Louis Philippe account is up for grabs

This is no doubt the season of change…

At Madura Garments for one. The company has thrown open the field for its Louis Philippe brand and has invited pitches from some of the top agencies in the country. In the fray for the Rs 7-crore business are JWT, McCann-Erickson, Contract, Enterprise Nexus and Mudra, besides incumbent O&M. O&M, Bangalore, has been handling the brand for the last three years.

While executives close to the event declined to go on record, agencyfaqs! has learnt the company feels the brand needs to don a more contemporary image. Since the company has not issued a clear brief to the prospective agencies yet, it is not known what are the key areas in the brand's communication that the company proposes to address and how the company plans to go about the pitch process. One thing is certain though: Louis Philippe will retain its premium badge.

Incidentally, O&M also handles Madura Garment's Allen Solly, a brand that has been extremely aggressive in recent times. The other Madura Garment brands are aligned in the following manner. While JWT (Bangalore) handles Van Heusen, and Madura Garment's retail brands Planet Fashion and Trouser Town, Mudra manages Peter England and Byford.

Market observers feel that while nothing is inherently wrong in the way things have been going for Louis Philippe, increasing competition has made it tougher for every brand to woo the consumer. As a senior marketing executive based in Chennai puts it, "Multi-brand outlets are clearly where the shopper is going today. Since people are ready to pay what it takes to make a statement, staying contemporary and top-of-mind is the biggest task for every brand."

Against this background, the company would obviously go for the agency that can rejuvenate the brand's premiumness, which has been the hallmark - albeit in a studiously underplayed manner - of Louis Philippe since its inception. © 2002 agencyfaqs!