‘Indian Consumers Are Very Aspirational’

UK-based Mary Turner, CEO, KOOVS Group, talks to BW Businessworld about the company’s target of driving affordable western fashion in India through Koovs.com. Excerpts:

What is Koovs.com planning for the Indian market this summer?
Koovs.com is an online western fashion destination for the style conscious young Indian consumer. This year, we are launching new categories to complement our women’s wear, menswear, accessories and shoes ranges. We recently launched K-Denim, which will be followed by leisure wear, fashion basics and work wear. We are here to provide our customers the style categories to meet their fashion needs. We have already seen great traction and our aim is to become well-known for western fashion in India.

How is India benefitting from your global expertise?
First and foremost we are bringing trend-led affordable western fashion that is inspired by the catwalks of the world and designed exclusively in London. Our team of expert designers have a unique understanding of the western high street and online fast-fashion. Robert Bready, chief creative officer, was the person credited with having created the ASOS fashion collection for over eight years and was responsible for reinventing River Island from its original Chelsea Girl roots and also establishing Topshop as a men’s brand in the UK. As the company is floated on the Alternative Investment Market in London, we combine the rigour and governance of a UK-listed company with the deep operational and market expertise of our operations in India.

Why is India so compelling for you?
India has the largest youth population in the world with median age of 27 verses 40 in the UK. These consumers are very aspirational, technology savvy and connected to western style and culture. The retail market here is different to the UK, organised retail is limited and therefore, the potential for e-commerce is significant.

What are your plans for growth and investment in India?
Our aims are threefold — extend products into new categories such as denim, leisure and work wear; enhance engagement with customers through technology and media across all three platforms, and finally to amplify our brand position through marketing across multiple platforms. We have as a phased investment plan to achieve our goals and are confident of that we will be able to take the business to significant scale and 10 per cent market share by 2018 and profitability in 2019.