One8 by Virat Kohli from Artimas Fashions, a subsidiary of Lux Industries, is on a persistent drive to disrupt the stereotype with pioneering initiatives in the organized innerwear category of the country. The products under the brand have been created in collaboration with Lux Industries, which provides knowledge and expertise in manufacturing, designing, marketing, and retailing of the brand.

The premium innerwear brand is known for its exceptional product innovation and market development over the years. The brand, which is growing at a rapid pace, is all set to become the most successful trendy innerwear brand for the youth in the premium category.

To capture the vast variety of audiences, One8 has spread its wings into different verticals - athleisure, fragrances, innerwear, footwear, and café. The brand is now focusing on the innerwear category and plans to expand it exponentially.

According to Nischal Puri, Managing Director, Artimas Fashions Pvt Ltd, “India’s innerwear market is pegged at about Rs 32,000 crore, of which, men’s products account for a little over 30 percent. We hope to gain a larger share of the pie of market with Virat Kohli as the face. Premium category is a higher margin business and we are targeting the age group of over 18 years with whom brand Virat resonates very well.”

“At present, the premium innerwear market for men for the company is about 12 percent and we are looking to target a higher 18-20 percent EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization) margin in the coming days,” he further added.

After acing the innerwear category, the brand is now planning to foray into the sleepwear category in the first quarter of 2023.

“There is a very big opportunity that is under our belt currently, which is the entire sleepwear category. We have a license for One8 innerwear and sleepwear and we have not launched sleepwear yet,” he asserted.

Offline Distribution

The brand, which is currently focusing on Tier II markets for its EBOs, is associated with 200 distributors and is selling through 5,000 retail stores across 1,900 towns in India. At present, all three EBOs of the brand are Franchise Owned Franchise Operated, and going ahead, the brand plans to follow the same FOFO model for expansion.

“We have signed another 12 EBOs, and expect to have around 20 EBOs by the next financial year,” he stated.

“We are focusing more on Tier II cities as these cities provide a good ground for the right mix, the rentals aren’t too high, the brand can experiment well, franchisees are able to make money, and the breakeven point is lower. Additionally, the amount of marketing that is done in the smaller area becomes more effective,” he further explained.

Digital: An Important Tool

Apart from its website, the brand is available at various e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra, of which, Flipkart garners the highest revenue for the brand.

At present, the online business contributes 52 percent of the total sales of the brand.

“Both online and offline have a healthy sales mix. However, we expect two-fold growth in our e-commerce business next year,” he said.

Embedding Tech

To foster its sales, the brand is betting big on technology and has attained excellence in the field of Production, Accounting Methods, and Sales.

Explaining it further Puri said, “Production – In production, the optimal level of technology is being used for auto cutters and auto spreaders. All the machines that are used are pneumatic machines.

Accounting Methods – The brand works on SAP module for financials and accounting, which gives a huge amount of clarity, simplicity, and a good foundation for a bigger business to happen. Diverse accounting tasks like maintaining ledgers, balance sheets, profit and loss statements, etc., are managed automatically by SAP ERP solutions.

Sales – The brand uses Bizom, a SaaS-based solution that leverages automation and data to help consumer brands streamline supply and increase sales.”

Future Plans

The brand, which rung in the revenue figures of Rs 26 crore in FY 2021-22, is looking forward to cross Rs 45 crore this fiscal year. It is further expecting to grow 35-40 percent year-on-year.  

“By 2024, we are targeting a cross the Rs 100 crore mark,” he asserted.

“Apart from this, we are in advanced talks to raise Series A funding of over Rs 40 crore in the next quarter. This fundraise will largely be utilized on marketing expenditures. We took time to raise funds as we were looking for the right fit. Besides money, the important thing is the culture, philosophy, and intellectual capital of the investor,” he further added.

There are certain strategies on which the brand is working in terms of enhancing marketing as marketing is the next major push for the brand.