Plans are also underway to enter the economy range of men's wear by the end of the current fiscal. Also on the cards is an entire range of clothing and accessories under the Newport range to be launched in September and will be mass-marketed through multi-brand outlets throughout the country.

Garment business division president GM Mirchandani said after the launch of the Excalibur range of men's clothing in the premium segment, the company plans to enter the economy range of men's clothing which is a hitherto untapped market.

About the foreign outlets, Mirchandani said that while the market is very small for these brands in neighbouring countries, "we need to make our presence felt in a small way."

Commenting onthe economic slowdown and deceleration of growth, particularly in the garment industry, Mirchandani said the company had managed to combat the trend by recording a 42 per cent growth in 1997-98. However, during the current year, the deceleration is more apparent and, therefore, the company has targeted a growth of only 20 per cent. Arvind Fashions has set a turnover target of Rs 235 crore (Rs 200 crore) and Rs 22 crore (Rs 20 crore) net profit for the current fiscal.

The company is ready for a countrywide launch of its Lee Youth brand from August 17. According to Mirchandani, this is the most complete range of clothing for the four to 14 year age group. The line covers complete jeans, big-overalls, shorts, shirts, t-shirts and accessories including caps, bags, belts and socks. Apart from multinationals like Benetton and Osh Kosh, which are yet to establish their presence in the domestic kidswear market, Arvind Fashions faces local competition from Weekenders and Gini & Jony on a smaller scale.

Mirchandaniclaimed that the Lee Youth range was designed based on psychographic studies of children in various age brackets and a survey conducted by AC Nielsen on 5,700 children in 18 cities across Asia. The brand launch will be accompanied by a Rs 1.5-crore ad campaign on the Cartoon Network and several sports and music channels, apart from print media campaigns.

The company plans to set up Spectrum stores in New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Calcutta. These stores will display the company's complete range of garments.