MUMBAI: Innerwear is no longer a product of necessity but even a lifestyle marker. While the industry only has five major players - Lux, Amul, VIP, Chromozome and Jockey, — in the organised sector, there is still potential for them to tap the untapped consumer who is fickle and changes products as and when there is a new disruptor in the market.

Amul Macho has launched its sub-brand Macho Hint along with a TVC with brand ambassador Tiger Shroff with the tagline ‘Fashion Bade Aram Se’. The company wants to capture 40 per cent market share in fashion innerwear segment by 2020.

The innerwear industry in India is said to be over Rs 30,000 crore. The growth potential is vast as people shift from pyjamas to t-shirts, track pants and boxers.

Macho was launched in 2005 and has become one of the highest selling and fastest growing innerwear brands in the country. Macho operates in the mid-segment innerwear market. Macho Hint director Sandeep Seksaria says, “As part of our business strategy the brand is repositioning itself as a fashion led brand thus we are launching Macho Hint. We are confident that the new range of products in different colours and designs will help us in reaching the masses, especially the customers who are looking for comfort and fashion.”

The brand wants to create a perfect mix of style and comfort and is aimed at the youthful and fashionable consumer. One of the main features of the new range is that none of the prints will be repeated in the next range of products. Made from 100 per cent premium combed cotton, the lowers and uppers guarantee to maintain shape and appearance, wash after wash.

On the marketing front, the products will be advertised heavily on television followed by a bite size of outdoor and digital. On television, the ad starring Shroff will be aired across all major GECs, news channels, movie channels and music channels. Macho Hint has become the associate sponsor for many reality and GEC shows in Hindi and other regional languages that are aired on Sony, Colors and Zee.

Speaking about the heavy investment on television, Seksaria says, “We have always been big on television as that enables us to reach a mass audience. There is no better way to advertise in India other than television.”

It is interesting to note that the brand does not believe in shelling out money for digital on a larger scale. Defending his case, he says, “We talk about OTT being the next big thing for advertisers but how much of the population is actually watching content on OTT platforms? I think only 2-3 per cent! And the audience that is watching content on OTT platforms is not our customer."

The three key channels to distribute are general trade, modern retail outlet and online. Innerwear as a category relies heavily on general trade which occupies 90 per cent of the market followed by modern trade at 8 per cent and online channels at a mere 2 per cent. Seksaria, however, is optimistic that in the next 10 years, modern trade will contribute to 30-35 per cent of its sale and a major chunk will be from modern trade (60 per cent) which is already growing 100 per cent y-o-y.

The products range of Macho Hint will be available in all modern trade stores India through its strong network of dealers. Priced between Rs 150-250, the products are targeted at males in the age group of 14-45.

Going forward, the company will also launch its casual wear range in February which will include boxers and track pants. That is another untapped market by Indian players which has huge potential. The lounge/casual wear category in India is dominated by international players including Jockey, Jack & Jones, Hanes, Flying Machine along with premium brands like Tommy Hilfiger, U.S Polo and Fcuk.