Exclusive | At 125, LEE focuses on innovative products and strong communication: Jain

A story that began in Kansas to provide basic business merchandise comes a long way to complete 125 celebrated years of the iconic denim brand, LEE. That, was the start of a long history of dedicated craftsmanship that has led to the eminent denim brand we know today.

Adgully caught up with Chakor Jain, Business Head, LEE to overview the long lead legacy of denim apparel market and the journey so far.

Speaking about the journey, Jain said, “The 125 year journey has been the exciting. Staying true to the brand values has paid dividends. Lee has been true to its values Real, Passionate, Unpretentious, Social and Curious.”

After celebrating across Asia, LEE has journeyed to the country to make India part of this celebration. From inventing the world’s first pair of zip-fly jeans, to paving the way for denim to evolve from work wear into fashion apparel, LEE fans in India will have the opportunity to go on a voyage discovering just what makes LEE a denim icon.

Sharing the initiatives done in India, he said, “The brand has initiated an archive tour with about 27 key heritage denim pieces which have been brought out of our museum in Kansas, USA. These key pieces display the brands curiosity to continually innovate and stay relevant for over a century now. The archives have traveled through Asia and will now be on display in India on 11th Oct 2014 at NSCI Stadium in Mumbai. In India we have a music concert alongside. It’s a one night only, unique concert where DJs and vocalist will come together and present music from the last 5 eras.”

“Light the candle” and “Denimifier” are two mobile apps which have also been created to engage consumers with our 125 year celebrations and help them live a denim lifestyle.
As we all know the denim industry seems to be one of the most robust ones but yet there are loyal customers, speaking about the strategies that are adopted to maintain the loyal customer base, he said, “Denims certainly play a very important role in consumer’s life and the relationship is inseparable. We have been investing in consumer research to understand the consumer aspirations and challenges. The learnings from this research have been keeping us curious and throwing up innovative ideas to offer denims which have fashion and functional benefits.”

Jain believes that India as a whole has been growing. While Tier 1 towns are continuing to grow a large growth is also coming in from Tier 2 towns. E-commerce is also playing a catalyst role to open up new markets and grow consumption.

LEE as a brand has been really cautious about its distribution and expansion. When asked, how do they plan and strategize when it comes to expanding sales volumes and at the same time avoiding over-distribution, Jain said, “You are right that we have been cautious about distribution and expansion, notably it has helped us to be in a better position in the business. While the markets have been difficult in the last few years we have managed to successfully open more doors and expand and strengthen our distribution.”

Looking at the growing trend of new media, independent retailers seem to face a challenge in the coming years. Expressing his views on the same, he said, “Change is constant. With the emergence of digital media and e-commerce the retail dynamics is changing. There are consumers who have adapted to the new media but still there is a large population which prefers to shop in the brick and mortar environment. In our opinion both will co-exist.”

Also marketing plays a vital role today, elaborating on the same Jain told us that though with the emergence of digital and smart phones there is bound to be a shift from the conventional media. “As a brand we have embraced the new media. We have been engaging with the communities in the digital spaces and igniting the creative potential in them,” he added.

Lee is a part of VF Corp, when asked how that portfolio helps them benefitting the brand Jain opined that the multi-brand portfolio, diverse market presence of VF brands creates an oceanic knowledge bank for all of us to leverage. He says, “We feel that there is an overt as well as a subtle learning, which makes us innovate meaningfully and make relevant offerings.”

Magic of Denim, Purposeful designs and innovation are the three important pillars for LEE to stay ahead of the competition. “Larger presence in digital (Social, Local and Mobile – SoLoMo) and staying relevant to the consumers will form a major part of our marketing strategy in the years to come,” he added.

According to Jain the key factors which will affect the market in 2014-2015 would be continued interactions, fostering relationships, purposeful designs, innovations, and e-commerce. On asking about the roadmap for the next couple of years, Jain said while concluding, “Innovative product, strong communication and impressive retail (physical and Virtual) store presence should be our focus in the next few years.”

Chakor Jain who is currently responsible for the overall business for Lee jeans in India, has been associated with VF Brands since its inception in India. He has stirred the growth of denim major LEE for the last 10 years. In his leadership, he re-positioned a successful global brand LEE into a purposeful fashion brand for a large aspirational population in India.

Marketing
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Marketing