Kids' style redefined

The brand name ‘Unikid’ echoes high quality kid merchandise catering to 2-15 year olds lending them smarty and lavish looks. The cool and classy looks made at the store level add to increase the expectations of the customers and motivate their imaginations with the unique range of collections. Unikid’s merchandise is found in the foreign countries like Europe and Middle East. The brand’s USP is its stylish high-quality fabric and designs that are made available at reasonable prices. Generally the price point of summer clothes varies between Rs 499 and Rs 3,999, whereas for winter clothes, it exceeds Rs 2,999. Unikid’s merchandise has a touch of international trends and the brand blends them according to the taste and needs of the Indian kids.

 

Initial challenges

Unikid was launched in the year 1995 and it started franchising in 2008. “The major challenges we had faced in the initial period was due to low price of the products. At an earlier stage, the customers used to judge us with the other kids’ brands that provided cheaper garments, but once they compared our fabrics with the other kids’ apparels they came to know about the high quality of our products,” recalls Ms Heena Nayar, CEO, Unikid.

Expansion plan

Presently, Unikid operates eight retail stores across the nation; however, the brand is primarily spread in the northern India. Regarding the expansion plan, Ms Nayar sums up, “Once we make a pan India presence, we would definitely make different stuffs for both north and southern regions as the expectation and demand of the customers would vary because of variation in the climate.” She also adds, “The main criteria we look at before entering a new city or town is that it should have good customer basis of higher middle class and the people there should be brand conscious and have an inclination toward quality garments. We generally prefer to expand in the shopping malls and high-street venues.”

Unikid intends to commence the full operation of 8-10 company-owned outlets and 15 franchisee-operated outlets by the end of the present fiscal year. The targeted locations are the major cities of north India and the metros. The brand also intends to introduce the kids’ toys and accessories after foraying into all the metros. There is a probability for this venture to happen in the next financial year.

 

Business facts

The venture was started with an investment of Rs 2-2.5 crore. For a franchised store having 600-800 sq ft of carpet area, the venture needs to have an investment of Rs 8-12 lakh depending on the location. Unikid promotes itself through print media, hoardings, SMS marketing and FM channels.

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