Could you briefly tell us about the journey of the brand in becoming a leading player in this category? How challenging it is to carve out a niche in such a competitive market?

Over the years, Dollar Industries has focused on achieving global excellence in cost, quality and productivity. The history of brand "Dollar" goes back to the year of 1972-73, when Shri Dindayal Gupta started his proprietary firm, Bhawani Textiles. After walking through the long path of remarkable changes in the hosiery realm, Bhawani Textiles turned in to Bhawani Textiles Ltd. in 2005. Soon after, it became Dollar Industries Ltd in 2008.

The styles introduced by Dollar always stayed in tune with the latest fashion. Today Dollar ranks among the top hosiery and garment manufacturing giants in India. Our focus always remains on the demanding needs of a globalized world.

Being in tune to global fashion, retaining superior quality in affordable price, combating raw material supply problem are some of the challenges that we have been facing. But in Dollar, it is the challenges, which makes us more determined to achieve success.

So given the above how would you define your USP and value additions? What is the basic retail design strategy followed by Dollar for the EBOs?

The USP of Dollar as a brand is its value-for-money products that target all segment of society with the changing trends in global fashion. We haven't started our own EBO's and are presently contemplating on the possibilities.

Do you target a specific segment of consumers or shoppers?

Initially the target group was only men but it has changed over the years, the group has diversified to offer women and kids products as well.

What does it take to capture and then retain this segment of consumer?

We are opting for 360 degree marketing strategy to carry out promotional activities and also reach out to our TG. Quality, affordability and availability of the products do the rest to retain brand loyalty.

How much of your efforts go towards capturing the shoppers at the store? Could you tell us about some of your in-store initiatives such as displays, promos etc.

Although we have not started our EBOs and presently contemplating on the possibilities, but we are available in more than 70,000 MBO's in 26 states across the nation. We are quite active in our in-store activities, like product positioning, in-shop branding, product posters, dealer board branding, in-shop danglers. In festive season we also go for retail gate branding that gives us ample scope to display and promote our brand. There is no doubt that proper brand display influence shoppers and increase sale, irrespective of EBO or MBO. The well studied fact is,'much the shopper will notice a product; the likelihood of the product will be increased'.

Have you witnessed any new trends in terms of consumer behaviour/buying pattern?  What does this mean to you as a brand/retailer?

India holds immense growth potential for the innerwear industry. Modified lifestyle makes under garments a potential fashion statement for Indian men, especially in the urban centres. Buyers are more prone to fashionable innerwear instead of considering inners as simple necessity based products. During the last five years, the Indian market has grown beyond expectation, giving more room for a brand like ours. For Dollar, the scope is always open as we believe in sustainability and stylish fashion.

Going further what are your plans in terms of retail expansion all over India?

Currently, we have retail presence in over 70,000 MBOs across India. We are also planning on opening a chain of EBOs soon.
 
What is your present turnover and the target for the next financial year?

Our annual turnover in FY 2013-14 has reached Rs. 688.93 crore, 19% higher than previous fiscal. We expect to retain this growth rate for the upcoming financial year too.

Can you tell us about any interesting in-store promotion plans that you would like incorporate in the near future to connect with your shoppers?

In-store marketing is the lifeblood for brands. These create trial, repeat purchase and sales. Product placement plays a very important role in in-shop activities. For any new item, the placing should be in a very unconventional way, other than the regular racks. This tactic will help us in attracting new consumers and even create interest about the product among existing customers. Also in-store displays need to be big enough to attract attention; arranging the display based on the colours of the packaging and create vertical or horizontal blocks is essential. In a nutshell the overall promotion should be shop-able.

How encouraging is the market growth for a brand like yours in India? What is your take on the recent FDI Policy in terms of more international brands coming in? What do you think will be the impact of it on the Indian market and retailers?

Innerwear market in India definitely has growth potentiality. Organized market for this industry accounts for its continuous growth. Latest trend shows that the customer preferences have been changing rapidly. Now, inners are not just need based commodity that people tend to buy only when require, but are entering into the fashion garment section, giving us more room to develop.

Globalization has influenced Indian brands which are set to match up to the global standards of quality and design structure, raising the competition to higher level. Keeping these facts in mind we keep on changing our products as per the trend while we maintain the affordable price for all.