Models display the DAKS line

If good clothes get you going, and stretching the purse strings isn’t a problem, there’s good news. One of the leading British apparel brands, DAKS, is entering the country in a big way, with a strong focus on Calcutta.

“We’re looking at the eastern region, particularly Calcutta, with a lot of expectations,” says Reetika Dalal, CEO of Forbes Gokak, which has recently acquired the manufacturing rights for DAKS merchandise in India.

DAKS clothing is currently available only at Taj Khazana in the city, but by end-2004, at least five new outlets, both standalone and shop-in-shop, are scheduled to come up. April will see the brand being available at Westside outlets.

“The mindset of the people here has undergone a sea-change. People seem to be more open towards shopping at the malls, rather than at the more traditional shopping haunts,” says Dalal, now based in Bangalore.

Returning to the city after a gap of seven years, the flyovers, hotels and a generally higher standard of living have caught the Loreto pass-out quite by surprise. “The landscape has changed a lot. Traffic seems to have become better and more avenues for spending have opened up,” she adds. It is this change that DAKS plans to capitalise on. Mumbai and Delhi markets are on the verge of becoming “retail saturated”, while Calcutta is just opening up with the mall invasion.

With a clear field, competition from existing brands — both local and international— is also a certainty. DAKS plans to tackle that through price, among other things. “Manufacturing is being done completely out of Bangalore, which has enabled us to look at bringing down the minimum price of our pret (ready-to-wear) line to around Rs 975,” reveals Dalal.

Besides helping the brand’s prospects in a highly price-sensitive market such as Calcutta, this, she feels, will also help it compete with other brands. DAKS is currently focussing on popularising its pret line, with plans for two other ranges of a costlier ‘signature’, followed by an even more costly ‘luxury’ line.

Expectations from Calcutta, though high, are realistic. “Our target for 2004-05 is around Rs 7 crore from India and we expect Calcutta’s share to be more than Rs 1 crore,” says Dalal.

The company plans to promote the brand differently than the usual fashion shows (“they're so boring these days”). The first big promotion is currently underway, with DAKS co-sponsoring a five-city golf tournament, where the participating CEOs and MDs are wearing the brand. Wine-and-cheese events and charity events are also being looked at as promotional tools.