“We had a very poor market share of just 4%, so brand building, finding out new target was required and for that we needed new promotion campaigns,” Rajeev Surana, CEO of OCM India Ltd. told 4Ps B&M.
A change in ownership, the subsequent image change and an additional infusion of Rs.120 million for buying new machines combined resulted in a 9% jump in OCM’s market-share during FY08. Not satisfied, the management is now concentrating on further reinforcing the brand’s salience among consumers, both in India and abroad (particularly the European, US and Middle Eastern markets) with a further planned investment of Rs.200 million only for brand building. And a strong employee base of over 1,000 (thankfully with no ‘labour unions’ among them) is relentlessly at work these days to revive the brand.
So is the dawn finally on hand for OCM? The answer to that question would perhaps be yes, as after six consecutive deplorable loss-making years, OCM made a net profit of Rs.3 million last fiscal and is targeting a higher profit forecast of Rs.9 million at the end of this fiscal. And for that they are enhancing their product portfolio with fabrics, shawls, jackets, et al, and have even brought on board the spunky Saif Ali Khan as brand ambassador. In fact, this year, OCM had a pan-India launch of its Winter Collection for the first time announcing its serious intent to the world of becoming more than just a seasonal player. “For that we needed to upgrade our manufacturing plant and now have products for the entire year,” explains Surana. To promote the same intent, OCM’s new marketing communication initiative (with Saif at its helm) hopes to beckon the consumer with the brand’s heritage, nostalgically bringing back their old jingle ‘Oh… see him’. This is in sharp contrast to many yesteryear brands, which, when they make a come back, usually change the entire promotional campaign. Onida, for example, when it made a comeback recently, it changed its age-old but hugely popular tag line ‘Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride.’ Within the textile industry itself, when Digjam made its come back, the brand changed its entire positioning- starting from the jingle to the creative communication. However, OCM did not try this route at all and stuck to its old jingle. Brand analysts claim that the reason OCM disappeared from the market was not because of any lack of brand salience but because of financial disturbances so “it’s natural in such cases for brands to stick to their old and popular jingles. It helps consumers make a quick association. Perhaps, six months later OCM will go for a new jingle,” says brand specialist, Harish Bijoor. Other brand analysts however feel that perhaps the choice of Saif as ambassador was not a perfect choice, since the actor has recently stopped endorsing another readymade apparel brand Provogue. But marketing honchos differ. They claim that changing brand ambassadors is on an upswing these days and Saif’s previous engagement with Provogue does not disturb OCM’s brand image as the two do not address the same market.
Moreover, the company is now also paying heed to its retail presence and has further expanded its domestic retail network with 75 new direct and about 750 indirect dealers to expand its presence to 1,300 multi-brand outlets and 16 exclusive stores. Surana says that the next step now is to conquer lands beyond India, for which OCM is focusing on US, Europe and Middle Eastern markets.
But all is not hunky dory. At a time when the formal dressing market is dominated by the readymade apparel category, the challenges in front of OCM seem to loom larger. When asked about OCM’s potential foray into the readymade segment, Surana was non-committal at first, citing OCM’s strong co-relation with other apparel retail players in terms of institutional sales alignments (Pantaloon, ITC, Westside) who are into the readymade formal wear business. “Besides, we are also supplying material to government organisations like military and several other institutions,” he says.
But dig a little beneath the surface and you realise that the new management at OCM’s help is perhaps just a little jittery about status quo. Concedes Surana, “We are quietly testing waters for readymade apparels too, but only in the very premium segment.” Clearly, the bid is to transfer the premium positioning for its worsted suitings onto their readymade venture. With the Indian apparel market growing at 11% annually, for now OCM has put all its cards on the table. Whether or not WL Ross, Surana and his core team are able to make the initial efforts pay off, will depend on the market’s future fabric!
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