MUMBAI: Ever since it stepped foot on Indian soil, Pepe Jeans has been a popular choice among youngsters looking for denim. Founded in 1973 in London by three Indian brothers (Arun, Nitin and Milan Shah), the brand today has its footprints across the globe.
India is among the top three countries globally for Pepe in terms of business along with Spain and Germany. When Kavindra Mishra joined Pepe Jeans in 2013 as MD, the company’s net sales stood at a mere Rs 180 crore but with his marketing and strategic expertise, Pepe has grown exponentially and its net sales as of 2017 stood at an astounding Rs 1000 crore.
Now, Pepe Jeans has signed Bollywood actor Siddharth Malhotra as its first ever Indian brand ambassador. The brand has created an India centric campaign with the actor called, Spring Summer 18 campaign #MadeToCreate. The campaign is all about acting on your passion to create art and bring to life something remarkable that is driven by creative expression.
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The thought behind launching India’s first campaign for Pepe is in sync with the brand’s gaining popularity among youth and adults. Created by Pepe Jeans' in-house team in collaboration with the company’s global agency Spring Studios, the campaign idea was planned around eight to nine months ago.
The brand that traditionally resorts to print/magazine and OOH for its marketing has created three digital movies to connect with gen-Y. Mishra says, “We haven't done much advertising and marketing so far but that will change with this new campaign.” The brand will be ignoring TV as its core TG is always on digital and hence the brand will double its investment on digital platforms, in-cinema and OOH. Pepe will also conduct mall activations and tie ups with metro stations to advertise the new campaign.
The denim manufacturer will roll out another campaign in the second half of 2018, with Polish model Hanna Juzon.
Malhotra joins a star-studded global line-up including Ashton Kutcher, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Cara Delevinge, all of whom have modelled for Pepe Jeans over the years.
Although wearing jeans that cost approximately Rs 2000-4000 can be considered an urban phenomenon, that seems to be changing as with increasing digitisation, people in rural areas don’t mind spending some extra bucks to look ‘fashionable’. Mishra thanks e-commerce as because of the ease in online shopping and digitisation, people in smaller towns now understand fashion equally.
Mishra plans to open 35-40 stores every year and 2018 will be no less for the brand. He believes that in today’s competitive market, brands need to provide reason for a shopper to shop with them. In the apparel business, the way your store looks is equally important as the store is your marketing base.
Pepe Jeans India is also entering the innerwear segment. It has formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Kolkata-based hosiery major Dollar Industries for the manufacture and marketing of premium innerwear. Called Pepe Jeans Inner Fashions, the JV entity will make innerwear, lounge wear, gym wear, sleepwear and tracksuits targeting the premium segment.
The company will launch its first line of autumn-winter collection in July or August 2018.
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