For Tata Group’s ethnic wear brand Taneira, the upcoming festive season looks promising. The brand is projecting like-to-like growth of 30 per cent plus this festive season compared to last year, riding on a combination of positive wedding calendars, improved assortments, and sharper pricing strategies, Ambuj Narayan, CEO, Taneira, told ETRetail.
Apart from this, the brand’s e-commerce sales are up by almost 50 per cent, and its like-to-like sales are in double digits.
“With strong festive traction already visible in stores, we expect the momentum to accelerate,” Narayan said.
The brand is also expecting its online contribution to move into double digits soon, led by younger consumers opting for ready-to-wear. While saris remain the mainstay, ready-to-wear is steadily becoming a growth driver for the brand.
“Currently, ready-to-wear contributes 15–17 per cent, and is growing faster than saris. Even three years down the line, saris will continue to contribute nearly 80 per cent of our revenues, but we’re ensuring our ready-to-wear line, from kurtas and kurta sets to blouses, is deeply relevant to younger shoppers,” he explained.
Affordability has been another lever as the brand hasn’t lowered prices but has added more products at accessible price points.
“Kurtas now start at Rs 1,100, cotton saris at Rs 1,200, silks at Rs 6,999, and our vegan sari collection at Rs 5,999. This is possible because of economies of scale,” he said.
Taneira has also been on an aggressive retail expansion journey. From 20 stores at the end of FY22, the brand has grown to 80 stores across 40 cities today. Of these, 75 per cent are franchisee-run and 25 per cent are company-owned.
“We have a strong presence in the metros, along with tier-1 markets, and some tier-2 cities. For now, our focus is on consolidating in metros and tier-1 before expanding into newer towns,” Narayan said.
Currently, metro cities contribute to 55 per cent of the revenue of the brand.
Mall stores, though smaller at 1,500–2,000 sq. ft., deliver higher sales per square foot, while high street stores ranging from 2,500 to 6,000 sq. ft. generate higher throughput owing to the wider assortments on display.
On rising competition from new-age ethnic wear brands, Narayan said, “It’s only going to complement and not compete. We differentiate through design, use of pure and natural fibers, sustainable fabrics, superior in-store experiences, and by bringing the best of India under one roof.”
At present, Taneira boasts NPS scores of 88–90 with 40 per cent repeat customers in older stores. Over the last three years, Taneira has grown at a CAGR of 27 per cent.
