Salman Khan's Being Human eyes 20% growth YOY

Being Human, the casual wear brand launched by Salman Khan and its global licensee The Mandhana Retail Ventures, is looking at 20 per cent year-on-year growth for the next three to four years. Launched in the year 2012, the brand currently has more than 600 point-of-sale globally, having launched the clothing brand in markets like Europe, Middle East, Nepal and Mauritius.

Manish Mandhana

“I think the brand has grown from strength to strength in these five years. We started with Rs 45 crore, then we moved to Rs 132 crore and then to Rs 176 crore, followed by Rs 218 crore and then Rs 220 crore. So, we have been growing at a good pace and we are looking at a 20 per cent year-on-year growth for the next three to four years,” said Manish Mandhana, CEO, The Mandhana Retail Ventures.

To achieve this, the brand is looking at an aggressive expansion plan of its retail business mainly in the tier II and tier III cities.

“The city expansion will include reaching up to 1,500 outlets or point-of-sales in the next three years. We have already tied up with leading online fashion stores in India and in the future, we may also look at launching our own e-commerce website as well,” added Mandhana.

Although the brand has leveraged all omni-channel marketing possibilities, Mandhana claims that digital accounts for about 10 per cent of the brand’s sales.

Apart from increasing their point-of-sales in the country, the brand intends to increase its global footprint by tapping into new markets.

“Very soon we will be launching in the Fiji Islands, we have partnered with a big retailing group there. We are also looking at UK, USA and Canada as the markets we want to be present in in the coming three years,” said Mandhana.

According to Mandhana, their strong markets in India are Maharashtra, Gujarat and the North East. Not many brands have been able to make much of an impact in the North East but Mandhana believes that the presence of a fashion-conscious youth in the North Eastern states has played a huge part in their success there.

Internationally, Middle-East is their biggest market.

“Middle-East is our strongest market globally, mainly because we have tied up with a very big group called Landmark Group there. We have 130 selling points over there. Also, the population of Middle-East is mostly Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Apart from that Salman Khan enjoys a large fan-base in the Middle-East,” explained Mandhana.

Though Mandhana wasn’t able to give us the market share for Being Human, he did claim that in the casual wear category, Being Human is among the top three brands when it comes to sales in all the point-of-sales they are present in. While he refuses to label the brand as a premium product, he does agree that it is a bridge to premium-ness.

“We are a bridge to premium-ness. It is a charitable brand that wants to be accessible to everybody. Our range for a T-shirt actually starts from Rs 799 and we make products up to Rs 9,999. It is an aspirational global brand and our customer base includes people who believe in international fashion, follow international trends and believe in doing good,” said Mandhana.

The brand spends around 3-5 per cent of its revenue on advertising and favours print and social media platforms when it comes to reaching out to their customers.

“Our main mediums for advertising are newspapers, magazines and radio. We are also very active on social media platforms and of course our stores are our biggest marketing points,” said Mandhana.

Like many brands, the problem of fakes and imitation products also plague Being Human. Mandhana agrees that it is a problem but is also flattered by it.

“Most of the successful brands across the world suffer from this problem. While it damages your business, it is also flattering in a way. But honestly speaking, people who buy these imitation products are not exactly our target audience either. People who genuinely want to buy Being Human products will buy it from the store,” said Mandhana.

Men’s wear, by the virtue of being launched first and having Salman Khan as the ambassador, is the most selling category for the brand. But they are looking to expand their women’s wear range.

“Women’s wear when it comes to western wear is a very competitive category in our country. A lot of international brand and chains have come in who offer huge number of styles and choices when it comes to women’s wear. It is a tough category but we are building it up slowly,” said Mandhana.

Not just women’s wear, fashion and apparels in general is a highly competitive category. Now, with more celebrities launching their own fashion lines, how does Being Human plan to stand out from the clutter?

“Every brand has its own USP. Our USP is celebrity, charity and fashion and we capitalise on that. When you buy a Being Human product you are also contributing to the society. So, you are not just looking good, you are also doing good and that idea is really catching up with people,” said Mandhana.

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