1.3.

2 | STAR REGIONAL RETAILERS

SOHUM SHOPPE
Indian fashion retail market is very fragmented and the role
of the regional retailers cannot be undermined as they have
complete knowledge of the local market and its customers.
One such players is Sohum Shoppe that pioneered the
concept of mega stores in the countrys Northeast region.

Sohum (meaning Thats Me!) began its journey in 2000

by opening its rst store at Guwahati. Currently it has ve
outlets (three in Guwahati and one each in Dibrugarh and
Jorhat) and plans to add one more in Shillong soon.
Sohum deals with leading national and international
brands including Calvin Klein, FCUK, Gas, Gant, Swarovski,
Mont Blanc, IZod, Global Desi, And, Vero Moda, Only,
and Jack n Jones. Our focus has always been to give an
international shopping ambience to our customers. This
has been made possible by using the Indian brands and
catering to foreign labels where gap exists in the retail
market, states Jalan. The price band most popular with the
customers is `1,500 to `4,000.
Sohum is all set to have a store in Shillong and as of now
the company is sticking to it. Shillong does not have any
prominent players but needs such kind of stores. With a
store in Shillong, we will step our foot outside the territory of
Assam. The company believes in company-owned stores and
does not plan to expand through franchise route.

P N RAO
Fine suits since 1923 - those were the days of the Raj,
when British ofcers and government ofcials brought in
a whole new window on formal wear. That was when they
wanted to develop local resources and talent to style their
suits along the lines of some of the best outtters in London
and Europe.

One of the oldest and largest family-led corporations in the

Suite Industry, P N RAO has been in the forefront of suitings and
groom wears for more than 90 years. What began as a British
dressing conveyancer in the early British Empire has grown into
a multi dimension company with hundreds of fashion projects

around the suit industry with in store designers and craftsmen

It was a good time for P N RAO to open its doors and imbibe
the ner aspects of styling a suit and proling emerging
standards in formal wear - right down to the smallest intricate
details. Over the years, P N RAO has grown in terms of prole
and scale to redene its retail mix - we now have three stores
in Bangalore and a new store in Chennai.
Since 1923, Bangalores best dressed men have been
coming to P N RAO for bespoke suits. Over the years patrons
have grown not only in Bangalore and the rest of Karnataka,
but also from across India and even from across the world.
There are patrons in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Denmark,
Sweden and a huge fan following in the Netherlands among
others. Suits for business purpose, for weddings, for special
occasions, for the expat community, et al are custom made
by the team of expert suit makers at P N RAO. In the early
twenties P N RAO catered largely to the Bristish and over
time has expanded in terms of steady clientele, commitment
to perfection, trust and dedication to patrons.
At P N RAO, the ready-to-wear collection has brands such
as GIVO, Park Avenue, Blackberrys, Louis Philippe, Zodiac and
a new line, Narendra Kumar. Selling exclusive fabrics from
Raymond, Ermenegildo Zegna, Dormeuil, Scabal, Loro Piana,
VBC and Reda. On ready-to-wear, they offer personalized
levels of outtting. On bespoke, they start from scratch and
give you a perfect t.

INDIA RETAIL REPORT 2015 . 175

SOCH
Soch launched its rst exclusive outlet in February 2005 in
Forum Mall in Bengaluru, committed to a fashionable range
of designer wear for women at affordable price. With the
success and its immense potential, Soch soon became one
of the most loved ethnic brands in the country, designed for
the modern Indian woman.
The brand has redened the traditional Indian outt for
women of all ages, who effortlessly balance work and home
while still looking their best. Today, Soch has 36 stores
across India at convenient locations in Bengaluru, Mysore,
Mangalore, Hubli, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cochin, Hyderabad,
Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Bhopal. Conceptualized by the
brands in-house team the stores are designed in line with the
brand identity which exudes the sophistication of the brand.
Soch is known for its wide range of designer ethnic wear
that is both stylish, yet traditional. As a brand, Soch doesnt
believe in fashion seasons like spring/summer or autumn
winter. Keeping with the ever changing fashion trends, the
brand launches its fresh collections in every 20-30 days in
the four major ethnic product categories - sarees, chudidar
sets, kurtis and unstitched salwar suits. They are fashioned

from a wide range of exquisite hand-picked fabrics such as

cottons, chiffons, crepes, silks, brocades, voiles and blends,
sourced from various places across India.
The brand offers a wide range of stylish and elegant
designer ethnic wear to a spectrum of discerning audiences
with varied tastes and style.

JADE BLUE
JadeBlue, founded in 1981 by the Chairman and Managing
Director of the group, Jitendra Chauhan and Director,
Bipin Chauhan, is one of Indias leading luxury lifestyle
retail stores for men, known for the breadth and depth of
exclusive clothing, fashion merchandise and personalized
services. Fashion and retail form the core business activities
of JadeBlue. It has 18 stores across 1, 16,493 sq.ft. of retail
space spanning in 15 cities across India and employs more
than 900 people.

A JadeBlue store offers many of the worlds most prestigious

mens formals, casuals, occasion wear brands, fabrics,
professional outtting, customized designs, ethnic wear and
accessories. JadeBlue is present in the multi-brand retail

176 . INDIA RETAIL REPORT 2015

format, and brings more than 50 brands to its customers. The

company is also renowned for its bespoke tailoring services.
This department is the pride of JadeBlue with a rich heritage
of thirty years, well-structured practices that stand up to world
benchmarks, and a client list that reads more like a celebrity list.
JadeBlue also offers a basket of private labels in formals,
casuals, club wear as well as ethnic and indo-western wear
for men. The Company also owns and operates Greenbre, a
chain of exclusive brand outlets offering relaxed formals and
casuals for men. Greenbre is present in 20 cities of India
and also has a presence at several leading malls.
JadeBlue has taken a step further in expanding its retail
presence by launching J.B. Studio as a chain of exclusive
retail outlets offering formals, casuals and stylish club wear
for men. It currently has 5 stores in Ahmedabad, Mehsana,
Thane, Surat, and Vadodara and has plans to expand further.
Innovation, development of resources, openness, services
with a smile, nurturing relationships and corporate social
responsibility are the core values and strengths that dene
JadeBlue.
JadeBlue stores: Ahmedabad, Anand, Bharuch, Bhavnagar,
Gandhidham, Hyderabad, Indore, Jamnagar, Nagpur, Raipur,
Rajkot, Surat, Udaipur, Vadodara and Vapi. Greenbre stores:
Ahmedabad, Anand, Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Bhavnagar,
Bhuj, Deesa, Gandhidham, Gandhinagar, Himmatnagar,
Hyderabad, Indore, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Mehsana, Morbi,
Porbandar, Rajkot, Surendranagar, and Vadodara.

1.3.2 | STAR REGIONAL RETAILERS

SIRS & HERS

Started in 1953 initially Sirs & Hers initially
custom made mens wear specialising in
mens wedding attire, from blazers, 2 piece
suit, 3 piece suit, intricate embroidered suits,
achkans and sherwanis. Branching out to
fabric retailing in late sixties with various
textile mills for e.g. RAYMOND, OCM, DIGJAM,
GWALIOR and VIMAL mills. Winning certicate
of appreciation from both Digjam and
Raymond in 1972 for Fabric sales. In the year
1985,the need for Ready-mades resulted in
bigger space and the another 2000 sq.ft. was added to 2500
sq. feet. It was the rst store in Capital to have Lee and Arrow
on its rst oor as franchise.
As the store become popular, the demand for Ladies &
Kids wear was felt & in 1990, the store was renovated with
bigger space & the present SIRs & HERs came into being.

Gradually All leading Indian & International

companies found SIRs & HERs easily the
store that could launch their brands. In
effect, all reputed brands relied on this well
displayed store to effectively merchandise
with the right special ambience. Our store
became renowned as the best casuals
store too.
The plethora of various brands covering
18500 sq.ft. offers everything for men,
women, and kids spread across FIVE
FLOORS. Karol Bagh has never seen a. better collection of
casual wear having the best of casual brands under one roof.
Store has its strength in its participation in various fashion
events, designing and advertising involvement from time
to time. They were also the third largest seller of Madura
Fashion Brands in the capital.

YOUR HOMEPAGE OF INDIAN RETAIL

RETAIL

FASHION

RETAIL

FOODSERVICE

UPDATES

EXCLUSIVES

FOOD & GROCERY

TRENDS & CONCEPT

RETAIL EXCELLENCE

BEAUTY & WELLNESS

SHOES & ACCESSORIES

EXPERT SPEAK

IN CONVERSATION

INDIA RETAIL REPORT 2015 . 177

Expanding
Horizon for Global
Retailers in India:
India is an untapped market for
global retailers: Perspectives
By Anshuman Magazine

How global is the retail trade in India? The expanding retail footprint of global
brands has been a major growth driver of retail real estate in the country. In an
effort to map and analyze the spread of international retailers, CBRE undertook a
research study of more than 300 prominent global retailers to identify operating
trends, expansion strategies, and extent of penetration across leading cities. Brands
across segments were analyzed in the luxury, premium and high-end categories;
and their presence judged on the basis of standalone stores within malls as well as
high streets. Key extracts from the CBRE research study are presented here.

178 . INDIA RETAIL REPORT 2015