Founded in 2006, Latin Quarters is a premium westernwear brand that has consistently embodied style and quality for modern women. Dedicated to championing size inclusivity, the brand is focused on representing real women in an authentic manner, adhering to their motto, Real Fit, Real You.
The brand’s collection features a diverse range of casualwear and occasionwear, all crafted in contemporary designs, ensuring that every woman can find her true self in their clothing.
With a presence in more than 300 stores spanning across 100 cities in India, Latin Quarters demonstrates its core strength, which lies in its profound understanding of its customer base. The brand targets Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities across India, specifically focusing on individuals aged between 28 and 35 years of age.
“We work on our collections based on the four main seasons of India, making garments that are transitional and widely available for the customers. We focus on curating pieces starting with Spring, leading to Summer. Then for the second half of the year, we focus on Fall that transitions to Winter.” Deepika, Design Head of Latin Quarters |
Apparel Resources (AR) spoke to Rahul Bhalla, Co-Founder and CEO of Latin Quarters and Deepika, who is the Design Head of the brand to understand the secret behind the brand’s success across demographics and markets as well as the strategies adopted by the brand to stand out in an era that exposes consumers to a plethora of options.
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT AND PRICING
Within the company, a dynamic team is hard at work crafting the latest global trends and disseminating an ever-evolving collection to a vast network of retail outlets.
At the same time, the breadth and diversity of Latin Quarters collection ensure that customers always have an opportunity to discover pieces that complement their personal style.
“We have a product line encompassing accessories, bags, apparel and more all of which start at a reasonable price point. Our products range from a starting point of Rs.300 going up to Rs.4,500 or more, based on the category of product,” Deepika, Design Head of Latin Quarters told AR in an exclusive interview.
Latin Quarters offers tops and trousers from Rs.1500 onwards; dresses starting from Rs.2500 onwards; jackets pegged onwards of Rs.3000 and coats priced onwards of Rs. 4000. On the accessories front, the brand offers an exciting collection of handbags that retail upwards of Rs.1999 and jewellery that are priced Rs.299 onwards.
TECHNIQUES AND DETAILS
As a brand, Latin Quarters utilises a blend of distinctive locally sourced fabrics, prints and trims to curate its products and ensure that it maintains an edge over its counterparts. Overtime, the brand’s reputation has solidified on its ability to provide silhouettes and fabrics that resonate with the preferences of its valued customers.
Commenting on the same, Rahul Bhalla, Co-Founder and CEO of Latin Quarters told AR, “Over the last many years, we have identified the science behind selling a dress to the modern Indian woman. What makes us stand out is the price point, which is available and affordable for every woman across metropolitans as well as in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.”
“We use technology at every step of the process. We utilise Retail Pro for Operations Management, CAD in Designing, Uniware for Inventory Management, Artificial Intelligence in stores to gauge footfall.” Rahul Bhalla, Co-Founder and CEO of Latin Quarters |
“A large part of our business is through dresses, having cracked the code for providing western styles tailored to ‘fit’ the women of the subcontinent,” he added.
Furthermore, the brand is a staunch advocate for size inclusivity, providing an extensive range of products available in sizes ranging from XS to XXXL which ensure that women of diverse body sizes as well as proportions are well-catered for.
On the design front, the brand aims to redefine trends for every Indian woman while keeping inclusivity at its core. As per Deepika, it achieves this by taking “inspiration from global trends and customising them as per Indian sensibilities to keep our collection afresh. Each season, we go back to the drawing board and analyse the trends for the season to see what customers across the country and the world are loving.”
Furthermore, Rahul stated that Latin Quarters is striving to create fashion parity for modern Indian women by aiming “to reinvent trends as per the Indian body type and sensibilities while being inclusive. Our goal is to provide fashion that is tailored to ‘fit’ the women across cities in India, keeping in mind the cultural and social impact and changes every region has.”
MANUFACTURING AND SOURCING
Founded in 2006, Latin Quarters is led by a dedicated team of over 500 employees, with its headquarters situated in Delhi. The brand also opts to outsource its manufacturing processes, all within the Delhi region.
In terms of fabrics, the brand’s primary focus revolves around mill-made fabrics, including rayons, cottons, viscose, BSY Moss and circular knits in lurex and shimmer varieties that are, in part, created in collaboration with external vendors, and are in part, also created by them in-house.
The brand is a staunch advocate for size inclusivity, providing an extensive range of products available in sizes ranging from XS to XXXL which ensure that women of diverse body sizes as well as proportions are well-catered for. |
When it comes to sourcing of their raw materials and fabrics, the brand predominantly selects hubs and regions renowned for their textile expertise, with a focus on Surat, Tiripur in South India and Ludhiana in North India for winterwear materials. This strategic approach ensures Latin Quarters can consistently provide high-quality fabrics and materials to its discerning clientele.
COLLECTION AND RANGE PLANNING
“We work on our collections based on the four main seasons of India, making garments that are transitional and widely available for the customers. We focus on curating pieces starting with Spring, leading to Summer. Then for the second half of the year, we focus on Fall that transitions to Winter,” Deepika explained, commenting on the number of collections and drops Latin Quarters comes out within a year.
Following a cycle of 15 days for replenishment, the brand stocks its inventory at warehouses located in Manesar, Haryana and other places within India.
AR: What are your thoughts on the consumer’s shift in perception from quantity to quality?
Rahul: Today’s consumers have a higher affinity for product as well as material knowledge, which makes them conscious users. Every purchase is an awareness driven choice made by the consumers. Consumers are also opting for pieces that are ‘timeless’ and ‘transitional’, giving priority to styling over ‘obsession buying’. AR: What, according to you, is driving consumption in fashion categories in the Indian market? Rahul: As per our understanding of the fashion retail segment, the need for versatility and fast fashion is a major driver for consumption in today’s retail landscape. AR: What according to you, are the prints, silhouettes and styles that are in trend this season? Deepika: When it comes to prints, what we can expect this season are Chintzy florals, optical illusion, modern vintage, nature bloom. When it comes to styles for the season, the focus will largely be on classic tailoring, boudoir detailing and high-octane sequins. |
For online selling, Latin Quarters is available across all prominent e-commerce platforms such as Myntra, Amazon, NykaaFashion, Ajio and Tata Cliq.
When asked about the brand’s future retail expansion and line expansion plans, Rahul said, “Currently, we are in the process of launching a new line for the Gen Z audience at an affordable price point. The age range that we are looking at will be between 18 to 25. Additionally, we plan on adding more categories like footwear, hair accessories, scarves, hats in the near future.”
With the rise of AI and tech in the fashion industry, it’s becoming almost impossible to not embrace these tools to enhance productivity and business and Latin Quarters is taking the lead by embracing such technologies to expand its operations.
“We use technology at every step of the process. We utilise Retail Pro for Operations Management, CAD in designing, Uniware for Inventory Management, Artificial Intelligence in stores to gauge footfall,” Rahul highlighted.
He further stated, “We aspire to take Latin Quarters to new heights and make it India’s leading womenswear brand with expansion across all cities of India. Currently we have over 400 sales points in the country and we partner with prominent outlets such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and Pantaloons.”
“We also aim at launching a sub-brand under Latin Quarters that will focus on the younger audience,” Rahul concluded.