In a bold move to change India’s fashion scene, the Aditya Birla Group is aiming to make four of its flagship lifestyle brands—Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England—into billion-dollar companies in a decade. This dream follows a trend of increased fashion awareness, higher discretionary incomes and a structural transition from unbranded to branded garments in the nation.
While international giants such as Louis Vuitton, Nike, Chanel and Adidas have already made it into multi-billion-dollar clubs, no Indian fashion house has managed to do so yet. Currently, Louis Philippe and Van Heusen top Rs. 2,000 crore (US $ 232 million) in annual sales each, while Allen Solly and Peter England top Rs. 1,000 crore (US $ 116 million). To put things into perspective, Gautam Singhania-owned Raymond does over Rs. 3,000 crore (US $ 349 million) in annual sales.
Aditya Birla ventured into fashion in 1999, when it bought the four brands of British company Coats. Since then, the company has seen a succession of structural changes—starting in Indian Rayon, then Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail and now as Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, which debuted in the stock market on Monday.
Kumar Mangalam, group chairman, said that their aspiration is to create India’s first portfolio of fashion and lifestyle billion-dollar brands, adding that they want to scale up domestic brands to international levels. Originally in menswear, all four brands have since expanded into womenswear, footwear, handbags and accessories in order to access a wider consumers’ base.
With the Indian fashion market expected to grow to US $ 170 billion by 2030—1.5 times its size today—Aditya Birla Group finds huge scope for expansion. The global preference for branded clothing continues, says the company, creating an incredible opportunity for its lifestyle business to attain worldwide scale.
