Staying on top [Ferrari Watches]
Fastrack has stuck to its pegs of design and variety. Design boundaries have been pushed with different straps (made of denim, metal and synthetic materials), hands of the watches and cases. Themes have spanned bikes, army, beaches, outdoor sports and hip-hop music.
“We need to keep reinventing for the youth. Over the last five years, we have changed our brand ambassadors to keep it fresh. The audience’s attention span is less and hence, we refresh our collections as well,” points out Talati. Sinha adds, “Fastrack has consistently leveraged the potent insight of young people’s aversion to commitment, be it relationships, jobs or the accessories they flaunt. What has also helped them is the fact that a majority of the Indian youth does not have a penchant for international brands like they do in other countries. They would relate to an interesting brand that is real rather than hanker after a knockoff of an international brand.”
While Fastrack has successfully walked the marketing tightrope of speaking exclusively to teenagers, it has also walked the talk of a teen brand by keeping prices firmly in check. Its watches range between Rs 695 and Rs 3,500, sunglasses Rs 695-2,500, bags Rs 595-2,500 and belts Rs 195-1,095. Sinha says, “There has to be a sweet-spot of aspiration and affordability for the youth.”
In effect, Fastrack has come to occupy the sub-Rs 1,500 slot in watches, with just 15-20 per cent of its range priced above it. By virtue of being a stylish but affordable brand in sunglasses, it has filled a gap between the RayBans of the world at the upper end and the unbranded flea-market bargains at the lower end. With bags, belts and wallets, it has eschewed leather goods for materials that help keep the costs low, weather rough use and also look good.
Talati says, “We have kept a check on our costs by ensuring a lean team but one that means business. The average age in our office is 25-26 years. Having a young team helps us feel the youth’s pulse.” While Titan watches would have a strength of over 150 people, Fastrack has 60 people manning the various functions, with a brand manager for each category. At the retail front, only 10 stores are company-owned, the rest managed by franchisees. The production of the accessories is outsourced while watches are a mix of in-house and third-party manufacturing. Fastrack also ensures the materials used don’t add to the price of the products but lend themselves to innovative designs.
Talati says the brand is the entry barrier for competition. “It will be difficult to beat the way youngsters relate to our brand,” he points out. “None of the other brands that operate in the accessories’ space are solely focused on accessories; accessories are just one part of a larger portfolio. So they end up concentrating more on their flagship products such as sports shoes, luggage etc. In contrast, we have separate ad budgets and teams to service these product categories.”
Sinha points out a challenge for Fastrack: “The challenge for Fastrack is to sustain its message of Move On. It has taken one aspect and stuck to it for so long. But how long before its target audience finds it repetitive?”
For its part, Fastrack is working on a new line of attack. Next up are helmets and fashion footwear. These could prove to be much more difficult to crack — with helmets offering little in terms of precedents and fashion footwear a problem of plenty. But then who said Fastrack was afraid of changing the rules of the game?
“We need to keep reinventing for the youth. Over the last five years, we have changed our brand ambassadors to keep it fresh. The audience’s attention span is less and hence, we refresh our collections as well,” points out Talati. Sinha adds, “Fastrack has consistently leveraged the potent insight of young people’s aversion to commitment, be it relationships, jobs or the accessories they flaunt. What has also helped them is the fact that a majority of the Indian youth does not have a penchant for international brands like they do in other countries. They would relate to an interesting brand that is real rather than hanker after a knockoff of an international brand.”
While Fastrack has successfully walked the marketing tightrope of speaking exclusively to teenagers, it has also walked the talk of a teen brand by keeping prices firmly in check. Its watches range between Rs 695 and Rs 3,500, sunglasses Rs 695-2,500, bags Rs 595-2,500 and belts Rs 195-1,095. Sinha says, “There has to be a sweet-spot of aspiration and affordability for the youth.”
In effect, Fastrack has come to occupy the sub-Rs 1,500 slot in watches, with just 15-20 per cent of its range priced above it. By virtue of being a stylish but affordable brand in sunglasses, it has filled a gap between the RayBans of the world at the upper end and the unbranded flea-market bargains at the lower end. With bags, belts and wallets, it has eschewed leather goods for materials that help keep the costs low, weather rough use and also look good.
Talati says, “We have kept a check on our costs by ensuring a lean team but one that means business. The average age in our office is 25-26 years. Having a young team helps us feel the youth’s pulse.” While Titan watches would have a strength of over 150 people, Fastrack has 60 people manning the various functions, with a brand manager for each category. At the retail front, only 10 stores are company-owned, the rest managed by franchisees. The production of the accessories is outsourced while watches are a mix of in-house and third-party manufacturing. Fastrack also ensures the materials used don’t add to the price of the products but lend themselves to innovative designs.
Talati says the brand is the entry barrier for competition. “It will be difficult to beat the way youngsters relate to our brand,” he points out. “None of the other brands that operate in the accessories’ space are solely focused on accessories; accessories are just one part of a larger portfolio. So they end up concentrating more on their flagship products such as sports shoes, luggage etc. In contrast, we have separate ad budgets and teams to service these product categories.”
Sinha points out a challenge for Fastrack: “The challenge for Fastrack is to sustain its message of Move On. It has taken one aspect and stuck to it for so long. But how long before its target audience finds it repetitive?”
For its part, Fastrack is working on a new line of attack. Next up are helmets and fashion footwear. These could prove to be much more difficult to crack — with helmets offering little in terms of precedents and fashion footwear a problem of plenty. But then who said Fastrack was afraid of changing the rules of the game?
タグ：beaches
2011-10-17 11:18
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