New Delhi, November 28, 2016: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd.’s (ABFRL) most successful menswear brand `Peter England’ today announced a strategic collaboration with the Government of India’s `India Handloom Brand’ to work together to promote the Indian handloom industry. The strategic partnership was announced in Delhi in the presence of Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles along with Mr Manish Singhai, Brand Head, Peter England.
Aimed at celebrating the splendid handiwork of weavers and the rich legacy of India’s handloom industry, Peter England has been promoting environment friendly and responsible fashion that is sustainable and does not harm the eco-system. Committed to supporting Indian weavers and their artwork, Peter England will design an exclusive line of handloom shirts in partnership with Government of India’s “India Handloom Brand”.
To inaugurate this new initiative, Peter England collaborated with the handloom weavers from Mangalgiri in Andhra Pradesh to develop an exclusive “India Handloom Brand” collection for the first time. These garments are crafted using 100% handloom fabric which is unique in style and comfort, making this line of fashion attire truly Indian and authentic. Moreover, the collection will flaunt the logos of both the players – the Peter England logo along with the Government of India’s ‘India Handloom Brand’ on these garments to reflect the spirit of a socially responsible corporate citizen.
Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, unveiling the new collection said, “Authentic handloom products have always found resonance with Indian consumer. Our partnership with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail’s well known brand - Peter England will allow weavers to satiate this demand by making their products available in the market. Weavers will also get the right value and visibility in the Mens fashion garments market for their quality fabrics, through this partnership with Peter England and their direct sales channel.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Mr. Manish Singhai, Brand Head – Peter England, Madura F&L, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd said, “We are glad to partner with the Government of India’s Ministry of Textiles for this initiative that plays a very important role in scaling up the ‘Make in India’ vision of the Hon`ble Prime Minister. By closely working with the Ministry of Textiles, Peter England aims to bring the rich Indian heritage of handlooms closer to the Indian consumers.
The “India Handloom Brand” was launched by the Honorable Prime Minister of India on 7th August 2015, in order to promote the branding of high quality handloom products, with zero defects and zero impact on the environment. The “India Handloom Brand” is a testimony to the quality of handloom products in terms of raw material, processing, embellishments, weaving design and other parameters, besides social and environmental compliances for earning the trust of the customers.
Handloom fabrics and handloom weavers form an integral part of the rich culture, heritage and tradition of India. With a view to promote the handloom industry on a sustainable basis, it is deemed necessary to produce quality fabrics with new design for winning the trust and confidence of customers. Under the collaboration, initially a unique collection of shirts in 18-20 styles would be retailed at a prices starting from Rs.1699 /- across Peter England stores in Delhi and NCR.
About Government of India’s “India Handloom Brand”:
The Government of India’s “India Handloom Brand” was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 7th August, 2015, the first National Handloom Day, to endorse the quality of handloom products in terms of raw material, processing, embellishment, weaving, design and other parameters; besides social and environment compliance. The main objective is to promote the production of quality products with new designs for winning the trust and confidence of customers by giving particular attention to hand woven, authentic niche products with zero defect and zero impact on environment. The registration under the brand is given after stringent testing of samples in Govt. of India laboratories. As on 31st Oct. 2016, 552 registrations to handloom producing agencies/enterprises have been given under the brand, in 76 product categories. Several E-commerce platforms and leading retail stores have been engaged for marketing of India Handloom branded products.
About Peter England
Peter England is the most loved and largest menswear brand in India. It sells more than 10 million garments every year in its 650+ exclusive stores and 2,000+ multi-brand outlets across more than 375 towns. It has been voted as India's most trusted apparel brand for seven consecutive years by the Economic Times Brand Equity survey. A brand with quintessential English origins and heritage, Peter England was first launched in India by Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (then known as Madura Garments) in the mid-price segment in 1997; the company acquired the world rights for the brand in 2000. What began humbly as an honest shirt brand in 1997 in India, today is a complete lifestyle brand with merchandise available for everyday and special occasions. The brand has diversified into the non-apparel category with the launch of PE Bags and more recently it also launched a unique retailing store that targets the life cycle of an entire generation called Peter England Generation.
About Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (formerly known as Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited) was formed after the consolidation of the branded apparel businesses of Aditya Birla Group comprising Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd's (ABNL) Madura Fashion division and ABNL's subsidiaries Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited (PFRL) and Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail Company Limited (MGLRCL) in May 2015. Post the consolidation, PFRL was renamed as Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. ABFRL is India's No. 1 Fashion Lifestyle entity, growing at a rate in excess of 20 per cent over the last 5 years. ABFRL altogether hosts India's largest fashion network with over 7,000 points of sale across over 375 cities and towns, which include more than 2,000 exclusive ABFRL brand outlets.