Carrying its own name, visual communication and market strategy, a sub-brand is the new thing among footwear companies. Zarafshan Shiraz finds out perks of being a sub-brand instead of expansion under a parent brand name
Anchored to the prestige, profile or authenticity of the original brand, a sub-brand is beneficial for creating exposure to a specific customer segment that got skipped from being engaged. A sub-brand’s creation leads to evaluation of the value of the parent brand while tapping into new markets is easily attained due to a greater sense of brand loyalty while taking advantage of the trust built from the larger brand or company. With this mastermind plan, many footwear companies like Woodland, Liberty, M&B and the likes have entered the market with their prodigies to help attain a wider reach.
Being a mono-brand company from 1982-1991, Liberty quickly realised that the TG and aspirations of the expanding customers was very different from product offerings. To cater to the individual identity of each collection, Liberty thought of connecting each brand with a particular mood. With this idea, it launched its prodigy, Healer, into the footwear market. “The moment you create a sub-brand, you are able to communicate differently and create an aura around the sub-brand, which helps you to further strengthen the category and connect with the consumer. This helps to sell multiple pairs,” shares Anupam Bansal, Executive Director, Liberty Group.
Observing growth in the luxury market with a rise in demand for premium products, Woodland, long known for being the adventure gear-makers, launched a parallel brand by the name WOODS to cater to formal and semi-casual footwear, apparel and accessories. “With WOODS we created an opportunity to build and sustain our relationship with a new segment of consumers under the aero club,” informs Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Woodland. “The major advantage of having a parallel brand is that you can cater to different segments and categories,” he adds.
Contribution of Sub-Brands
Contributing 25% of the total turnover of the group, WOODS has already launched into several stand-alone showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai. “We are looking forward to introduce multiple stores for WOODS in metro cities in the next 2- 3 years,” reveals Singh. With more than 10 sub-brands currently, Liberty has been posting good growth. However, Bansal has a word of caution for those intending to take this route: “It’s an expensive proposition,” he says. “The plan is to keep a finger on the pulse of the market. We will keep strengthening our sub-brands as and how we see the potential to grow,” he adds.
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