Established in 1976, this lingerie brand has carved a niche for itself in the country’s lingeriescape, even withstanding competition from international players. Their belief in celebrating the femininity and spirit of women has led them to create exquisite lingerie, cosy nightwear, upbeat sports apparel, and now even western and ethnic wear for the contemporary women. The brand believes in offering women only the best in fashion, comfort and usability for her daily wear. Mr Shashikant Trevadia, MD, Juliet Apparels Ltd., takes us through Juliet’s journey and their future plans to make it bigger.
Do tell us something about Juliet. How and when was it established and how was the name ‘Juliet’ decided upon?
Juliet is a fashion brand for women, who want modern, functional design. We offer classics and wardrobe essentials that provide breathability and comfort; we create pieces that are made to last beyond the season.
Traditional methods and new techniques merge to form timeless pieces for our collections. We, from 1976 have always focused on the fabric and its quality. Crafted for sheer comfort of our customer and style that compliments your body and gives you a fabulous look. The Trevadia brothers came to Mumbai with a small capital but a big vision. They wanted to create a niche market for women’s intimate apparel in the Indian Subcontinent. Inspired by none other than the timeless classic of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the brand name was born.
Please tell us about the early years of your company and how was the intimate wear industry when Juliet came into the picture?
Juliet’s inception goes back to the time when the bra was a foreign luxury. It all started with the relentless passion of Gunwant and Shashikant Trevadia, two small-town brothers who dreamt of making it big in the city. Juliet’s initial venture focused on woman’s intimate garments. Their journey from selling these pieces on streets for some extra cash to their ends, into becoming one of the biggest intimate wear brands in India was a massive one. From humble beginnings of just a 100 sq ft room with just two sewing machines, we have built the company into a brand that retails lingerie and apparels to countries around the world.
What forms the inspiration of the brand? Considering the followers of the Brand Juilet, (which are many) what has been the strategy so far? Also for the Next 10 years, what would be the focus of the brand?
Juliet has been seeing a steady growth in its business with a vision to spread its wings and soar to new heights. Thus, we plan to have…
- EBOs across the country
- Regional offices pan India
- International collaborations
A brief about the brand…who all is it run by?
Our journey started with two machines and after a 40-year long tryst, we successfully managed to forge an empire that made a pivotal change in India’s Intimate wear Industry. Juliet entered the business when there was no other significant market player. With no rule books, no trends and no guidelines to follow, we had to rely on our experience and vision. Today, we’ve built our way up as a brand that women trust their most intimate needs with. As her precious confidant, we believe in producing a clothing line that compliments her lifestyle, dreams and aspirations in every way.
How did Juliet establish itself as a brand in the lingerie market?
The secret to our success has been our uncompromising belief in creating comforting and quality products for women. ‘A complete woman’ is our motto, one that has paved its way for the huge success of our brand. Juliet is available at every major outlet and brand across the country, ensuring each reach and a swift 24-hour delivery policy. In order to do so, distributors and agents are appointed in all major metros and state capitals of the country. Today, we have expanded our distribution to over 12,000 MBOs and continue to extend our reach to women across India and abroad.
Could you kindly elaborate on your products in terms of styles and designs?
Juliet has created and maintained a very tight-knit bond with their consumer and has always ensured it meets the necessities of a woman. Our offerings stretch from lingerie in every style to comfy nightwear, upbeat sports apparel and even western and ethnic wear collections. We’re constantly expanding and evolving to keep up with the life of a contemporary woman offering her the best of fashion, comfort and usability in her everyday life.
In lingerie, we provide a vast range of fashionable and comfortable bras such as a push-up, padded, non-padded, wired, non-wired, strapless, as well as stylish and snug panties. In addition, we offer maternity wear to make the shopping experience for soon-to-be mothers really easy. Understanding the profound need for comfort and quality—our brand has focused on the same. It fills us with a sense of pride to be a name one often hears amongst ladies across ages. Every range of ours aims to provide with the most recent trends and premium quality fabric. With this goal, Juliet aspires to weave comfort that provides you with a luxurious experience every day.
What do you perceive could be hurdles for the brand in serving Indian women?
One hurdle that we faced and which impacted our development in the earlier years was the lack of awareness in the market about quality and fit and the lack of acceptance of innerwear as the foundation garment of your outerwear. In addition to that, lingerie was still a taboo subject, not discussed and advertised so openly. The only way to overcome this was to invest into market and consumer education, which we have made one of our core focus areas. And successfully so, speaking about hurdles of the past, it sounds like a whirlwind, because it was. There were so many challenges but we were persistent, dedicated, optimistic, patient, and confident and we have won!
Today, the hurdles have shifted to different topics. We have found acceptance and we have created positive consumer experience with a longing for more. To stay consistent with the rising expectation in terms of product, service and brand experience, we now have to find solutions to cater to scattered consumers likewise and create more sophisticated shopping environments and higher engagement levels.
How vast is the brand presence across the globe?
We are constantly evolving and steadily planning to make our global presence.
Who is your target audience in India?
For all the categories the age group is 18 onwards.
Where do you draw inspiration from to design each collection?
Juliet is a fashion brand for women who want modern, functional design. We offer classics and wardrobe essentials that provide breathability and comfort; we create pieces that are made to last beyond the season. Traditional methods and new techniques merge to form timeless pieces for our collections.
How many collections do you have? Please elaborate on each of them.
There are about 150 styles in the innerwear category. For instance, ‘Body’ from Juliet is imported from Sri Lanka and caters to all big cup sizes. These are minimisers and offer full coverage and the price range is INR 995 to 1295.
In the premium category, there are padded styles with polymide and cotton fabrics. We offer a variety in cups and coverage. The price range is INR 699 to 990.
Currently, the brand has no plans to enter the luxury segment but in the near future we would venture there according to the market demand.
As far as the brand’s presence online is concerned, we are in talks with e-commerce sites and soon will be available on our own website as well (in the next six months). Also, we are planning 50 EBOs in the next six months with flexibility in terms of the EBO’s space, i.e., small or big.
As far as the products are concerned, in panties, earlier we had only regular ones in a pack of three. Since the past two years, we started off with premium panties in a pack of three and five. In premium panties, a pack of three is priced at INR 545, while, a pack of five is priced at INR 995. Also, three months ago, Juliet had started seamless panties (bonded panties) with various colours, prints, etc. The pack of three in plain colours is priced at INR 399 and in prints, it is priced at INR 449 in bonded panties. They also have period panties with a special treatment and maternity panties for expectant mothers.
Tell us about the number of manufacturing units of the brand?
Juliet has five buildings, out of which two are operational and one is for nightwear while another one is for intimates. Apart from that, Juliet has factories at Mahape and Taloja. The total work strength is 2,200 in Juliet and 90 per cent of the staff are women.
Before selecting an operator, they go through certain tests and after the selection there’s a training period of 26 days before they actually start working. Of this, 13 days are basic training and the next 13 are advanced training.
There’s a quarantine area in the factory where all material is unloaded and there are random checks conducted. The inspected and passed material is segregated clearly, month-wise and also marked. At present, there’s a capacity to hold 6 lakh pieces. The material passes through various tests before being passed.
One section is for moulding and the brand uses bullet as well as teardrop moulding. In the area where operators sit, the Anden system is used to record the efficiency of any operation such as any problem in a particular line, etc. There are 550 people in this unit.
How has your brand grown in the Indian market over the years? Do you plan on opening your own store?
It has grown steadily but strongly; and, yes, we do plan on opening our own store.
What was the annual revenue for your company last year? Also at what rate you expect the brand to grow in the next 10 years? Any established targets?
- Higher consumer education in Tier II and Tier III cities
- Build up our own web store with a superior brand experience
- Strengthen our own retail channel to offer a more premium shopping environment
- Build up our luxury and niche segments
- Integration of online and offline shopping experience and operations.
Which marketing channels do you use to promote your business? Also for the future which are the channels that the brand would focus on more.
Keeping the next 10 years in mind Juliet is all set to venture into TVCs, digital platforms and others, for advertising. The main view of the brand for the next five to 10 years is ‘sky is the limit’.
How many people are employed at your company?
The total work strength is 2,200 in Juliet and 90 per cent of the staff are women.
What is the big selling point for your brand?
The USP of the brand is that even the 200-rupee product has an excellent quality; so it’s value for money. Also, the brand is in tune with the market with regard to prints, colours, styles, fabrics, etc. We study the market in the country as well as abroad.
The Juliet GEN NEXT? How and what level of involvement do they have and where do they see the brand in the next 10 years?
The next generation of the family moves into the business and helps bring a fresh perspective to keep up with contemporary trends. Juliet now offers a wide array of collections ranging from lingerie to nightwear and loungewear, from western wear to ethnic wear.
In 1976, Mr Gunwant Trevadia comes to Mumbai with a small capital but a big vision. He wants to create a niche market for women’s intimate apparel in the Indian Subcontinent. Inspired by none other than the timeless classic of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the brand name is born.
And within the four walls of a small 100 sq ft space, two stitching machines turn his creativity into upscale lingerie that women begin to love.
1976-1979:
Operations shift to Dadar as the machine and manpower grow from two to 18. In 1979, Mr Gunwant Trevadia is joined by his younger brother Shashikant Trevadia. Together, the brothers take the business to new heights with Mr Gunwant managing finances and Mr Shashikant at the helm of product development.
1980’s:
Women begin to appreciate the importance of undergarments in completing their look. They realise that innerwear shapes and defines outerwear. This development boosts the lingerie industry like never before. By this time, Juliet has firmly found its foothold in Mumbai and now begins to spread its wings across the country. Emphasising its commitment to uniqueness, the house begins to focus on creating products that are refined and elegant, creating pieces that truly complement the complete woman. And, as a business evolves, so do the processes, with advanced machinery being introduced to a new 40,000 sq ft unit at Neelgiri Industrial Estate. The finance division grows into a corporate set-up at Nahar Industrial Estate.
1990’s:
The 90’s usher in the gradual ascent of lingerie to the world of fashion. It’s an exciting time filled with new style codes. The novelty is that lingerie could be exposed…as long as the look is unequivocally couture. Juliet magnifies this new trend by introducing an upmarket nightwear collection in 1991, following it up with a new division of ethnic clothes in 1992. It also starts expanding its reach across international shores, exporting to countries in Europe, Africa, Middle East, and South East Asia.
2000’s:
Juliet continues to shape a woman’s desire and interprets its collections with a creative sensitivity, infused a high level of elegance and style. Juliet evolves as femininity re-invents itself through different fashions and trends and the brand grows through different and new product launches and collections. Multiple production units across Mumbai help soar profits and reach, and the company prospers along with its 1500 employees.
The next generation of the family moves into the business and helps bring a fresh perspective to keep up with contemporary trends. Juliet now offers a wide array of collections ranging from lingerie to nightwear and loungewear, from western wear to ethnic wear.
TODAY:
The company has invested in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Mumbai, spanning across an area of 2.5 lakh sq ft and employs over 2000 people. Of these, 90 per cent are women, who the company empowers through employment opportunities.
