their brand beliefs and vision and their own props and Visual Merchandising materials to give the shopper a wholesome feel.Future Plans: To open more stores specializing in men’s footwear after the phenomenal success of the first of its kind in the country under our brand name!

INC 5 – MuMbaI

31SHOES & ACCESSORIESdecember 2014

What: Li Ning Opens its new store in New DelhiLocation: South Extension Product range: The brand first started with Li Ning equipment, then performance shoes (badminton and tennis). Now they have also got into the lifestyle category about two months back. Now they are also getting into bags.Target audience: Since the brand is projecting a lifestyle look more than the sports/athletic look, the target audience is the youth of the country who are fashion forward. Price range: Shoes: `3,000 – `4,000 Floaters and flip-flops: `1,000 – `2,000.Retail Presence: Li Ning is a brand that has

changed the ecosystem of the market. It’s a typical multinational Chinese brand. And is catching exceedingly fast with the big players of the sports footwear industry. The first store in India opened in Imphal, second was in Rajouri Garden, Delhi, third one was about five weeks ago in South Extension, Delhi. The fourth one is opening shortly on MG Road, Delhi. Three stores are lined up for Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Future Plans: In near future, the brand will look to explore Mumbai-Pune region, Chennai, Chandigarh, Punjab. According to Li Ning, these pockets are extremely important for them to initiate a cascading effect to reach out to smaller markets.

LI NINg – New DeLhI

Untitled-3 1 12/19/2014 1:09:30 PM


the month that wasBrand Debut

DragonEnter The

When in 1990, Chinese gymnast, Li Ning, founded a sports shoe company, little would he have imagined that the brand would grow to become one of the sports footwear industry’s

behemoths. And now the Chinese dragon has entered Indian shores and is flexing its muscles. S&A spoke to Ram Malhotra (Head: International Brands-Indo Rubber & Plastic

Works) & Vikas Bagga (Sr. Brand Consultant), on what tailor-made plans the brand has for the India, its tier-2 regions and the challenges it foresees in the market.


Q: Tell us something about the brand.Ram: Li Ning is a brand that has changed the ecosystem of the market. It’s an exceptional MNC Chinese brand that is catching exceedingly fast with the big players of the sports footwear industry.

After establishing itself in China, the brand has proven itself in Europe, ascertained its entity in parts of US and appointed a licensee in Singapore for the entire Asia Pacific region, which comprises 24 countries, including India. Indo Rubber and Plastic Works ( IRPW), a major sports equipment player in the domestic market acquired Li Ning’s marketing rights for Pan India region. IRPW initiated with Li Ning equipment followed by performance shoes (badminton and tennis). Since past two months we encompassed the lifestyle category. Now, shall introduce the bags category in an aggresive mode.

Q: What is the brand’s, Li Ning, USP? What sets it apart from competition?Vikas: One of the key factors that makes us stand apart is that there is a huge amount of emphasis on not only the design aspect but also on the quality feature, which in our turf is extremely vital for any brand. In terms of manufacturing capabilities, the entire process is performed in-house for the brand in china. Headquartered in Beijing, the factories are based in key pockets of the country. Any licencee who wants to retail the brand’s goods has to source them from these factories under the watchful eye of

Li-Ning International. Even the clothing and bags section of the brand are manufactured in China.

Q: In India will you be concentrating more on lifestyle based shoes or performance based?Ram: The focus will be equally divided. There has been a huge surge in the country for fitness and fitness related products. In India, walking and running shoes are two big categories. For the Indian market, there need to be shoes that can fit in both performance as well as lifestyle categories. the marketing campaigns, internationally, are endorsed by sports as well as fashion icons, which would reflect in the promotions in the indian context, too.

Q: Internationally, which famous athletes the brand has been associated with?Vikas: Li Ning has a large number of atheletes endorsing it globally-Badminton: Jwala Gutta, Pv Sindhu, K. Srikanth, Chen Long & Li-xuerie .

Few others are: Marin Cilic-Tennis, Christian Taylor-Triple Jump, Yelena Isinbaeya -Pole vaulter, Emilia & Erika Nyström-Beach volley Queens, Evan Turner-Basketball.

Q: India as a market is already quite set in terms of performance shoe category (we have the three big players who have been in India for more than a decade). How is Li Ning going to make a mark?

Ram Malhotra, Head: International Brands- Indo Rubber & Plastic Works

Vikas Bagga, Senior Consultant

Ram: A new entrant, like Li Ning, has to look at its positioning very closely. We shall tailor mark the brand presence in terms of its design, look, feel or pricing to create the brands aura & market share. The pie is certainly big enough for another player to have a piece. As we all know, there is a higher disposable income with the target audience, it would help a new player to acquire a decent wallet-share if it addresses the consumers needs. It then needs to work towards retaining those customers while expanding the customer base.

There is also a trend with the consumers to experiment and not be rigid in terms of what they want from a brand. We are very clear as a brand in terms of strategy, positioning, price points, visibility to catch the fancy of the lead customers, who have a big influence in their peer groups. We have a distinct price advantage with which the customers will be able to flaunt something new & trendy –without compromising on the quality that they demand.

Q: What are the price points of the various ranges that Li Ning offers? Vikas: Currently the merchandise is in the range of `3000-4000. The floaters are priced at `2000 & Flip flops under `1000. The open footwear or floaters are our hot-sellers.

Q: From the advertising perspective, how is Li Ning as a brand going to be projected?Ram: Essentially it will be a lifestyle look. But we are very clear that this projection will be product centric. The celebrities who are on board to endorse the brand will be a part of the events circle. We work very closely with sports or events associations. We have, in the past, been associated with the Indian Badminton League, Thomas & Uber Cup and now also sponsors for Badminton World Fedration (BWF). For the larger populace, we will be looking at social media, amongst other channels, for digital marketing.

Q: How much of the marketing budget will be BTL?Ram: We are looking towards working with college fests and other events for the sports category. There is a look-and-feel that is typical to such events, where we set up our stall for an experiential for our prospective consumers.

Q: What will be your biggest challenge in India?Vikas: One of the biggest challenge is that there are a multitude of players giving stiff competition. The market suffers severe undercutting during different seasons in different regions. Therefore, for a new brand to enter the market, it is imperative to have

the month that wasBrand Debut


A new brAnd, like Li NiNg, has to Look at its positioNiNg very closely. it could be in terms of its design, its look And feel or it could be in terms of its pricing And whAt the brAnd’s chAnnel strAtegy is going to be. the pie is big eNough for aNother pLayer to have a piece.--Ram G. Malhotra


different channel partners to contribute towards the upkeep of the brand equity. There is also a desire to make a chain of retail stores. The rising retail costs and operating expenses are still quite high in India; that is also a big challenge.

Q: Much of your target audience is active on digital and social media. What is your strategy to engage the target consumers through these channels? How has the response been so far?Vikas: Its imperative that we have to capture the attention of the consumers thru all means & channels. The company had certain amount of online experience but the next big phase is to reach the target audience through popular e-commerce channels, namely Amazon, Myntra, Jabong and Snapdeal. They extend a huge retail platform and visibility that would help a brand reach every nook and cranny of the country. So far, the response has been good but it is too early to tell–it has been only four weeks. We are in talks with the above-mentioned sites to have dedicated Li Ning e-stores.

Having said that I would like to reiterate - the entire game of taking the brand to the masses has changed over the past three years and we understand that digital and social media would play a critical role in the brand’s share of voice.

Q: How did the first store come about in Imphal?Ram: Imphal is a very interesting pick for the first store as fashion picks up really well in this part of the country. Also, we were aware that the receptivity in terms of pricing would be positive in North-East. We know by experience that market reacts very positively to anything fashionable and to do with lifestyle.

Q: What is the way forward for Li-Ning? Ram: The way forward for the brand is take a cue from what is happening in China and elsewhere. We are setting up exclusive stores, the first one was opened in Imphal, second & third were in Rajouri Garden & South Extension, Delhi; The ones in pipeline are at MG Road, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Next we would explore in Mumbai-Pune region, Chennai, Chandigarh & Punjab. These pockets are extremely important to initiate a cascading effect to reach out to smaller markets.

for A new brAnd to enter the mArket, it is imperative to have differeNt chaNNeL partNers to contribute towArds the upkeep of the brAnd equity. there is aLso a desire to make a chaiN of retaiL stores.

– Vikas Bagga

li ning brand debut

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