In the rapidly evolving world of fashion, The Indian Garage Co. (TIGC) has emerged as a trailblazer in men’s casualwear fashion, setting new benchmarks for the industry.
Founded in 2012 by Anant Tanted, TIGC was born from a vision to make fashion accessible to everyone. As technology reshaped the retail landscape, TIGC embraced the direct-to-consumer (D2C) model, aiming to democratise fashion.
Since then, TIGC has grown into a Rs 400 crore company with plans to achieve Rs 1000 crore revenue in the next 3 to 5 years. The brand has also recently expanded its categories into womenswear and plus-sized men’s fashion with two new brands under its umbrella. The D2C brand is also aiming to expand its offline presence with new store openings especially in tier II & III Bharat.
In a freewheeling chat with IMAGES Business of Fashion’s Kajal Ahuja, Alka Dembla, Head of Retail, The Indian Garage Co., talks about the distinguished brand’s expansion plans and its trajectory of growth and innovation in the fast fashion landscape.
Here are the edited excerpts from the chat…
Tell us about your brand, its core values and mission.
The Indian Garage Co. was founded in 2012 by Anant Tanted with a mission to make fashion available to everybody at the touch of the finger. In 2012, new technology was emerging and it completely reshaped the retail world. That is when Anant thought of coming up with a D2C brand. He launched The Indian Garage Co. with the mission of making fashion accessible to everyone.
How is your brand different from other brands in the same category and what sets you apart from competition?
We stand apart by launching 50 styles every week and offering close to 6000 SKUs. We also play into offering superior quality at very affordable prices. We achieve this because we follow an end-to-end model and do everything in-house – from designing to sourcing to merchandising to sales. We also have an in-house studio for styling and shooting, whether it is cataloguing content or model content. Since we do everything in-house, we are able to provide this value to consumers, without middlemen taking commissions.
Do you have any new emerging categories at your brand?
While we are a Rs 300 crore brand offering fashion for men, we have also recently expanded into the women’s segment with a brand called ‘Freehand’. We have ambitious expansion plans for this brand, and hope this will contribute 50% to the overall business. We are also expanding into plus sized men’s fashion with our upcoming brand ‘Hardsoda’. Hardsoda will offer fashion and style for plus sized and heavy men.
Tell us about your market presence.
Currently, we are available on all of the major e-commerce D2C platforms, including Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart, and AJIO. We also have our own e-commerce website www.tigc.in.
Offline, we are present in approximately 100 Fashion Factory stores across India. We also have big plans to open close to 100 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) in the next 3 to 5 years.
How important are tier II & III cities for the growth of your brand?
We play into the value segment and offer fast fashion at affordable prices and for us it is very important to be present in emerging tier II & III cities. 60% of our business comes from this particular market. This is where the real Bharat is today.
I think a lot of fashion and premium luxury fashion is already prevalent in metro and tier I cities. Tier II & III cities are the emerging markets, and that is where we see a lot of potential. Considering that 60% of our current business comes from tier II & III cities, I believe our offline presence in these areas is going to be very, very important.
Tell us about some business milestones that you wish to accomplish in the near future.
The plan of opening EBOs is already in the execution stage. We are also in the process of creating a retail id for our brand because we are a home grown brand and we want to take the pride of being an Indian brand to the international stage. We want to expand to the Middle East and then move on to Europe and America.
What is your annual turnover and what is TIGC’s financial growth prospect over the next two years?
Currently, we are an approximately Rs 400 crore company. We hope to achieve Rs 1000 crore revenue in the next 3 to 5 years.
