Men’s fashion items in India are different from those sold overseas. Consider men’s leather shoes as an example. Most conventional businesses scarcely concentrate on product innovation and design, providing shoes only in black, brown, or tan colors. Shoes are frequently referred to as “commodities” throughout the nation.
To alter this idea, IIM Calcutta alumnus Amol Goel established Louis Stitch in November 2019 to give Indian guys a taste of luxury and high-end goods.
Louis Stitch is addressing this imbalance by competing with a few high-end international brands while offering luxury clothing at premium costs with high-quality design.
Louis Stitch’s founder and CEO, Amol Goel, said, “We wanted to eliminate the stigma associated with men’s fashion. In order to innovate in the product category, we gathered a team of dedicated artisans and shoemakers, which allowed us to introduce over 11 colors and endless designs in men’s footwear.
The Gurugram company has received Rs 5 crore in pre-Series A investment from Space World Group, a conglomerate active in the industrial, infrastructure, telecom, and chemical industries.
According to Goel, “The new fund will allow us to achieve a significant milestone of achieving Rs 100 crore gross turnover for FY24.”
Shoes by Louis Stitch
The firm hopes to strengthen its men’s wear product selection and enhance its retail skills across India with the additional funding. In FY24, the company also plans to expand its retail footprint across important Indian metropolises.
To provide a wide selection of clothing, accessories, and footwear created for aspiring Indian men, Louis Stitch is preparing to open its first-ever brand shop.
In addition to increasing our retail footprint in India to give customers a top-notch shopping experience, Goel says, “with this round of investment, we are determined to delivering on our promise of curating a range that satisfies all fashion demands of Indian men under one brand.
“This investment from Space World Group will take our plan for offline retail expansion to new heights and reach all prominent marketplaces across cities with new product offerings,” he continues.
Living through the epidemic
Louis Stitch began as a men’s fashion firm selling formal and semi-formal footwear in the Indian market, which proved to be a substantial source of income for the business.
Later, the business unveiled a line of accessories that Goel claims is among the best-selling in a variety of marketplaces. These include wallets, ties, belts, and socks.
Louis Stitch joined the clothing market in May 2023 with the introduction of formal shirts and polo t-shirts, where the brand has strong consumer momentum.
The COVID-19 pandemic struck four months after the brand’s inception, yet despite the lockdown and several market modifications, the company claims to have survived the epidemic and experienced growth.
In COVID-19, Goel continues, “Our uniquely positioned products, great products at a good price, and managing the right balance of inventory, sales, and cashflows made us strive.”
He said that Louis Stitch generated gross income of Rs 5 crore in COVID-19, or in FY21.
Louis Stitch’s founder and CEO, Amol Goel
The business imports its quality materials from nations including Egypt, Germany, and Argentina, among others. Its distribution center, a 70,000 square foot warehouse in Gurugram, is where the company says it fulfills an average of 35,000 orders every month.
Goel claims, “We have partnerships with one of the biggest shoe manufacturers with locations in Kanpur and Chennai. They get our designs and produce it for us in accordance with our instructions. At our factory in Gurugram, we produce our own clothing.
Through its website and other top e-commerce sites like Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Nykaa Fashion, and Ajio, the company has created a presence across all of India.
The future route
By 2023, the Indian men’s clothes ecommerce industry, which now represents 30.4% of the country’s overall garment ecommerce market, is expected to reach $1,668 million in revenue.
Louis Stitch, which has more than a million subscribers, had gross revenues of Rs 22 crore in FY22 and Rs 45 crore in FY23. For FY24, it now aims to raise Rs 100 crore.
Louis Stitch has raised a total of Rs 10 crore so far. It received its first investment from ATC Logistics, the family business of PVR founder Ajay Bijli.
According to Goel, who is speaking about the company’s future ambitions, “We are currently working on launching a strong apparel range, wherein we will aim to introduce 150-200 designs every month.”
We will introduce an exclusive line of laptop bags manufactured of imported leather before the end of August 2023. We are striving to create designs that are not currently on the Indian market, the author continues.
Additionally, Louis Stitch intends to introduce high-end casual footwear soon.
In terms of quality, Goel says, the company competes with overseas luxury companies like Johnston Murphy, Rockport, Tom Ford, Berluti, etc.
He says, “Only a small part of the country’s population has access to these brands/products. Our ongoing goal is to offer such quality to Indian guys at extremely fair pricing while continuing to innovate and advance. When it comes to premium luxury apparel, we believe ourselves to be a ‘go-to brand’ for guys all around the nation.”
