W plans foray into branded jewellery  ( November '8,2003, HBL)

W, the womenswear brand from TCNS Clothing Company, now plans to test waters in the branded jewellery business.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Vijay K. Misra, CEO, said, "This is in line with our objective of being a complete female grooming brand."

According to him, the branded, non-precious jewellery, also to be launched under the W brand name, would hit retail stores next month. "We propose to introduce a limited range of the branded jewellery next month, and depending on consumer response, we plan to launch a complete range in March next year," he said.

TCNS Clothing Company is part of the closely-held, Rs 175-crore TCNS Ltd. The company's core business is exports, and it had forayed into the domestic market through TCNS Clothing Company in September 2002. "The reason why we settled on branded ethnic womenswear was that there was no significant, organised player in this category," Mr Misra said. The company had hired KSA Technopak for a market gap analysis, following which it decided to introduce the W brand.

According to him, W has garnered sales revenues of Rs 1.5 crore from two stores in the first six months of the brand's launch. The company has projected sales of Rs 15 crore from brand W by March 2004.

TCNS has invested Rs 13 crore in its domestic market, and another Rs 14 crore is likely to be invested by the middle of next year, he said.