15 years back, buying readymade, traditional Indian ethnic wear, North Indian style, for men was a distant dream. It was mostly the case that the user had to purchase clothing material and get them stitched to suit from a neighbourhood tailor. For weddings and family occasions, it was common to see unsized fits, especially for Kurtas of various lengths for men. Enter Manyavar in the late 90s.
The brand created readymade Kurtas and Pyjamas with colourful and comfortable designs which could be picked off the shelves of multi-brand retail stores. The concept was a hit from day one onwards. With their first Exclusive Brand Outlet outside Kolkata, which opened in 2008 at Bhubaneswar, there has been no looking back for the retail chain. The 600th outlet came up at Mysore in 2019 before the pandemic hit Indian Retail hard, with a presence in 5 countries, 160 cities and boasting none other than Indian Cinema Legend Amitabh Bachchan as its brand Ambassador. The company acquired Hyderabad based Mebaz in 2017, a family celebration wear retail chain to strengthen its presence in Southern India before launching Mohey, the exclusive Women’s Ethnic wear brand in 2016. Bollywood Actress Alia Bhatt is the face of the brand for Mohey.
Suggested Read: Reliance Retail launches Ethnic Wear Retail Brand
Vedant Fashions has filed preliminary papers with SEBI, the capital markets regulator, with an Offer to Issue 36,364,838 Equity Shares held by the Promoters and Existing Shareholders according to the DRHP – Draft Red Herring Prospectus. With a turnover of over Rs. 540 Crores for the FY 20-21 and a global presence where the Indian diaspora is spread over such as the US, Canada and the UAE, it would be quite interesting to see the valuation and IPO take-off. The organised Ethnic wear market remains largely semi- and unorganised, valued at USD 80 Billion or Rs. Rs. 60,000 Crores. Other national players include Delhi-headquartered BIBA and Bangalore based SOCH, other than regional chains such as Kalaniketan, Nalli, among others. Interestingly, the company launched its e-commerce portal in 2012 which has seen a huge traction all these years, with customers being able to view collections online and request for modifications in design, customisation, etc.
