25 years and counting

To celebrate their silver jubilee, Al Karam is set to offer approximately 300 prints this summer.

KARACHI:

Textile giant Al Karam launched their latest summer lawn on March 10. The collection featured 28 designs, with approximately 300 more to follow. The offerings are priced between Rs1,830 and Rs2,600.

It was 1986 when the brand Al Karam came into the market. 25 years on, it’s still a strong brand offering lawn fabric. The brand is set to celebrate its silver jubilee with the launch of their flagship outlet Al Karam Studio.

Talking to The Express Tribune, about their products, Abid Umer, director of Al Karam Textile Mills said: “The journey for our consumer begins when they touch the fabric, instantaneously they feel the need to drape it, around themselves, which they do!” Furthermore: “We absolutely do not compromise on the quality of the fabric, the cotton used in lawn production is imported and is American.”

“With the first 28 designs out in the market, there is more to come and as many as 300 other prints will be available soon in the market,” informs Umer. Currently, most of the Al Karam fabric is being outsourced at the franchise Identity, by the end of March 2011 the brand is launching Al Karam Studio, which will be located near Two Swords in Karachi.

Given the premium quality one wonders how they managed to control their price points? to which Umer says: “It’s our devotion and belief in producing the best quality of work. We are just not selling our product to one city -- we are selling a whole experience to our customers. We are a brand for the masses, it’s about the economies of scale. For the past 25 years that is what we have been doing.”

With celebrations for a silver jubilee which should have been more exciting this summer, the advertising philosophy was quite different. “We decided to be there for our customers in a subtle manner this time, we have done selective advertising on billboards,” said Umer.

But with textile giants and designers joining the bandwagon of lawn business, does he see it as a gimmick that will fade away in the near future? Umer asserts: “It creates a lot of opportunities for us. Earlier on, who would have considered wearing lawn in the evening event, but the trend has changed. Its couture. Its fashion. It’s a welcoming gesture for us and surely increase our market share in the industry.”

The latest collection stood out from the brand’s previous lines in terms of designs which were mostly geometric as opposed to their floral prints in the past.

Talking about design philosophy, Umer said, “The designs revolve around our customers’ needs, we have seen the fashion forecast, we have kept international trends in mind. There is fusion in our work and we are not just catering to the Pakistani market, we plan to open stores in India, UK,USA and Dubai. Hence, we are catering to regional and international markets.”

Al Karam was the first textile giant to collaborate with Sana Safinaz, HSY and Karma and the buzz is that the designer Umar Sayeed has partnered with Al Karam this year and will be bringing in a ready-to-wear collection this summer.

Finally, where does Al Karam see itself standing amidst the ongoing lawn war? Umer says: “We believe we are at the top of the game, reaching to our customers and constantly delivering to them at affordable price, good prints and fine quality fabric.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2011.