EasyBuy making fashion affordable

EasyBuy the new buzzword in the market! Yes, EasyBuy the youngest format from Landmark group launched in September 2014 after the success of Max is all set to revolutionize the value fashion space in India. EasyBuy was launched with a clear mission to tap the opportunities in small towns and metro suburbs of India and to serve the needs of the biggest consumer segment – the ‘NavBharat India’ which consists of aspirational and young value- seeking consumers.
 
But when the company already had Max, what was the need to launch EasyBuy? Explaining the rationale behind it, Anand Aiyer, Senior Vice President and Business Head, EasyBuy, says, “We sensed an untapped opportunity in the emerging India after understanding the specific needs of customers in this segment. While the customers in this segment wanted trendy fashion which is aspirational, the affordability factor is much different from other segments, the ‘value for the money’ spent is of key essence for them. So, there was a need for a specific strategy to penetrate and satisfy needs of the ‘Aspirational Navbharat India’.

In this context, EasyBuy was created with a unique proposition – it’s one of the few formats in India that offers trendy fashion for the entire family including footwear and accessories ‘within 5000 sq ft’, with prices lower by 20-25% from nearest competition and providing ‘in-trend’ styles at delightful prices”. The other uniqueness is ‘we don’t have just one range for the full country, but customized basis regional requirements’. The brand offers limited yet curated products relevant to the consumer and market needs. “We customize it according to the market and plan the store assortment mix,” he adds.

We have an extensive product range with more than 1,000 styles between Rs 69-699 and churning four seasons in a year. The proficient in-house design team ensures international trends are customized to the market needs. Like all other concepts of Landmark, EasyBuy is also built around ‘strong focus on quality and product’. On the same Aiyer, says: “We will be focusing on product, quality and sharp pricing, these will be the three key differentiators. Retail success is about getting and retaining repeat customers. Consistently delivering in-trend merchandise and what customers want with focus on quality and product, with prices lower than competition will ensure loyal consumers and ‘word of mouth’ will get new consumers.”

“The vision is to open ‘one EasyBuy store in every district headquarter of India’. India has close to 500+ district headquarter and that’s the opportunity we are seeing. We are building ‘FMCG’ model in fashion where scale is critical for profitability and hence we need to expand faster. For faster expansion and to get local understanding franchising is the best model, hence we chose franchisee route for faster expansion. Today we are one of the fastest grown business opening 60 stores within 4 years of launch,” Aiyer says.

THE TREND
“I feel Indian consumers are not just value-conscious, but they are very aspirational. So “super styles at super prices” is our mantra to serve the needs of the Navbharat India. Also, the new-age consumers, especially the youth, are experimenting with their fashion choices – the wardrobe has expanded and fashion shopping now has many frequent occasions and is no more just a festive buy. Hence, the younger audience wants a wider choice when it comes to fashion,” Aiyer states. About 90% of their products are priced between Rs 69-699. The Rs 400-500 price band is the most popular with the customers. The average ticket size is Rs 900-Rs 1,000.

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
Two years ago, EasyBuy adopted dynamic automatic replenishment system in the backend for its supply chain. “Everyday orders get generated and products are dispatched automatically replenishing at style, color and size level. Agility in supply chain is critical given our major presence in small town where logistics lead time is more,” says Aiyer, adding, “We also introduced ‘stylus’ at our stores and this gives us real-time data on the availability of stocks, not only in the back room but at a nearby store too to satisfy consumer needs.” In addition, the brand’s loyalty reward program is unique and differentiated. Given that our format is different, we decided not to be part of group loyalty program ‘Landmark rewards’ but we created our own loyalty programme ‘EB Rewards’. We understand our consumer behavior and basis consumer insights we develop promotions which suits to their needs,” Aiyer informs.

LOCATION STRATEGY
The brand is open for both malls and high street. “But predominantly presence of malls are limited in smaller towns and in such cases, we go with high streets. In terms of preferences, we would always opt for malls, whether in metros or Tier II cities. Impulse buying is high in malls, while you need high street to build a brand,” Aiyer adds. So far, the brand has an equal share of presence in malls and high street.

THE NEXT STEP
The aim of the brand is to cross Rs 600 crore turnover with 100-plus stores pan-India, delivering ‘super style at super prices’ by 2020. The brand is expanding fast and growing an average 50 per cent per annum and opening two stores every month. The brand also aims to be the most preferred ‘family value brand’ for the ‘Aspirational NavBharat’ through profitable channel partners and stakeholders delivering quality and convenient shopping experience.
“We are fully equipped now to scale up and grow at a much faster pace,” Aiyer says. Within four years EasyBuy has already opened 60 stores. “We believe in cluster-based and state-wise expansion and as of now the 60 stores are only in South India, but next year we will expand aggressively in East and North India apart from expansion in South” Aiyer adds.
 

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