Lavie parent Bagzone eyes Rs. 800 cr topline in FY24

By Riya Sethi

CEO Ayush Tainwala says Bagzone Lifestyles is aiming to be a multi-category, multi-brand business. The brand ventured beyond bags into watches last month.
 

Bagzone Lifestyles, company that owns and sells bag brands Lavie, Lavie Sport and Lavie Luxe, clocked sales of Rs.500 cr in FY 2023. The company recently made its foray into women’s watches. 

Ayush Tainwala, CEO, Bagzone Lifestyles, underlined that the company is targeting rapid expansion.

“We are eyeing a number of close to about 800 crore rupees for the current fiscal year. We aim to grow 10x in the next few years and become a multi-category, multi-brand business,” he said. 

It also aims to achieve a target of 70 pc local sourcing and ramp up its offline presence by opening 300 exclusive brand outlets, and create employment directly and indirectly for 1,000 people. 

Bagzone announced in October 2023 that it had raised US $9 million from First Bridge
India Growth Fund, the first external fundraise for the company that showcased its first bag collection in 2010. Lavie claims to have a 5 to 10 pc share of the ₹10,000 cr handbag market. At the time of the funding announcement, the company revealed plans to expand manufacturing capabilities.

“We are in the process of building a second factory in close proximity to our existing factory, just outside of Nashik in the Igatpuri district. The new factory will be operational soon and will increase the production capacity to 5 lakh bags monthly. Presently, the company produces approximately 2 lakh bags monthly at its Nashik plant,” added Tainwala.

Beyond Bags 

The Lavie bags range straddles handbags, sling bags, tote bags, women’s wallets, clutches,
potlis, laptop handbags, fashion backpacks, satchels, box bags and hobos.

The company launched unisex backpacks under its brand extension Lavie Sport in 2020. The sub-brand now extends to duffle bags, briefcases and accessories like wallets and slings.

Earlier this year, it created sub-brand Lavie Luxe to cater to price sensitive buyers who seek premium women’s handbags. The Luxe range is priced between Rs.3,000 and Rs.7,000.

The contribution to sales is about 60-20-20, for Lavie handbags, Lavie Luxe and Lavie Sport respectively. Lavie’s highest selling product is women’s handbags, followed by sling bags. 

It’s most recent launch, in October 2023, announced the brand’s ambitions beyond bags. Lavie’s women’s watches are priced at Rs.5,999. They will be available online on Lavie’s official website and at Lavie retail outlets nationwide. The watches are backed by a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects, supported by Timex-authorised service centers.

Asked about the expectation from watches, Tainwala said, “We are excited about the launch and eagerly await our customers’ firsthand experience. Leveraging their valuable feedback, we aim to catalyse the growth of this exciting new category.”

Explaining the pricing of the watches, the CEO said, “The MRP for Lavie and Lavie Luxe bags typically spans between Rs.3,000 and 7,000. In the case of our watches, the introductory price of Rs.5,999 reflects our commitment to delivering quality and durability. Each watch comes with a one-year manufacturer warranty serviced by Timex, underscoring our dedication to maintaining high standards across all categories.”

Ramping Up South 

While the company has plans for retail expansion, there will also be a focused effort to ramp up retail presence in the South.

Asked about Lavie’s shares from metros and smaller cities and towns, Tainwala observed that the brand still has a lot of headroom to grow in tier 1 cities. 

“We have covered tier two and tier three as well but within tier one itself, we have a lot more work to do. I think we're stronger in the West. We're a little bit weaker in the South for which we're looking to basically grow our retail footprint. Our plan is to open over 100 exclusive brand stores – 50 pc in metros and tier 1, and the rest in tier 2 and 3 markets,” he explained.

Online Sales and Offline 

Overall sales is split evenly between online and offline channels and that is ratio expected to remain. Besides LavieWorld.com, Lavie products are available on marketplaces including Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart and Nykaa. 

“About half of our sales come from online. Most of the online sales are from marketplaces. Around 90 pc of online sales are from marketplaces. Going forward, we expect them (online and offline) to both grow equally, so we are expecting the mix to remain at about 50-50,” explained Tainwala. 

In terms of marketing, the skew is towards online channels. 

The CEO said, “Most of the marketing budget goes on digital now. The world has changed, so about 90 pc of our marketing budget goes into digital marketing. It’s mostly digital. A little bit of print and outdoor, but mostly digital.”

Celebrity Endorsements

The brand has engaged multiple actors since launch to feature in its advertisements. The line up includes Kareena Kapoor at launch in 2011 to Anushka Sharma in ads that went live in 2018 to Ranveer Singh energising Lavie Sport in 2023.

Right from the commercial featuring Kapoor to the latest with Sharma, the brand’s handbags have encouraged the customer to indulge in its irresistible range. Along the way, the brand adopted the messaging: ‘Why pick one? Fickle is fun’.

Lavie | Why Pick One? Fickle Is Fun | Anushka Sharma | 2018

Lavie | Irresistible | Kareena Kapoor | 2011

The Ranveer Singh spot showcases an active lifestyle that the brand wants to encourage customers to adopt, while establishing the versatility of the bag that comes in handy in his office, at a party or while he proposes to his significant other at a restaurant..

Lavie Sport | Work Play Slay | Ranveer Singh | 2023

On the RoI from celebrity endorsements, Tainwala noted, “We measure how much engagement they are able to drive on our social media handles and other platforms. We measure what are the click-through rates they are able to drive with specific creatives. It’s a fairly scientific process now in the digital space.” 

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