Grasim Suiting launches Aquasoft

Grasim Suiting, part of the Aditya Birla Group, recently launched Aquasoft, a summer fabric, which, the company claims, is "better than cotton." Over the next few weeks, the company plans to roll out Aquasoft nationally, starting with Goa to drive home the "aqua" association. Aquasoft sports a price tag of Rs 350 per meter and the company expects an additional business of Rs 20 crore per annum from Aquasoft sales.

"The brand's USP is its softness," said S. Krishnamoorthy, joint executive president, Grasim Industries (textiles & apparel division). "Besides softness and comfort, Aquasoft delivers functional benefits, like better absorption of water etc, which doesn't leave the fabric moist and sticky in summers." The design and product elements have been developed at Studio Grasim, New Delhi, which is the company's first design studio in the country. The design team is headed by Sean Chiles, the celebrated European designer. Aquasoft has a wide range of over 100 designs and shades ranging from sombre pastel shades to darker shades of blue and black.

Talking about the marketing strategy, Raj Sinha, vice-president, marketing, Grasim Industries (textiles & apparel division), said, "We would leave no stone unturned to establish direct contact with the end consumer." The company has set aside Rs 50-55 lakh to be spent on advertising and promotional activities in Delhi. The company is currently using the print medium to advertise and will spend around Rs 15 lakh on it in the next couple of months.

The ads, which will harp on how "Aquasoft is better than cotton", are slated to break in 15 days in all the leading newspapers, general interest magazines like India Today and special interest periodicals such as Jet Wings. The brand promotions would be actively supplemented with thematic campaigns like fashion festivals, which will be organised in the top 30 outlets in Delhi.

The company will leverage its wide network of 20,000 dealers and 150 retail outlets across the country to ensure nationwide availability of Aquasoft. "We have a mass retail contact programme. In Delhi itself we are going to hit out to 700 retail outlets in seven days' time. We will use impact creators in the form of banners, streamers, danglers and other PoP material to inform the consumer about the attributes of the fabric and why is it "better than cotton," said Rishi Vasudev, head of retail sales, Grasim and Graviera.

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