New Delhi: Menswear brand Peter England has launched deodorants under its namesake brand that will see the apparel retailer expand beyond selling shirts and formal wear to male grooming products now. The retailer will now compete with large consumer goods firms such as ITC, Hindustan Unilever, and Vini Cometics as it pushes it Rs199 priced fragrances through mom and pop stores in India.
Peter England, is part of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL)—the fashion and retail arm of telecom-to-cement conglomerate Aditya Birla Group. ABFRL manages brands such as Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, and Van Heusen in India through a network of 2,714 and over 18,000 multi-brand stores. It even runs the Pantaloons chain of department stores here.
The retailer’s move to tap the growing male grooming category comes as ABFRL is looking to expand its range of apparel beyond formal men and women’s wear into ethnic and occasion wear, and even accessories. Last year, ABFRL picked up stakes in two fashion brands in India including Jaypore, and Shantanu & Nikhil to capitalise on the growing demand for such apparel in India’s top metros.
With deodorants—that is a large and growing market in India—the company now wants to tap the consumer goods market. The range of eight Peter England branded deodorants, priced starting Rs199, will be retailed across the brand’s own network of over 500 stores, along with 10,000 general trade and pharmacy outlets, the company said.
“To ensure that we are offering our consumers choices for their different lifestyle needs we have developed this latest line of deodorants,” said Manish Singhai, chief operating officer, Peter England. “We intend to capitalize this by making our newest deodorant range available across the length & breadth of the country,” he said. Peter England is working with a local contract manufacturer MLPL Group, part of Juvenor Healthcare.
India’s deodorant market is estimated at ₹3,780 crore (as of 2018), according to research firm Euromonitor billion. Between 2017 and 2022, the category is expected to register a CAGR of 14.5%. In a hot and humid country like India, deodorants are a popular category of personal care products as low price points and heavy usage translate to strong sales for manufacturers. This has prompted both large and local companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Marico, ITC, McNROE Consumer products, and Vini Cosmetics, among others, to sell men and women’s fragrances.
