Comment: Consumerism galore

International brands set foot into a volatile but rewarding local landscape.

KARACHI:

Pakistan remains to be a land of opportunities against all odds; the one aspect that appeals to international manufacturers is the 180 million strong consumer base which is waiting to be explored.

Karachi — having 10% of the country’s population as well as being the business centre and highest revenue earner — seems an ideal place to start, if one puts security on the backburner. A testament to this is the recent opening of British retail store Debenhams, as well as other international brands like Mango, Monsoon, Next and Splash, which have opened in succession in the city’s new malls. Lahore, on the other hand, was first explored by brands such as Next (2007), perhaps due to its generally better security situation and the fact that foreign visitors and businessmen are attracted to its cultural affluence.

But is Pakistan’s own fashion scene not satiating consumers’ appetites? Is there really a need for these high street fashion stores?

Lack of home-grown brands

Fashion designers rely on churning out collection after collection of formal and bridal wear, which is a revenue earner for them. But the lack of corporate expertise and investment compounded with an uncertainty in the retail sector is something that has kept them away from venturing into opening large-scale brands. Adnan Pardesi, a leading designer from today’s generation, opines, “Eventually, a fashion designer will have to make a distinction between high fashion and street wear or prêt. In Pakistan, it is not sustainable for us to be doing clothes that compete with large-scale brands. No one has those finances and neither of us have that expertise — it is the job of corporations who have the benefit of economies of scale.” He adds that collaborations with textile mills and large brands is the future for designers venturing into the retail sector.

Designer debate

What Pardesi says is a fact. While it may be easier for a local designer devoid of international competition to venture into creating a label, it is not international practice. Globally, the fashion houses introduce high street lines but a designer is not credited for a brand like H&M — the most successful retail clothing brand in the world. If anything, we should look into brands like Crossroads and Stoneage for a retail takeover, who, to some extent are doing their part. In the international market, there will always be brands like H&M, Zara, TopMan/TopShop etc who will be ruling the roost as far as the market is concerned, so it is in many ways, inevitable for international brands to come and test the market and capture it eventually. The challenge here is to give local talent a platform to collaborate with these international brands a la Karl Lagerfeld for H&M. This will be a win-win situation for both the international brand as well as the local designer.

No transient population

Pakistan is not really a hot tourist destination. Karachi is a trade centre but it is Islamabad where foreign businessmen flock to for meetings. That means cities like Karachi and Lahore will have a relatively smaller share of the transient population. However, we cannot rule out the large number of Pakistanis who permanently live or work abroad and visit regularly. It is that population which is susceptible to consumerism especially in the international brands market. At the same time, the large number of people who go abroad for vacation or work are also potential consumers of these brands. But in the end, it is the local consumer base — which is not only swelling in numbers but also in awareness — that will be the true consumer of these brands. This population has heard of these brands all their lives, has received a garment or two from their travelling uncle or aunt and is the real customer for brands such as Debenhams, agrees Yasin Paracha who is the managing director of A-Ventures, the company responsible for bringing internationally renowned brands to the country. “Our target market is those who have heard of these brands through friends or are familiar with them personally after purchasing items on foreign trips.”

Consumerism is only as vicious as its consumers and the willingness of these brands to open shop despite violence, rising poverty and political uncertainty says just that.

The writer is a former print and broadcast journalist who has worked at The News and Geo TV.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2012.