Page Industries Ltd. has expanded its installed capacity to 162 million pieces per annum across various units spread over 1.7 million sq. ft. in 17 locations in Karnataka in 2013-14. The company has set a medium-term target to enhance the installed capacity step by step to 230 million pieces by December 2015. It is in the process of setting up two more factories. The one at Gowribidanur, Karnataka will have a production capacity of 15 million pieces per annum. The other factory located at Tiptur in Karnataka will have a capacity of 10 million pieces per annum. A third one is being planned in Hassan with a capacity of four million pieces per annum.
During the financial year ended March 31, 2014, Page Industries has recorded an increase in sales from Rs. 8,634.64 million to Rs. 11,730.94 million, registering a growth of 36 per cent. The net profit stood at Rs. 1,537.84 million as against Rs. 1,125.33 million in 2013, representing a growth of 37 per cent.
The company is highly encouraged by the enduring strong brand equity, image and leadership of the Jockey brand and the rising strength of the Speedo brand in the respective markets. It continues to satisfy consumers with the finest products in terms of style, design, comfort, fit and quality in all verticals such as Jockey men’s and women’s innerwear, leisurewear and activewear, as well as Speedo swimwear and swimwear related equipment.
Brand building
The new Jockey Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) across the country have become the most sought after shopping destinations since 2013 in India. These new brand outlets in the international retail format are revolutionary in their approach to their interiors, ambience, design, lighting and product displays. Page Industries are exclusive licensees of Jockey International Inc. (USA) for manufacture and distribution of the Jockey brand innerwear and leisurewear for men and women in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the UAE.
The company is also the exclusive licensee of Speedo International Ltd. for the manufacture, marketing and distribution of the Speedo brand in India. Jockey International Inc. is active in more than 120 countries, marketing underwear, socks, thermals, sleepwear, active wear, sportswear, lounge wear, men’s, women’s and children’s ranges.
The Speedo brand has achieved a turnover of Rs. 202.40 million in its second full year of operation. During this period, the company has opened two more Exclusive Speedo Brand Outlets taking the total number to six. At the end of 2013-14, the brand is available in 830 stores including large format stores across 62 cities and six Speedo exclusive brand outlets located in Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune. Based on the initial response and feedback from the market, the brand has strong potential of becoming the dominant brand in the premium swimwear market.
The Jockey brand continues to live up to the results of an independent ‘brand health’ study carried out by Nielsen Research Agency that has rated the Jockey brand health in India among the most powerful brands in their research experience across all categories. The research involved 14 cities in all four zones across the nation. The Jockey brand scored a Brand Equity Index of 4.6 on a scale of 10 in the men’s innerwear category and 2.9 in the women’s innerwear category. To put things in perspective, worldwide only 23 per cent of brands across all product categories score a Brand Equity Index 3.0 or over on a scale of ten and only eight per cent of brands score 5.0 and above.
With continued support from Jockey International and access to ideas, trends and innovations from 40 other Jockey international licensees throughout the world, Page Industries’ long term commitment to newness and innovation will never waver, be it product, technology upgradation, back-end processes or marketing.
With its strong in-house back end capabilities, manufacturing expertise and state of the art technology that is continuously evolving, combined with a very strong distribution network, the company remains optimistic about the future prospects and expects continued healthy sales growth and profitability in the coming years, further consolidating its position in the premium market for innerwear, leisurewear and activewear.
The Boston Consulting Group has also come out with a report in 2012 on the Indian consumption growth story under the name “The Tiger Roars”. The report suggests that consumption of apparel will go up by four times between 2010 and 2020 and indicates that the consumption of premium brands is expected to be even higher than the industry average. This augurs well for premium brands like Jockey and Speedo.
Jockey’s new Seamless Shapewear collection provides superior shaping with all-day comfort. Targeted power zones offer extra support and contouring for today’s woman. Seamless shapewear offers superior performance without the bulk of traditional shapewear fabrics. The luxuriously soft, lightweight power fabric is made from an innovative nylon and spandex blend.
Regarding the company’s overall sales figures, with 50 per cent share, men’s inner wear has the largest share of revenues, followed by women’s wear with 18 per cent, leisure wear contributed to 30 per cent of the total sale and swim wear was two per cent. The total sale for the year was Rs. 1,173 crores.
Page Industries commenced operations in 1995 with the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of Jockey products. As of September 2013, the company had a workforce of 16,000 people with manufacturing operations spread over nine complexes in Bangalore and Hassan, totalling 1.7 million sq. ft. of space. It commands wide spread pan India distribution encompassing over 25,000 retail outlets in 1,200 cities and towns and has revolutionized the innerwear market by launching 117 exclusive Jockey outlets across India as of 2013.
The products are available in the following retail formats, EBOs, large format stores, multi brand outlets, traditional hosiery stores and multipurpose stores. During 2013-14, Page Industries has, through its authorised franchisees, opened 41 EBOs, taking the total number of EBOs to 139. These outlets are spread throughout India even covering Tier-II and Tier-III cities, which is an indicator of the growth potential of the brand in these cities.