Hasbro to expand retail outlets, launches no-sweat T-shirts

Venkatachari Jagannathan
30 October 2003

Hasbro also has five franchisee-owned stores. "The new stores will come up in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi," says Hasbro partner Hanif Sattar.

Promoted by brothers Hanif and Suhail Sattar, the 12-year-old firm Hasbro has two men''s wear premium brands: Basics, a casual and semi-formal wear, and Genesis, a formal wear garment. According to Hanif Sattar, 70 per cent of the turnover is from Basics and the balance is contributed by Genesis. Hasbro also sells its garments under its own brand in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, the UAE and Sri Lanka.

In order to expand its southern operations, Hasbro entered the Kerala market in 2002 with a budget of Rs 1 crore towards brand building, showroom and dealer-related expenses. The company opened its own store in Thrissur some time back.

No-sweat T-shirts
Hasbro has launched no-sweat T-shirts under its Basics brand, signalling its entry into this segment.

"Sweatiness, losing shine and shape after couple of washes were some of the reasons for T-shirts not gaining large acceptability here. Our T-shirt will not fade or change shape as it is made from Fortrel, a new fibre," assures Hanif Sattar. Fortrel is a synthetic fibre owned by Wellman Inc, an American company, and is distributed in India by Polycrest Innovations India.

Initially available only in Hasbro''s own stores, the T-shirts are priced from Rs 349 to Rs 599 and will be targeted at college students and young executives. The company hopes to sell 25,000 pieces in the first year.