De Moza was a brand created to address the significant gap in the women’s bottom wear market, and quickly established itself as a brand that offers more than just basics, by penetrating the fashion segment as well.
In an exclusive interaction with Images Business of Fashion, Agnes Raja George, Founder, De Moza Stores, talks about the brand’s offline expansion plans and future revenue targets. Excerpts.
Share with us how the journey of De Moza started.
Pipin Fashions and Retail Pvt. Ltd was incorporated in 2016 by Hussain Basha and me. Our aim is to provide excellent fashion at great value to the growing Indian market, with a particular focus on creating homegrown fast fashion brands. De Moza was created to address the significant gap in the women’s bottom wear market, and quickly established itself as a brand that offers more than just basics, by penetrating the fashion segment as well.
In 2016, we opened our first exclusive brand store in Garuda Mall in Bangalore, marking the beginning of our exciting retail journey. Since then, we have expanded our physical presence by getting entry in the large format retailers as well along with opening our EBOs. We launched our website in 2020, offering an online shopping experience that complemented our physical stores.
What separates De Moza from its competitors and how is it positioned today?
De Moza stands out from its competitors in the fashion industry for several reasons. One key aspect that sets it apart is its pioneering spirit. We take pride in being a trendsetter in the legging market by introducing viscose leggings. This was a path breaker in terms of fit and comfort when the market was only cotton leggings.
In 2016, we introduced iconic styles like cigarette pants, shimmer leggings, and culottes, which were unique and innovative at the time. By being the first to bring these styles to the market, De Moza established itself as a brand that pushes boundaries and sets new trends. We have strategically positioned ourselves as a brand that excels in offering affordable, contemporary, and effortless women’s bottom wear.
Another key aspect of our positioning is the emphasis on effortless style. We recognize that modern women seek convenience and comfort in their everyday outfits. Therefore, our bottom wear is designed to be easy to wear, versatile, and functional. We pay meticulous attention to details such as fabric choice, fit, and ease of care to ensure that our customers can effortlessly incorporate our bottoms into their daily lives.
Give us an elaborate description of your product offerings. Which are the best performing categories?
We categorize the bottom wear segment as Ethinic and Western where we have completely different offerings under each category in terms of fit, fabrics and colours. Ethnic bottoms include leggings, churidars, straight pants, palazzos, skirts, cigarette pants, harem pants etc. Western bottoms would carry cigarette pants, straight pants, culottes, denims, jeggings, treggings and more.
While 70% of the assortment would be bottom wear the brand also offers selective range of tops those encourage the customers to shop for the total look. We do make capsule collections for festive season and winter, and these create a lot of excitement and very well accepted in the market. Cigarette pants is our bestselling product owing to its impeccable fit along with utmost comfort. The function deep pockets, clean front waist and elasticated back waist makes this product the best seller. This contemporary product is available in both knit and woven fabrics. The array of colours and fabrics makes this garment an easy pair for both ethnic and western wear.
Culottes is another category that is a bestseller in our collection every season. This is not a product that is available with every brand / retailer, however this is a comfort piece of garment those are integral part of the casual and travel wardrobe.
Treggings is the best-selling category in the western segment. High quality stretch fabrics with front seams makes this product a replacement for sharp formal pants. Sharp price points with excellent fit makes this product a hit. Work wear pants in very fashionable silhouettesin great quality fabric offers flattering fit at great value. This is our new addition to the collection and has been extremely well accepted.
We have been doing light weight denims in various silhouettes for a long time and the acceptance of this entire range has given us the direction to explore more into the Jeanswear range which will be in store from AW23 onwards.
Any plans to diversify your product portfolio?
We have some exciting plans to diversify our product portfolio and elevate the brand to new heights. One area we are particularly focused on is denim. Denim is a timeless staple in the fashion world, and we are thrilled to introduce new fits that cater to various body types and style preferences. Our goal is to offer a wide range of denim options that combine comfort, versatility, and trendsetting designs.
In addition to denim, we plan to expand our western wear collection to include an array of skirts, dresses, and tops. These additions will bring a new dimension to our product lineup, allowing our customers to explore different styles and create unique looks. From flowy maxi skirts to chic A-line dresses, we aim to offer fashionable options for various occasions and personal tastes.
What manufacturing arrangements do you have in place?
We consider our supply chain partners to be our main pillar of growth. We do have strategic partners in manufacturing who have been with us since the inception and have grown with us. With a growing product portfolio, we are always on the lookout for expansion in terms of manufacturing base. As of now we have sourced our products from Mumbai, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Chennai.
At present, your physical retail footprint is confined in the South. Any plans and strategies to expand beyond the region?
The distribution of our point of sales stands at 45% in the South and 55% rest of India. This parity is also an outcome of our presence in large format retail where we are present in south stores. We are working on creating a collection that would be acceptable for the winter markets as well which will open more doors for the brand in the North of the country.
What is your total store count and how many more are planning to add? Is there a location strategy?
We are at 1200 points of sale currently and growing by the day. With our turnover plan to grow 100% in the coming year we look at the space to grow proportionately across the country. In the current year, Uttar Pradesh is a critical market that we look at for making our presence stronger. We also look forward to explore many such untapped potential markets in the future in north India next year.
Between online and offline, which one is giving you more business? Which platform is expected to grow more for you in the next 2 years?
Our online contribution is at around 12%. We have a robust business plan in the next 2 years where we would grow rapidly in the EBO formats.
What is your brand’s turnover and where do you see the numbers in the next 3 years?
In FY23, De Moza achieved a revenue of ₹55 crore, and we have set our sights on reaching ₹300 crore in the next three years. To accomplish this ambitious target, we have devised a comprehensive growth strategy.
- expanding our market presence domestically
- diversifying our product offerings
- strengthening our marketing and branding efforts
- expanding our retail footprint
- enhancing our e-commerce platform
- focusing on operational efficiency.
Through these strategic initiatives, combined with our commitment to customer satisfaction and innovative fashion, we are confident in our ability to drive substantial growth and propel De Moza to new heights in the coming years.
