Incorporating eco-friendly values in all products: Baggit's Ahuja

As the world gradually becomes a global village, consumer’s likes and dislikes across countries have also turned global in nature. From FMCG to auto and from consumer durables to lifestyle products; players in all categories have now upped the ante to deliver world class products and services. Indian brands aren’t far behind! Holding a strong legacy of reasonably stylish and affordable products, Baggit is touted to be amongst the countries popular fashion brand from almost more than two decades.

Committing quality and innovation, brand Baggit has, over the years has made space into the minds and hearts of consumers as a young fashion brand that addresses the novelty seeking, fun loving urban Indian consumer’s needs. Currently, Baggit offers handbags, wallets, mobile pouches, belts, caps and footwear. In India, Baggit currently has its presence in 101 cities including metros and tier II cities with 33 exclusive outlets and its presence in 300 multi brand retail stores. Recently, the brand forayed into the international market, starting from the UK market with an ultimate vision to make Baggit as global brand.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Vicky Ahuja, Director - Sales & Marketing, Baggit spoke about the brand, their marketing strategies and plans ahead.

The brand has received awards from Myntra, Shopper’s Stop, Inorbit, and Central Mall chains for being the ‘Most Admired Fashion Brand’ in the Accessory/iconic Handbag category. This year Baggit has made its maiden voyage with Lakme Fashion Week and raised the bar on brand perception to another level.

Speaking about the changing buying and spending pattern of customer's, Ahuja said, “We are in an industry where buying and spending is mostly dominated by women of the country. Major part of our TG is working women who have deep pockets to spend and a high standard of living. Not only metros, but also in Tier II cities women have become independent and started paying more attention to their looks and attire.”

Lifestyle industry has always been a very competitive market and especially with the entry of more and more International brands, it has become very tough. Sharing his thoughts on the same and speaking about the USP of brand Baggit, he said, “Baggit as a brand has a strong edge over other brands as it is an Indian brand and it easily connects with the Indian user and understands their needs. Our USP lies in being an eco-friendly brand with a wide range of vegan products. Our products are high on fashion and also great in terms of functionality which is usually the top lookout of every woman. We specialize in using traditional handicraft skills to create modern designs with non-leather materials and thus, becoming one of the favorite bag brands of Indian consumers”.

In today's tech savvy world, online and digital media are the most used platforms for brands and consumers. Shedding light on how Baggit is utilizing it, Ahuja said, “It’s of great help to lifestyle brands, large numbers of consumers opt for online options over the offline shopping experience. At Baggit, we have in-house e-Commerce sale, which helps us to retail online”.

Amongst recent activities, Baggit is now the official handbag partner of, highly anticipated film Bang Bang starring Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan that releases on October 2. Shedding more light on the same and also how do these kind of associations help the brand, Ahuja said, “Katrina has sported Baggit bags in the movie. We have specially put together a Bang Bang collection keeping in mind the vibrancy and energy of the action entertainer and Katrina's personal style statement, she is a style icon with mass popularity and that’s exactly how we see Baggit. In fact, the Baggit Bag being an integral accessory to the plot is what convinced us to go ahead with this association, thus making this a perfect fit”.

As mentioned earlier, multiplicity of international and national brands has enhanced the competition as all brands aim to reach out to the growing number of consumer base. Sharing some of the marketing and retail strategies at Baggit, Ahuja said, “Baggit as a brand is well-known in India. Still we are always on our toes and keep researching about the trends and the gaps that are available. Product strategy, marketing and retail strategy are given attention in order to increase sales. We making sure product that we design have contemporary and modern styles along with keeping an eye on the pricing of the product managing the balance between the top line and bottom line. At Baggit we make sure our products are not only fashionable but also value of functionality and this simply makes us unique and more connected to the consumers”.

Ahuja mentions that right now, the brand’s strategy is to facilitate more and more franchises across India, open more number of doors so that it can reach to different consumers across India, as well as abroad. “The brand has CRM plans and the annual calendar in order to facilitate all the marketing activities. Also, we are working on ATL and BTL advertising and integrate the same as retail strategies. In all, we make sure to work on a good mix of products at the right and affordable pricing, meant for every average modern consumer”, he added.

On asking about extension plans, Ahuja said, “We have a plan to open 50 new stores by the end of this year especially targeting tier II cities. We are working towards opening at least one store in each city of India. Internationally, we want to spread our wings in other countries too apart from UK”.

Ahuja started his career with Baggit almost 18 yrs ago and been grown with the brand. Speaking about the journey and some milestones that he believes have helped the brand grow, he said, “Baggit starting from scratch and has now become the country's largest selling brand with a strong presence in India and also UK is great achievement for Baggit. The Brand’s strong belief in 'Fashion without cruelty' has won it a PETA Proggy award in 2013.”

Exclusives
@adgully

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

More in Exclusives