WOULD LIKE TO GROW INDIAN SOURCING: KAREN DAVIDSON
KAREN DAVIDSON, the great-granddaughter of Harley-Davidson Motor Company co-founder William A Davidson and the creative director of the bikemaker’s general merchandise department, tells Avishek Rakshit how the American company wants to grow its sourcing from India. Edited excerpts:
Harley-Davidson MotorClothes is pretty new in India. What is unique about this brand?
This is a lifestyle category and has a high level of expression that inspires the purchaser in the 18-35 year age bracket to know the aspirational side of adventure. Maybe they (buyers) want to be part of the brand. We have a different range of apparel available through dealerships but the range in Harley-Davison MotorClothes stores is quite different.
So you are trying to create an aspiration for the brand as such with this apparel line?
Yes. We love India for the riding culture it has, and people, especially in India, do know the brand. This brand is about one’s individuality — about freedom and expressing yourself in your individual style — which is so important.
A lot of your apparels are made in China. Any plans to grow your Made in India initiative?
We do a lot of production in India and I am proud of that. We are, in fact, doing production
of the 1903 (collection) from India, which is a nice range with special finishes. It’s not available here (in India) but in the US and European markets. We definitely want to grow our sourcing from India and are discussing that. It will mainly be sportswear, which will comprise good-quality knitwear, shirts, jackets and others.
In fact, the highest detailed product that this store (HarleyDavidson MotorClothes store in Kolkata) has is made in India. The work, craftsmanship and detailing in India are amazing and we would like to grow Indian sourcing as it offers good customisation, detailing as well as special finishes.
How many stores do you target to open this year?
We have four such stores and 27 dealerships across India. The Harley-Davidson MotorClothes stores are in Siliguri, Imphal, Dimapur and in Kolkata. I can’t say how many but I think we have Varanasi and Goa as the next places of marking our presence. The stores will be driven by a franchisee model.
Do you plan to set up some kind of studio or fashion institute that can design clothes for the company?
It’s interesting but not yet. We get a lot of people (from India) who tell us a lot about sewing techniques and things like that.
So it’s a kind of partnership we have and we pay attention to something that they are innovating and is good for the brand. These partnerships are really important.