AgTalk | We are a "pro planet" brand : Woodland India's Harkirat Singh

With almost every industry having a sizeable competition, the footware indutry in India is not behind. In an exclusive conversation with Adgully Harkirat Singh, MD, Woodland India talks about the company, competition and CSR.

Adgully: What may be the size of the industry and what share of the pie is Woodland occupying at this point of time?

Harkirat Singh: In terms of footwear industry as a whole in India, there is a very wage figure which comes out because of a lot of un-branded stuff coming into the market. But in the branded segment, the market is almost of about 800-1000 crore. We are a different segment in the industry, since we are mainly an outdoor and casual product, we do a lot of casual footwear, and in our category we are the biggest player, where we have almost 70 % shares, but taking all the categories its about 5-10 %.

Ag: In such a competitive market, where every buyer is unique, how do you look at catering to such a market?

HS: The market is growing for the branded segment. In India there's a big competition between the branded and non-branded products. So, in the branded segment there are certain pockets, like in the sports category there are about 3-4 big good players. But I think the competition today is not between two different product lines but to give the best in the category. so, we give the best of the best product and that is the way to beat competition and make our own market.

Ag: How has new media helped you in reaching your buyers and how much of growth of business do you see in the next 5 years?

HS: We are pretty active on social media and the kind for some years now. I feel, today there's an advantage that we are directly in touch with the customers, and that is the best one wants. This is because you make them more comfortable, show them products online, there's no middleman to dilute your purchase decisions. We have a online store and our sales are growing quite fast. So what we see in another 5 years is its almost 20% of our business all together; and that's because we also growing in the retail section; while e-stores and social media like Facebook are growing quite fast also.

Ag: What is Woodland's USP against other players in the market?

HS: We are a very technical and a functional brand. Our products are basically meant for outdoors and we specialise in builing some technical aspect in our products. So what we do is stick to that , along side, recently we are doing a lot of environment friendly products, using organic cotton and bio-degradable shoes etc. So we remain in that area, because we see a big market in that.

Ag: What are the 2 things that Woodland as a brand has done so that it can stand apart its competition?

HS: One, Woodland has really gone into the interiors of the market and we are probably available pan India and thus we have a very good connect with the customers. So over a period of time the customer has established a notion and knows that if he/she is buying Woodland, they are sure about the quality.So its value for money.

HS: Looking at the vision for the group, we are growing at a good rate of about 25-30 % a year, but apart from this, we are more keen on the growth of 'pro planet theme' and the adventure club. Our vision is to make them bigger and better. And also to make Woodland as a brand, who's not only trying to sell their product, but also a brand trying to form a vision, connect to the youth.

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