Tell us about ‘A Skating Monk’. Who is the TG?
We started A Skating Monk about three years back. It started with a few apparel and footwear pieces. Since then, we have grown a lot and learnt about the market. We have seen what people react to and blended in according to that. We started out with pure skateboarding culture. We also took out a few skateboards in the beginning.
When I came down from Manchester to India I was really into skateboarding and everything that came along; that was my passion and I went that way. Now, with the growing trend and seeing how streetwear is panning out in India and outside India, we have adapted and we have also derailed a little bit from pure skateboarding culture and gone into more youthwear – something that is not very, very niche but which a lot of people can wear and be comfortable in. Our TG is 16 years to 25 years old.
How much does it contribute to Woodland’s sales now?
When we launched there weren’t many streetwear brands in India. When we started, it was new for the whole country and not just for Woodland as a company. We started off very small with a sale of somewhere around Rs.50 to 60 lakh a year but in the last 2.5 years we have grown and are targeting somewhere around Rs.10 to 12 cr this fiscal. When it comes to the comparison with Woodland’s sales, we hope to bring it up to a considerable amount in the coming years.
Tell us about the product portfolio.
We have seen what works for the market and what works for the people who buy our product. We are focusing a lot on footwear; apparel does go side by side. We do a lot of development and innovation in apparel with fabrics and styles. We are up to date with the international market. But now we also have a lot of choice in our footwear. Along with the usual streetwear sneakers, we also have tactical footwear which is more for rough use – but it still has that streetwear vibe. It is more tactical and heavy duty footwear.
Within apparel, we do oversized T-shirts, hoodies and jackets among other things.
For A Skating Monk products, have a dedicated website. It started as a typical online-only brand. We are now a part of 13 Woodland stores as a pop-up for our apparel and full range. In about 60 stores, the footwear we have at A Skating Monk is available.
Because A Skating Monk is a new brand, we can look at new spaces where we want to head. We still have to see what our core and major products are. We have recognised a few and seen what works for us and we are investing in those. We want to do limited styles in a lot of colors.
In the next year or two, if we see something happening, we’d like to dip our feet into that as well. Staying with the streetwear community and in that culture but also flexible and not rigid in any way.
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