Louis Philippe Sub Brands Marketing Essay

Louis Philippe Sub Brands Marketing Essay Louis Philippe was launched in India in 1989. Celebrating the sophistication of the Indian gentleman, Louis Philippe garments establish that their wearer is a man of infallible taste and class. The brands Franco-Italian lineage, combined with its focus on global fashion gives it indisputable premium and an exclusive image. Today, Louis Philippe is a brand leader in formal and quasi-formal wear. The embellished Crest is a sign that the wearer of a Louis Philippe wardrobe has truly arrived. Today, the Crest is prized even more for its focus on luxury, exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail, establishing that its wearer is truly a member of The Upper Crest. The comfort and perfection of the clothing is also evident in their line of elegant shoes, crafted from the finest leather, and their range of innerwear, sourced from the softest cotton. Louis Philippe garments are available at 125 stores, and at the exclusive LP stores created by famous European architect John Marsala. The brand continues to be the leader in retail sales in all leading menswear and department stores. The retail experience is further augmented by Madura Fashion Lifestyles retail chain Planet Fashion. Louis Philippe also launched sub-brands including LP and Luxure. LP by Louis Philippe has an exciting range of shirts, trousers, T-shirts, suits, jackets and accessories to put together a youthful wardrobe. Luxure, the masterpiece collection, was created to deliver sartorial elegance for the refined connoisseur. Louis Philippe recently made a foray into the footwear segment, offering more than 40 exciting designs, in an unparalleled width in the formals market. Louis Philippe sub brands LP by Louis Philippe http://www.madurafnl.com/brands/images/lp_image.jpg Louis Philippe expanded its offering with the launch of a sub-brand in November 2007. LP by Louis Philippe is aimed at young achievers and upscale urbanites, who demand wardrobe versatility. It ascertains the style mantra for todays generation.   Formals finally get what they have always deserved: style, attitude and panache. The new age formals with hidden styling detail in every single garment: a coloured gusset on the side seam, an innovative trim, or a unique fabric wash. Half the battle is already won with the all-occasion LP wardrobe. Priding itself on being the trendsetter for the cool, stylishly spirited confident youngster who lives today with a confident eye on tomorrow, LP is the brand for those who are in a hurry to make a mark in this world, but will not compromise on either their values or on fun, en route.   The LP line has an exciting range of shirts, trousers, T-shirts, suits, jackets and accessories to put together a youthful wardrobe. Crafted with love and passion, and a fine eye for detail, the collection has been designed by ThincTank New York, a group of ace designers from New York, and the Design laboratory at Bangalore. With two trendy fits in shirts and denims, four styles in trousers and three in suits and jackets, the LP range provides ample options for customising a wardrobe to individual preferences.   Luxure Inspired by Louis Philippe, a monarch of another age, and Art Nouveau, an artistic movement of an era gone by, brand Louis Philippe was born in the United Kingdom in 1965.   A lyrical ode to the tailor, artist, craftsman, all rolled into one, Louis Philippe celebrates the craft of the artisan in true Art Nouveau style. Louis Philippe test-launched the Luxure brand in select stores across India in November 2008. Created to deliver sartorial elegance for the refined connoisseur, the masterpiece collection strengthens brand Louis Philippes promise to deliver excellence to customers who have an appreciation of the finer things in life. With Luxure, consumers have access to exquisite apparel, consummate craftsmanship, luxurious materials and delicate aesthetics, all core to the values and heritage of Louis Philippe. Louis Philippe footwear http://www.madurafnl.com/brands/images/luxure_shoe.jpg Louis Philippe recently made a foray into the footwear segment, offering more than 40 exciting designs, in an unparalleled width in the formals market. The footwear range includes the Classic, the Dress and the Relaxed product lines for style-conscious, comfort-seeking customers. Louis Philippe shoes have been manufactured with the latest know-how of the Italians, who are known for their fine craftsmanship. Louis Philippe shoes undergo 200 different processes of production excellence in order to craft every single masterpiece. Pure leather has been used for both the outer body and the inner lining. The soles are soft and light; some of them constructed with the lightest wood, Masonite. Leather boards have been introduced in the front and back of the shoe to help retain its elegant shape for a long time. Twin material leather sole helps it to breathe and thereby retain freshness for the feet at all times. In order to provide longevity, technical sole construction is introduced in the shoes. TALKIN ABOUT BRAND BUILDING ACTIVITIES Teeing off Indias richest domestic golf tournament   Louis Philippe is a premium brand synonymous with sophistication, style and success, qualities that are essentially associated with golf as well. And in a perfect match between the Madura Fashion Lifestyle brand and the prestigious sport, Louis Philippe has come to be associated with Indias richest domestic golf tournament, the Louis Philippe Cup, held at the KSA Golf Course, Bangalore, between March 5- 10, 2012.   According to Jacob John, Brand Head, Louis Philippe, fan involvement is a key element of the Louis Philippe Cup. We want to build a platform where true golf fans have a chance to play alongside pros, he adds. Pointing out that the values and qualities of Louis Philippe blend with those of golf, he feels this association with the premier sport is a perfect match, and will help the brand to move up to the next rung in the ladder. The Louis Philippe Cup is creating a buzz in Indias 100,000-strong golf community, which is growing phenomenally. The event promised to tee-off greater interest in the sport, raising its profile across India. Louis Philippe presents DIMENSIONS with Vijay Amritraj Louis Philippe, the premium mens clothing brand, in association with CNN-IBN brings you Dimensions with Vijay Amritraj, a first-of-its-kind show in the history of Indian television. This special series presented by Louis Philippe, will be anchored by the legendary tennis player Vijay Amritraj and will feature the brightest global icons that have mesmerised people across the globe with their magic; from sporting legends and business tycoons to supermodels and Hollywood A-listers. http://www.madurafnl.com/images/dimension_vijay_donald.jpg BUSINESS POTENTIAL AND ENVIRONMENT FACTOR ASSESSMENT A Shirt A Louis Philippe Shirt Functional Emotional/Functional Concrete, Rational Conceptual, Perceived Describes What Describes What Who Generic Unique, Distinct Limited life span Unlimited life span Transaction oriented Relationship oriented Easy to copy Cant be copied Luxury Brand Management Protect clients from non-clients. Luxury brand awareness must be superior to its penetration. An object must always be up to par with its brand. Brand Strategy Source Brand Strategy Endorsing Brand Stategy Analysts said the new sub-brands which were launched as a result of the brand getting extended both to new segments as well as to other product classes like footwear would contribute too much of the projected future growth. Despite the phenomenal growth in the sales, the Louis Philippe brand had been facing some problems. The raw material costs associated with apparel making had increased due to the high rates of inflation which the Indian economy had been facing for some years before 2011. Rupee Depreciation Blues Louis Philippe has stepped up local sourcing and reduced imports to protect it from the rupees vagaries. It imports specialty fabrics, trims, finishing and woven garments from China, Indonesia, Italy and Turkey. Imports account for 25 per cent of its fabric needs. This used to be 35 per cent till a few months ago. With the rupee depreciation, imports have become costlier. We have increased domestic sourcing to reduce dependence on imports. If the rupee behaviour continues, we will reduce imports further, says Jacob John, Brand Head. Specialty fabrics The brand has traditionally sourced from mills in Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. Apart from deepening existing ties, Louis Philippe has now found new suppliers in Kolhapur. Many Italian mills have set up units in Kolhapur, says John. But imports cannot be shunned, given that certain specialty fabrics are hard to find in the country. They need a good balance of local and imported fabrics. We are negotiating with suppliers abroad on the price front. While the rupee depreciation has not affected most apparel brands in the country, as they mainly source locally, premium brands which have a high import content face a margin squeeze. The weak rupee forced Louis Philippe to hike retail prices by Rs 100-200 in July, which marked the start of the autumn-winter season. Price hikes Earlier, Louis Philippe shirts were priced between Rs 1,299 and Rs 3,000. Now, the price range is Rs 1,399-Rs 3,500. With the end-of-season sales hogging the limelight in July-August, the real impact of the price hike will be felt this month onwards. There is an overall sluggishness in the market. Hopefully, the festive season will perk things up. We will continue to expand our retail network aggressively. Says Brand Head. In the last one year alone, Louis Philippe added 50 exclusive stores to take its total tally to 135. Louis Philippe expects to grow 15 per cent and touch a retail turnover of Rs 1,000 crore this year. OVERVIEW These new super premium ranges of branded apparel were priced 100 percent higher than the other existing premium brands in the market. The Louis Philippe brand was also extended to cater to the needs of different customer segments. Louis Philippe entered the luxury market for mens formals with the introduction of the Luxure sub brand. Luxure was very successful and contributed to nearly 15 percent of the total revenues in the stores in which it was introduced. Louis Philippe introduced another sub brand called LP for semi-formal clothing for young customers. It also introduced premium footwear for men in the year 2010. The introduction of new sub brands paid off and the sales of Louis Philippe reached Rs. 6.5 billion for the fiscal year ending March. 2011. But Louis Philippe was also facing some challenges in the form of new players entering the market and an increase in excise duties which increased the price of branded apparel. The question to be asked is whether Louis Philippe wil l be able to sustain its growth momentum in future and what the implications are for marketing. The market for branded readymade mens wear was very limited in India till the early 1980s. The growth rates were also very low. One of the main reasons for this was that Indian men were accustomed to buying cloth and getting it stitched as per their custom body measurements. This practice hindered the emergence of national level brands in the apparel business. The market began to change by the mid-1980s and a small market for branded apparel started to emerge. One of the first entrants into this sector was Madura Coats India; a 51 percent subsidiary of the UK-based JP coats. It entered the ready to wear garments business in India through three divisions: Madura Garments (ready to wear clothing), Coats India (threads division), and Madura Textiles (fabric supplier). Madura Garments was acquired by ABG in the year 2000 and later renamed as Madura Fashion and Lifestyle (Madura FL) The Louis Philippe brand was extended into the footwear segment in April 2010. The entry into the footwear sector was aimed at giving more choice in style and needs to Indian customers in the matter of their footwear. The lack of choice in the Indian footwear market had led to many Indians shopping abroad for their footwear needs. Initially, mens shoes were launched in the formal wear sector with 40 unique designs to choose from. Just like its apparel business, the new footwear was launched in the premium and super-premium segments Continuing its growth momentum, sales of the Louis Philippe brand were expected to reach Rs. 8.50 billion by the fiscal year 2011- 2012.