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In India, men’s fashion products vary from the ones offered abroad. Take, for instance, men’s leather footwear. Often considered a “commodity” in the country, most traditional brands hardly focus on product innovation and design, offering shoes in mainly black, brown, or tan colours. 

Amol Goel, an IIM Calcutta alum, decided to change this concept and founded Louis Stitch in November 2019 to deliver Indian men a taste of luxury and premium products.

Louis Stitch is tackling this disparity by providing luxury fashion at premium prices with high-quality design while competing with select international brands.

Speaking to YourStory, Goel, Founder and CEO of Louis Stitch says, “We wanted to change the perception attached towards men’s fashion. Therefore, we brought together a group of passionate artisans and shoemakers and innovated on the product segment, which enabled us to introduce over 11 colours and countless designs in men’s footwear.”

Recently, the Gurugram startup raised Rs 5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round from Space World Group, a conglomerate working in telecom, infrastructure, chemical, manufacturing, sectors. 

“The fresh fund will enable us to unlock a major milestone of achieving Rs 100 crore gross turnover for FY24,” Goel says.

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With the fresh capital, the company aims to increase its product portfolio in the men’s wear segment and expand its retail capabilities pan-India. The brand also intends to further its retail reach across major Indian metros in FY24.

Louis Stitch is in the process of launching its first-ever brand outlet to offer an extensive range of apparel, accessories, and footwear made for aspirational Indian men. 

“With this round of funding, we are committed to delivering on our promise of curating a line that addresses all fashion needs of Indian men under one brand, while expanding our retail presence in India to provide a world-class retail experience to the customers,” Goel says. 

“This investment from Space World Group will take our plan for offline retail expansion to new heights and reach all prominent marketplaces across cities with new product offerings,” he adds.

Surviving the pandemic

As a men’s fashion brand, Louis Stitch started with formal and semi-formal footwear in the Indian market, which turned out to be a significant source of revenue for the company. 

Then on, the company introduced an accessories range, including wallets, ties, belts, and socks, which Goel claims is among the top selling in various marketplaces. 

In May 2023, Louis Stitch entered the apparel segment and introduced formal shirts and polo t-shirts, where the brand sees good traction from customers. 

However, within four months of its launch, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and despite the lockdown and multiple market changes, the brand claims to have sustained the pandemic and witnessed growth. 

“Our uniquely positioned products, great quality products at a good price, and managing the right balance of inventory, sales, and cashflows made us strive during COVID-19,” Goel adds.

According to him, during COVID-19, i.e., in FY21, Louis Stitch achieved gross revenue of Rs 5 crore.

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Amol Goel, Founder &amp; CEO, Louis Stitch

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The company sources its premium materials from countries like Argentina, Germany, and Egypt, among others. Its 70,000 sq. ft. warehousing unit in Gurugram serves as its distribution centre, where the brand claims to fulfil an average of 35,000 orders monthly. 

Goel says, “We have tie-ups with one of the largest shoe manufacturers based in Chennai and Kanpur. We provide them with designs, and according to our specifications, they make it for us. We manufacture our apparel in-house at our Gurugram facility.”

Meanwhile, the brand has established a pan-India presence through its website and leading ecommerce platforms, including Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Nykaa Fashion, and Ajio. 

The road ahead

The Indian men’s apparel ecommerce market is predicted to reach $1,668 million by 2023 and accounts for 30.4% of the apparel ecommerce market in India.

With over a million customers, Louis Stitch has generated a gross revenue of Rs 22 crore in FY22 and Rs 45 crore in FY23. At present, it is targeting Rs 100 crore for FY24.

So far, Louis Stitch has raised Rs 10 crore. It raised its first funding round from the Founder of PVR, Ajay Bijli’s family office, ATC Logistics.

Speaking about the company’s future plans, Goel says, “We are currently working on launching a strong apparel range, wherein we will aim to introduce 150-200 designs every month.” 

“By the end of August 2023, we are coming up with an exclusive range of laptop bags made with imported leather. We are working to develop designs that are not yet available in the Indian market,” he adds.

Louis Stitch also plans to launch premium casual footwear in the coming months. 

Goel adds that the brand competes with foreign luxury players like Johnston Murphy, Rockport, Tom Ford, Berluti, etc., in terms of quality.

“These brands/products are accessible to only a small portion of the population across the country. Our constant endeavour is to provide such quality to Indian men at very decent prices while keeping ourselves ever-evolving in terms of innovation. We consider ourselves as a ‘go-to brand’ for men across the country when it comes to premium luxury fashion,” he says.