Birla Cellulose launches Liva Crème fashion fabric
Birla Cellulose of the Aditya Birla Group, is a name synonymous with innovation. The company’s initiatives towards sustainable fashion had seen it come out with the ‘ Liva’ fabric, manufactured from viscose staple fiber, which has been creating ripples in the market right from the day of its launch, a couple of years ago. The company introduced its next innovation – Liva Crème fabric – at its recent ‘LAPF Confluence’ show. Embedded in it is the core promise of Liva, coupled with it are the enhanced features of luxurious fineness and softness.
Liva Crème, the new age fabric from Birla Cellulose, was launched at a glittering function by Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group. Speaking on the occasion, he said: “One of the finest examples of customer centricity within the Group has been our VSF business. From being just product focused, the business has moved superbly to ‘providing solutions’ to customers by working seamlessly with the value chain. LIVA’s end-to-end ecosystem of a high quality product, continuous innovation, the LAPF network and aspiration created by communication and brand engagement is a great case study in consumer focus.”
“I recount that when we set out on this journey, our vision was to create value for the entire value chain of viscose based fabrics. I am so pleased to say that the ecosystem of our LAPF partners has resulted in also placing India on the global map. We are now a preferred sourcing destination of viscose based products. This is truly in the spirit of the ‘Make in India’ initiative of our honourable Prime Minister”, added Mr. Birla.
He went on to compliment the LAPF partners who he said have embellished the product with their experience and expertise.
The event was launched amidst a lot of fanfare and glitterati with Bollywood actress and Liva Crème brand ambassador Kangana Ranaut walking the ramp. Liva Crème fabric – a new variant of Liva fabric – offers consumers the luxurious soft feel which is fluid and natural.
A fashion show held on the occasion modelled exclusive Spring Summer ’17 collections of Allen Solly, Van Heusen Shoppers Stop, Biba and Pantaloons made in Liva Crème fabric.
“It is always our endeavor to offer something new to our customer. Liva Crème fabric has all the attributes of Liva fabric while offering the added benefit of luxurious soft feel. The fabric has found tremendous response from women consumers, as per a research conducted in Mumbai and Delhi. The proposition of luxurious softness has been crafted basis their feedback”, said Mr. Dilip Gaur, Business Director -Pulp & Fibre
The Liva tagged garments are available across premium brands like Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Shoppers Stop, Biba, Pantaloons and Lifestyle among others. Renowned designers – Nikhil Thampi, Shivan-Naresh and Ka-Sha – have created collections for Allen Solly, Van Heusen and Shoppers Stop respectively. Focused markets for Liva Crème will be Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Garments made of LIVA Crème can be identified with the gold and cream coloured tag at the stores.
“Overall, the designer associations with leading brands to create exquisite Liva Crème collections, a stunning campaign with Kangana Ranaut and premium point of sale communication will all work towards positioning Liva Crème as a premium brand in the minds of consumers,” added Mr. Rajeev Gopal, CMO – Birla Cellulose.
In an exclusive chat with The Textile Magazine on the sidelines of the event, Mr. Manohar Samuel, President – Marketing and BD, Birla Cellulose, gave an overview of Liva’s journey so far, Liva Crème, about new products in the pipeline, design studios, and key focus areas for the company going forward, among others.
It all began with Mr. Samuel explaining what the LAPF Confluence was all about. He stated: “LAPF Confluence is all about celebrating excellence along with our partners. Our partners have done extremely well, in terms of growth and innovation. We have constituted an Award – ‘The Innovation Award for LAPF’. We have received around 250 entries for the award. So, this once a year event is a celebration of achievement too. It also offers opportunities for networking and sharing of ideas. We also make it a point to launch a new product every year. While in the first year we had launched Liva, last year we had launched LAPF Connect. This year we have launched Liva Crème.”
Journey of Liva so far
Commenting on the eventful two-year journey of Liva, Mr. Samuel felt that it was all about reaching the Indian consumer with something that they liked. “They like fashionable garments, they like fluidity. Similarly, they like something natural. The promise of Liva was all that and that’s what we delivered to them through our partners,” Mr. Samuel said.
The company has now 34 partners having the Liva tag, apart from nearly 350 LAPF partners, who supply the fabric.
According to Mr. Samuel, a lot of improvements have taken place in the wet processing field, which have been implemented by its LAPF partners, which has resulted in high quality Liva fabric and that this has been the key differentiating factor behind Liva and others.
Speaking about the growing awareness levels about Liva, Mr. Samuel’s felt that the product’s reach has spread over the last couple of years. He said: “There are many ways we can measure the reach of the product. We have recently launched ad campaigns on TV, which means now it is well known across every nook and corner of the country. This is one way to measure the reach. The reach should also be matched by distribution. The distribution is now top brands in around 3000 stores. Plus we are also present in MBOs. This is another measure. Location wise we are in 190 plus cities, which means every part of the country. This is yet another measure. Product category wise initially we were offering western tops, leggings, ethnic wear, etc. Today the offering is all encompassing covering the entire women’s wardrobe ranging from palazzos to jeggings, track suits, Yoga wear, etc. This again is another measure of the growth story of Liva’s reach.”
Continued good show
Liva had entered the saree segment last year with viscose and modal fabric. Going into details regarding the journey so far in this particular segment, Mr. Manohar Samuel stated: “We are doing very well when it comes to the top or premium segment. We will soon have a launch for the mid and mass segments. We are working towards the same with our partners in Surat. With respect to the top segment we are doing about 200 tons / month of sales, which I feel is quite significant. This is a segment which is the largest in the country; however, our foray has not been deep in this case. Very soon though, you will see our mass range with fantastic designs hitting the markets.”
In reply to a query on what are the other segments that Liva plans to venture into apart from women’s wear in FY 2018, Mr. Samuel said the company was already into areas such as infant wear, lounge wear, Yoga wear, etc. Continuing further on the topic he said: “So far as women’s intimate apparels are concerned, Liva is part of almost all top brands. We work with, top names such as Jockey, Rupa, Lux and Enamor, to mention a few.”
Asked whether the Indian customer is as aware as some of the counterparts in other countries, where they specifically ask for the type or variety of viscose being used in a particular product, Mr. Samuel explained that the entire journey of Liva has been towards this end. “First we need to create the right product and then reach them through a widespread distribution channel to create awareness about the benefits which the products offer. It is easier said than done though. It’s a long journey. With India being such a vast country, we have just about scratched the market. The response has been phenomenal and we see that continuing going forward.”
Mr. Samuel is of the view that there has been a growth of approximately 10-12 per cent in viscose consumption in recent times and that the customers are also playing a key role in innovation and growth. Elaborating on the point, he added: “Apart from this growth rate, I had also earlier mentioned the various ways in which the reach of our product has increased. We are now also working with some category leaders such as Prisma Leggings. Similarly we are working with Shifra Leggings launched by Loyal Textiles. The product is spun dyed and very environment friendly. They are focusing on making this product technologically advanced but at the same time affordable. So you see customers are also taking lots of efforts and we strive to provide them with a good overall ecosystem.”
Products in the pipeline
Speaking about the new products in the pipeline, Mr. Samuel pointed out: “‘Liva Snow’, which is a superwhite fiber, retains its whiteness even after repeated washes, ideally suited for applications such as Navy uniforms, Dhotis, etc. We are also developing a differentiated black fiber, with some of it having a yellowish tone and some bluish, which the knitting industry is interested in. Even colored modal is in the pipeline. We have siro compact yarn spun into a variety of blends for knits. We also have options in cotton viscose blend. I feel that with the GST roll out there are lots of opportunities in cotton-viscose that will emerge and we are well positioned to take advantage of the same.”
Asked whether the company is focusing more on the women’s wear segment, Mr. Samuel stated that colored viscose used in men’s PV suits is an important segment for the company. When it comes to menswear they will be also adding products in different categories such as denim, casual trousers, inner wear, gym wear, shirts, t-shirts, etc., and that the company’s co-branding partners are already working on them.
With respect to the company’s focus on home textiles, the senior executive mentioned that at present it is focusing on three key segments – bed linens, carpets and furnishings. “For carpets we have introduced a coarser fiber with a different cross section, which no one else has in the world. We are already making 350 tons per month of the semi-woolen system,” Mr. Samuel said.
The company is promoting the product to top brands through its Belgium-based customers, who have a very strong standing in the particular product segment. Similarly in the case of bed linens the company has come out with micro-polyester blend based innovation which is in demand from the hospitality sector because of its superior performance.
On home furnishings, Mr. Samuel said: “D’décor is one of our very good customers. On the domestic scene, we need to do more jointly with our customers. Hopefully, things will fall in place for further growth of our brand.”
Design studio initiatives
The company’s New York design studio is all set to open in the first week of July. Spread across 1,200 sq.ft and located in the 7th Avenue of New York, part of the ‘Garment District’ in the metropolis, the studio, apart from showcasing Birla Celluloses’ products, will also be used as a promotional centre where the company’s partners too can showcase their product offerings. The company’s Tiruppur studio is also set to open in the first week of July 2017. Additionally, the company is also planning to set up a studio either in Bangalore or Jaipur.
Liva Crème all set to rock
Mr. Samuel is extremely optimistic about the good showing of Liva Crème. Explaining the difference between Liva and Liva Crème, he observed: “Liva is all about fluidity, being natural and fashionable. Liva Crème has the additional attribute of luxurious softness. The fineness of the product is what makes it a premium product. For the value chain, the performance in spinning and weaving would be superior. Similarly it will perform well when it comes to processing. The product can also be bleached and yarn counts can be finer with Liva Crème, “he explained before adding:” You are going to see a lot of new designs next season with Liva Crème. At the recently held FTCI Fashion Week, most of the fabric chosen by designers was Liva Crème.”
Rounding off the interaction, Mr. Samuel highlighted the key reason which makes LAPF a trendsetter in the industry. According to him LAPF was started as a platform for working together. Continuing further he said: “However, working together in such a platform is tough generally, because all the people in it are competitors among themselves, who are all working along with us. We have been able to surmount this challenge and are true representatives of the ‘Unity in Diversity’ factor for which our country is famous. Today LAPF has emerged as a role model in the industry.”
By Ganesh Kalidas & M.K. Prabhakar