Siyaram weaves fresh brand-building strategy  ( August '6,2001, FE)

Close on the heels of the roll-out of the Rs 20-crore television commercial to boost Siyaram’s brand image, the Rs 325-crore Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd, will launch a new campaign for its upscale brand J Hampstead in early September 2001. The textile company, which is a part of the Rs 1,000-crore Siyaram Poddar group, also has plans to enhance the network of its exclusive Siyaram showrooms from 25 to 75 in the next 12 months. Says Mr Gangadhar, general manager, Siyaram Silk Mills: ‘‘We’re targeting a turnover of Rs 400 crore this fiscal. J Hampstead’s contribution is expected to rise from Rs 40 crore to Rs 75 crore.’’

Handled by creative agency Percept Advertising, the new commercial for J Hampstead has been shot entirely in London. The earlier ‘Come Home to Siyaram’ campaign — which at around Rs 2.5 crore is said to be one of the most expensively produced ad films — was partly shot in London and Jaipur. Says Mr Gangadhar: ‘‘Keeping with our new brand platform of ‘One World One Fabric’ for J Hampstead (earlier the positioning line used to be J Hampstead: The Finest Fabric in the world), we’ve signed all international models who will be brought under the J Hampstead flag to reinforce the fabric’s appeal across nationalities and countries.’’

In line with its turnover expectations and also, to beat a fierce bout of competition in the textile industry, Siyaram has also enhanced its advertising and promotion campaign from Rs 20 crore last fiscal to Rs 30 crore this year.

The company’s objective for the year is to broaden the appeal of Siyaram — the upcountry and small towns account for around 80 per cent of sales. ‘‘Our consumers are typically middle-class and upper middle-class people and with the new focus on brand-building we intend to attract the top strata of consumers as well,’’ adds Mr Gangadhar. ‘‘We plan to operate at full capacities this year.’’ With fresh capacities added last fiscal, Siyaram is producing 25 lakh meters a month out of its total installed capacity of 30 lakh meters a month.

To meet enhanced customer expectations, the company has formulated a product strategy to offer 300 to 400 new designs every month in both suitings (suitings account for 85 per cent of sales) and shirtings. Siyaram is also aiming to enhance its export turnover from Rs 20 crore to Rs 30 crore in 2001-02.

Exclusive showrooms
Siyaram has decided to focus on building a franchised chain of exclusive showrooms. Since the last three years, it has set up 25 Siyaram exclusive showrooms, occupying space between 600 sqft and 3,000 sqft, in towns like Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chennai. In the next 12 months, the company is expected to add between 45 and 50 exclusive outlets.

To achieve greater penetration, Siyaram is also adding 50 wholesellers to its club of 400, who service around 50,000 retailers. ‘‘The new wholesale dealers should cover additional 5,000 to 6,000 retailers,’’ adds Mr Gangadhar.