Says Grasim Industries group executive-president (fabrics and apparel business) Vikram Rao: "Wall Street was incorporated by the company last year and the returns generated through the manufacturing and marketing of the brand was absolutely negligible." Wall Street is a premium-end readymade suiting brand and is priced at Rs 400 onwards.

However, other Grasim brands such as Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, among others, which are also targeted at the premium end of the market, are doing well. Mr Rao said that in the future the company may look at the possibility of relaunching Wall Street. However, at present, the company is clear on phasing out the brand.

The company has now embarked on a brand building initiative to emphasise on new product development. This includes the recently launched suitings range under Aquasoft, Safari Ranger and the All Seasons range introduced a few months ago and targeted at the premium end of the market.

According to Mr Rao: "As regards new product development, the company will focus on developing the fabric range in the suiting segment for brands like Aquasoft, Safari Ranger and All Seasons, a few months down the line. It will also help in creating a backup for other brands which the company would introduce in the near future."

As regards the marketing strategies, adds Mr Rao: "The company plans to expand the number of retailers by 25 per cent from the existing 8,000 retailers, across major cities. The expansion will provide easy accessability of the brands to the customers and in a way create brand value."

The Aquasoft range is priced between Rs 300 to Rs 400 per metre, Safari Ranger is priced at Rs 350 per metre and All Seasons is priced in the range of Rs 400 to Rs 600 per metre.

Adds Mr Rao: "In a bid to add support value of its brands to the customers under one roof, Grasim plans to set up Grasim Design Studio in Delhi with an investment of Rs 1.5 crore, this year."

According to Mr Rao: "With the new product development, the company targets the market to grow by 25 per cent and the sales turnover by 10 per cent, this year." Of the Rs 3,000 crore textiles market, Grasim has a market share of 35 per cent.