Bangalore, July 11: In the face of growing competition and steep failure rate among multinational brands, Natural Textiles has drawn up ambitious expansion plans.

A leading export house and now a recent entrant into the domestic market with its `Calida' brand of innerwear for women, Natural Textiles, is planning to go national. Calida, which was initially launched in Bangalore, not only received good response from the local market but also managed a high percentage of switch customers who preferred it over other brands. One reason could be that being an export house, the company has inhouse manufacturing facilities and hence complete control over quality. Page Apparel which has already delayed the launch of `Jockey For Hers' twice is in for another delay. "You cannot call this a delay. We just want to be right the first time," said Shekar Tiwari, marketing head , Page Apparel.The company faced some problems over the quality control issue with its existing range for men. Even Littlewoods, which reserved its import quota to a great extent for the lingerie range, showed good results till the time domestic suppliers stepped in.

Secondly, Natural Textiles ,being in no hurry to capture the local market on a national scale, is moving step by step. "Acknowledging regional trends and reciprocating to them is as important in the garment business as it is in the cosmetics industry," said an industry expert.

Besides, Natural Textiles has acquired a unique edge with its reasonably priced structure despite its global branded status. In sharp contrast, most of the incoming foreign brands have targeted the premium segment on the premise of high-quality consciousness perceived to be common in the segment.Even local brands have opted for upgradation ignoring the mass middle -class market.

"However, being a local company we are trying to target the increasingly discerning customer in the middle class segment," said a company spokesperson for Natural Textiles.