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| The Pioneers |
Prasad Pabrekar - MD
An electrical engineer from VJTI by qualification Mr. Pabrekar before inheriting his father's dry cleaning business ran an audiocassette-assembling unit whilst in college. It was in the laundry business that he accumulated vast experience related to denims.
Having gained experience in processing denim garments he set up his own denim-processing unit with a seed capital of Rs. One Lakh from a credit society. Since he knew everything about finishing a garment he decided to try his hand at stitching and selling his own brand of jeans.
In 1992, Mr. Pabrekar started manufacturing and selling his own brand under the Spykar name, first year of operations saw him incur a loss of Rs. Ten Lakh due to the lack of a well thought marketing strategy.
His experience with processing garments taught him to be sensitive to the needs and tastes of the consumers, which gave him the idea for all trials of Spykar to be done on humans rather than on mannequins.
His vast technical knowledge and his immense potential in understanding the brand and its market have formulated Spykar into one of India's leading brands today.
A firm believer in giving a quality product at the right price has always been the hallmark of his strategy towards the growth of Spykar. Right from its inception, Spykar's focus hasn't wavered from being customer-centric. The brand portfolio has since expanded with line extensions. Spykar has successfully transcended the traditional denim maker image and moved towards catering 'total casual dressing', by providing complete fashion needs. Currently the Spykar portfolio encompasses an array of casual apparel, from the authentic five-pocket jeans to fashionable denims that includes Cargos, Loozers, Casual shirts, T-Shirts and Cotton Chinos. Today Spykar provides a bigger range and more fits, consistently maintains international standards and has never set foot in the volume game.
The Boomerang pneumonic was introduced in 1998. In spite of all its activity and energy and vitality, the boomerang always comes back. The Spykar customer behaves somewhat similarly. He too comes back for more. This is the kind of loyalty that brand Spykar inspires.
Mr. Prasad Pabrekar has always been a visionary in the casual wear segment and, in a short span of 15 years, has made Spykar into one of the leading Denim brands in the country today.
Mr. Prasad Pabrekar's vision to make Spykar one of the best denim brand in the country, in terms of top of the mind recall, he plans to make Spykar available at all premium MBOs and Large Format Stores, apart from opening exclusive stores across the country, which would present the Spykar range in totality. Spykar has also opened its first exclusive outlet at Glades Mall, London.
Mr. Pabrekar has travelled extensively. In fact the dream to set up Spykar started with the desire to travel and experience people and places and different cultures. Now his travel is more focused towards building up knowledge on the garment industry that can be put to practice at Spykar.
Sanjay Vakharia - Director - Marketing
Mr. Sanjay Vakharia has been associated with Spykar since its inception in 1992. Quick to spot marketing opportunities, Mr. Vakharia has been primarily responsible for the brand image that Spykar enjoys today.
With a Master's Degree in Management, his sharp business acumen saw him rise from the position of Manager Marketing to Marketing Director. Today he is responsible for the overall Marketing & Brand Communication strategies of the company.
Prior to joining Spykar, he worked with Magna Publications as the Export Manager (Garments) wherein he was responsible for setting up the marketing network in the US & UK markets. Additionally, he was the Marketing Manager for their Toys & Games division. By 1992, was heading the manufacturing and marketing of the denim company, Ragz.
His focus, in terms of communicating directly to Spykar's core audience, people in the 14 - 26 years age bracket has never wavered, the product line and marketing communications have evolved with the changing tastes of this discerning group. But the aspirational value of the Spykar brand has never been compromised.
Under the astute direction of Mr. Vakharia, Spykar Jeans has followed a distribution strategy of retailing through at over 700 Multi Brand Outlet across India and Large Format Stores like Shoppers' Stop, Lifestyle, Pyramid, Globus, Pantaloons etc. Spykar also retails through exclusive stores across the nation.
Mr. Vakharia is currently spearheading Spykar Jeans foray into retail business, having already set up to 148 Exclusive Spykar Outlets and plans are afoot to have a total of 200 exclusive stores by 2008. Spykar strategy has also taken the brand to the Middle East. Mr. Vakharia has a keen eye on everything about the stores - right from the theme, décor, aesthetics, music, to the range of garments and accessories displayed.
Mr. Sanjay Vakharia has travelled extensively. Each of these visits are undertaken to acquire knowledge, be it garments or accessories or marketing techniques and POS material. And these inputs have really propelled Spykar in to a truly world class denim brand, where the accent on quality of the garment never wavers. And at the same time delivers a product that is easily distinguishable from the rest of the brands in the denim market.
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