Tween fashion On-Demand
Tween fashion On-Demand

612 Ivy League is the first Indian brand focusing on pre-teen or tween children. The brand is owned by Vibgyor Business Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (VBVPL), and is promoted by the husband-wife duo Manu and Mohita Indrayan from Chandigarh.

It is a subsidiary of Chandigarh-based Indian Yarn Limited (IYL).

 

Neha Malhotra (NM): 612 Ivy League is the first Indian brand focusing on pre-teen or ‘tween’ children. How did the idea develop? When was the brand launched?

Manu Indrayan (MI): 612 Ivy League celebrates a child’s inner star – the internal strength that encourages them to stand tall, reach hights and dream big. It takes pride in being part of the transformation from kids to teenagers who will grow up to be the people who make a difference tomorrow. 

612 Ivy League believes that a ‘tween’ is still a child and not yet a teenager, but is aware about many adult issues and aspires to a teenager’s lifestyle. The Indian tweens are now coming of age by exerting considerable independence in taking buying decisions and are very brand conscious.

The brand 612-Ivy League was test launched at six outlets of Pantaloon and Indiabulls lifestyle stores in October 2008 and then it was commercially launched in March 2009.

 

NM: What all merchandise is available for the customers?

MI: 612 Ivy League offers a complete range of clothing for boys and girls in the age group of 4-14 years like jeans, capris, jamaicans, shorts, skirts, t-shirts, shirts, tops, dresses, tunics, jackets, sweaters, etc.

The brand also offers a complete active wear range to meet the sporting needs of this age group which includes track suits, basic tees, skirts, lowers, tights, etc.  612 Ivy League has also been nominated to design and supply sports wear for the prestigious Strawberry Fields Sports Club. These ensembles have been designed keeping in mind the comfort and sporting needs of the children.

The brand firmly believes that children outgrow their clothing and accordingly the pricing has been kept very affordable.  The price facilitates maintaining the appropriateness of clothes that an occasion or activity demands, without compromising on budgets.

 

NM: How many stores does 612 Ivy League have? Where all are they located?

MI: The brand was test launched in October, 2008 at selected locations viz, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Nagpur and Pune and received instant recognition and acceptance. Since then, it has expanded its presence through reputed retail chains like Shoppers Stop, Pantaloon, Central, Spencers, Indiabulls and Salasar retail at multiple locations including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Baroda, Indore, Pune, Nagpur, Kakinada and Guwahati. 612 Ivy League had launched its first exclusive outlet at Shop No 1, Hotel Taj, Chandigarh in October 2009. The store’s location carries forward the brand’s focus on understated elegance, affordability and pride in Indian values that the hotel stands for.  

 

NM: How is the designing and manufacturing taken care of? Do you have your own manufacturing facility or do you out source?

MI: The products are designed at the company’s in-house design studio and manufacturing facility at Ludhiana. The design studio has a team of qualified designers from premier design institutes of the country. Our design team carefully researches trends and forecasts and develops designs based on in-depth understanding of the likes and dislikes of today’s children. At 612 Ivy League, we are very particular in the use of fabric and choose it based on its functionality and end use.  Our ranges are based on interesting themes and stories that children identify with and seek to emulate. We have a manufacturing facility with modern machinery for cut, sew, and finishing operations. Printing and processing is outsourced.

 

NM: What are the company's future plans?

MI: The Company now seeks to nationally launch 612 Ivy League as the first Indian brand for apparel and accessories for pre-teen children. It shall carve out a separate consumer category of tweens (in between kids and teenagers i.e. children in the age group of 6 - 12 years) who are increasingly demanding distinguished products and services, from the existing kids wear category of the apparel industry. Since stories and characters have a great influence on the behaviour of children in this segment, the venture also seeks to create the first home grown tween idols through a storyline to be distributed with selected merchandise. The project is proposed to be implemented over two phases. In the first phase, the retail network will be expanded to have a presence in 50 outlets including two EBOs at select locations. The first phase shall be implemented between December, 2009 and March, 2011. In the 2nd phase, the retail presence shall be further increased to 200 outlets. A second round of funding shall be raised for implementation of this phase in year 2011.

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