ColorPlus Fashions Limited | Online Data Tranfers

Market
Relaxed and informal corporate dressing in India was largely the domain of synthetic blends till ColorPlus arrived on the scene in 1993. Before ColorPlus clothing paradigms changed the way Indians dress for work and business, one shunned cotton garments for lack of an elegant crease. They looked scruffy within a few hours. Cottons shrank too. Their colours ran and faded after a few washes. ColorPlus foresaw the role of a sartorial pioneer for itself in changing all these traditional traits of cotton clothing forever. Its remarkable success in reinventing cotton based dressing for work ( and off it ) has made it a remarkable sartorial pioneer.

It has created a new style of cotton–based clothing that is elegant as well as comfortable, and epitomizes the very ethics of contemporary values at the work-place. ColorPlus’s remarkable success with smart cottons opened up a whole new market segment.

Achievements
ColorPlus pioneered the concept of smart cotton casuals in India. But for this to achieve it was necessary to produce cotton garments of such superior quality that they would transcend the inherent deficiencies of cotton. This was a tall order as it meant acquiring superior raw materials,which in turn meant that the finished product would have to be offered to the consumer at a very steep price.So the challenge before ColorPlus was to source quality raw material, design superior products and then create a market for it while maintaining a competitive price tag.

Impediments were numerous and surfaced at every stage of the new endeavour. Indian mills, geared to making quality cotton fabrics only for export, were unwilling to produce short runs for a little known company. ColorPlus, however, persuaded a couple of international suppliers to offer fabric to ColorPlus-at a stiff premium, of course! The next hurdle was to get the product to the consumer, at a price for cottons never

before seen in India. Another problem was disinclination of stores to sport expensive cotton garments of an unknown brand from an unknown company. But more disappointing was the absence of outlets that would provide the desired ambience to showcase the ColorPlus range.

Making a virtue out of necessity, ColorPlus decided to open its own retain outlets. To begin with a small outlet was opened at the crossing of Poonamallee High Road and New Avadi Road in Chennai, on November 3rd,1993. It took another two years for the first full-blown ColorPlus studio to come up in Bangalore’s fashionable Residency Road on September 7th ,1995. A novelty in store design, this retail outlet, besides becoming an instant hit, became a trendsetter in garment retailing. The warm ambience of tungsten lighting and wooden flooring became de rigeur for garment retail. Consumers found ColorPlus stores a welcome relief from the fluorescent lights and ill-stacked shelves they saw elsewhere. Shopping became fun and the brand’s growth hereafter was explosive. With its brand identity firmly established, ColorPlus, with the objective of faster growth and greater market penetration, shifted to the franchisee, and the ‘store-in-store’ routes, both of which have since become industry features. ColorPlus broke another pattern, that of eliminating the distributor and building its own distribution network of upmarket and financially sound retailers. This way credit period and margins were reduced due to the shorter supply chain and consumers got fresh stock faster. The Colorplus transition from being an unknown player in the menswear retails to a brand to be emulated had been swift.

When ColorPlus was launched, sceptical industry pundits had predicted a swift demise for the brand. Today ColorPlus is an international brand selling in more than 180 locations across India as well as South and West Asia. Global giants have also taken note of ColorPlus pioneering effort. When fabric majors Dupont and 3M decided to bring their wrinkle-free and stain-free fabric to India, they chose ColorPlus to launch the products, the rest of the market would be sure to follow.

History
ColorPlus is the brainchild of Viju Mahtaney and Rajan Mudaliar who were determined to create a global brand for the global Indian. Backed by two decades of experience in manufacturing garments for major international labels and recognising a virgin market opportunity, they took a pioneering step that became a trailblazer. The founders were confident that given their core competence in manufacturing and understanding fabric, they could create a global brand of even better quality than being offered by international majors. Right from the beginning, the company was clear on two basic premises: ColorPlus would target the up market, trend-savvy, highly exposed Indian consumer and that the brand would compete with international majors.

Attracted by the potential of Colorplus, 75-year old suiting giant Raymond acquired a majority stake in the company in February 2003. This strategic partnership has facilitated quicker retail expansion of the brand. It has also helped the young brand leapfrog into the global arena.

Product
At the core of ColorPlus success is the product. From the very beginning product innovation and product enhancement have been the ColorPlus corporate mantra.

Not surprisingly the consumer has always associated the ColorPlus brand with quality, fit and vibrant colours.

When ColorPlus was launched, international fashion trends were clearly heading towards cotton casuals but the Indian premium segment found the ‘lived-in’ look, popular in the West at the time, too radical for their tastes. So, in response to consumer preferences, ColorPlus introduced a cleaner, sharper, casual look, and thereby displaced the ‘fashionably shabby’ look of the West. ColorPlus launch also coincided with the beginning of the tech boom in India. The new generation of young, wired, ’techie’ consumers wanted a sharper, crisper wardrobe at the workplace.

The company’s R & D team, after 18 months of trial and error, brought out an innovative range of wrinkle-free Chinos in 1996. Indeed, at that time very few international brands were able to offer this option.

The range took the market by storm and went on to become an industry standard. Again the higher priced Purple Club in finer count cottons and traditional favourites like Irish Linen and Giza Cotton were developed to cater to the upper end consumers who demanded a ‘smarter,smart casual’ product. Sales soared, and so did consumer's expectations. They were now able to buy enzyme-washed shirts and quality chinos without having to travel abroad. But the ever-growing brand of ColorPlus regulars wanted more - and the brand rose to the challenge. The lowly khaki, until then considered a down-market fabric, meant for police uniforms, became the next fashion statement. But not content to sit on its laurels, the ColorPlus team continued to stay ahead of consumer expectations. A slew of product enhancement followed. While features like cross-stitched, lock–stitched buttons and fuseable thread to wrap the shank required heavy investments in machinery it solved the age-old problem of ‘popped buttons’.

Recent Developments
Continuing the tradition of continuous innovation, ColorPlus introduced the ‘cone-dyed’ process to traditional ‘Madras Checks’, thereby ensuring colourfastness of the fabric while retaining the look and feel of the garment. It has joined hands with thread major Coats Plc to jointly develop and market Koban Plus, a special three-ply thread with a polycore wrapped in cotton. This has facilitated ColorPlus wrinkle-free garments to withstand high temperature processes and enzyme washes without weakening the threads. ColorPlus is also one of the world’s few licensees of Supima cotton garments, which has been branded as the world’s best cotton. ColorPlus is using this in it’s top-end range.

Product innovations have followed in quick successions. The golf ball wash collection, travel and adventure wear for the inveterate traveller and leather garments, underwear and accessories are testimony to ColorPlus’ innovating spirit.

After demonstrating how cotton is king, ColorPlus took to redefining wool. Targeting cold winters in northern India, it took super-fine merino wool and gave it never before shrink resistant qualities. It has also introduced ‘total easy care’ and ‘machine washable’ wool – two more firsts.

Promotion
The product concept of smart casual wear was a new idea and the company had gone to the extent of developing its own definition of sizing and fit. For the innovative benefits to be clearly communicated it was essential for the product to be the hero. This is what shaped the ColorPlus advertising strategy. Today, ten years later it remains unchanged.

Not only has ColorPlus advertising been innovative, it has been remarkably effective too. The number of advertising awards testifies to this – Best Brand Building Advertising, Best Press Campaign, Best Retail Advertising Campaign, Best Multimedia Campaign and Best Photography.

Belief in its products and in its ability to command a premium price for them has enabled ColorPlus to take an unwavering stance against promotional pricing. So there are no ColorPlus sales, no price-offs

gimmicks.The consumer pays the full price for an arguably premium product – and keeps coming back for more – often standing outside the store before opening time, clutching a ColorPlus ad, waiting to buy a released product.

Brand Values
ColorPlus’ core brand value is constant product innovation. Its aim is to create a product that has never been offered in the market and to do it on a continuing basis. The product has always occupied centre stage in everything the company does. The brand positioning, the up gradations, the marketing focus, the technological development… all of it is driven by the product, which is unique, commands a premium price, engenders enviable brand loyalty and is one of India’s most remarkable success stories.

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