American apparel retailer US Polo Assn. (USPA) believes India could become its largest market in the long-term. Arvind Fashions, its Indian licensing partner, aims to scale up the revenues of the brand to ₹3,000 crore in the coming years, targeting a double-digit growth.

J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of United States Polo Association (USPA Global), told businessline, “Globally we have had a tremendous run as a brand and have doubled the business since 2018. India has been our fastest growing market. I think it has the long-term potential to become our largest market. Having great partners around the world has helped the brand grow even in challenging times including in India. We are really excited about the opportunity in front of us in India.”

India is currently the brand’s third-largest market, which it entered in 2009. It currently is retailed through 450 exclusive brand outlets with over 20 per cent of the brand’s sales coming from the online channel.

Market leader

Shailesh Chaturvedi, MD & CEO, Arvind Fashions Ltd, said the brand is a clear market leader in the country in the casualwear space and has crossed the ₹2,000 crore-mark in revenues in India. “We are aiming to scale up the revenues of the brand to ₹3,000 crore in the coming years. We believe it has the potential to grow between 12-15 per cent CAGR. The Indian market is extremely well-poised to achieve this growth. We have put in large investments behind the brand in terms of advertising, expansion of retail footprint and are beefing up the back-end. We continue to open new stores. We have been expanding the range beyond menswear to categories including kidswear, womenwear, innerwear and footwear.,”he added.

Chaturvedi said that efforts have also been made to premiumise the brand. “After Covid, we have seen the K-shaped recovery where the premium products are seeing higher sales growth rates. So, we are renovating stores to keep the brand current and investing to have a stronger brand connect with the consumers in India,” he explained.

The company said that it expects US Polo’s footwear business to scale up to ₹500 crore in over the next few months.

Meanwhile, Prince said the brand has a diversified sourcing base globally and about 10 per cent of its global production is sourced from India. “I do see long-term opportunities to ramp up sourcing from India,” he added. Currently 80-85 per cent of the brand’s products sold in India are made in India.