“Triumph is a completely comfort-focused brand”: Triumph International’s Bhavin Devpuria

“Triumph is a completely comfort-focused brand”: Triumph International’s Bhavin Devpuria

He talks about the brand’s evolution in India, its collection, & more.

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Mumbai: Ill-fitted lingerie can be truly unappealing and an absolute turn-off. However, the fact remains that many girls and women are still unaware of how to gauge the right fit for themselves when it comes to lingerie – it is truly a personal experience, which is incomparable to another’s. 

Very recently, Swiss lingerie brand Triumph attracted the participation of women in its #BraFitChallenge, to help discover their right-fit bra. The activation followed the launch of the #ItsPersonal campaign, where women can embrace their personal journeys and make their individual lingerie choices. The month-long activity took place in stores, across shopping malls in, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The brand known for being dynamic and adaptable urged women to discover the right fit for their bodies.

Triumph International is one of the world's largest producers of lingerie, underwear, sleepwear, and swimwear. It is dedicated to quality: unrivalled fit, technical craft, and comfort without sacrifice; since 1886. From an atelier based out of a barn in Southern Germany to a global brand with stores across the world – its values remain true. 

Bhavin Devpuria heads marketing for the Triumph Group, and his role involves looking at digital strategy, integrated communications, and channel marketing for, Triumph and Sloggi, in India and Sri Lanka. Devpuria has worked extensively in retail, across lifestyle, fashion, and other categories.

In a confab with Indiantelevision.com, Triumph International marketing head - India & Sri Lanka Bhavin Devpuria chats about the evolution of the brand in India, the recently concluded #BraFitChallenge, the ongoing #ItsPersonal campaign, and more.

Edited excerpts:

On the evolution of brand Triumph and its journey in India

Bringing its 130 years of creativity, innovation and dedication, Triumph International has connected with over four million customers in India, in over 22 years. The brand has had its presence in India for the past 22 years with over 1000 plus controlled counters. As one of the world's largest producers of lingerie, Triumph India has proven to be the lingerie expert to more than five million customers in India. 

Among the competitors, Triumph International is the largest player in the departmental stores space and awhile being a large player in the overall Indian market space as well.  Triumph brings a diverse range of lingerie and innerwear that adapts to a woman’s changing body and preferences. Innovation is at the center of everything Triumph provides. 

In the past two years, we have gradually moved away from the current positioning to a new brand value proposition and have brought in innovations like the Triumph Smart series. We believe the lingerie category in India is set to grow and as industry experts, we are going to accelerate this growth.

On the recently concluded #BraFitChallenge that raises awareness for the need of wearing the correct sized bra

As a brand that strives for perfection in innerwear, Triumph feels the need to highlight the importance of properly fitted bras that can help women feel more confident, reduce premature breast sagging, reduce the deep creases and bulges around the chest, and prevent issues in the future. 

Majority of women in India wear the wrong bra size, as industry experts in this space, we felt the need in educating women about perfect fit tips and why wearing the right fitted bra is important. We have received an encouraging response to, #BraFitChallenge, and are looking forward to continuing this effort.

On what made you start the #BraFitChallenge

The #BraFitChallenge is on the back of the truth that the majority of women are wearing the wrong bra size, which can lead to a variety of problems. Common factors that could affect the measurements of your bra include - tapering of your shoulders, how broad your shoulders are, and the circumference and firmness of your breasts.  

Our goal was to encourage women to regularly check their bra size and get the right fit so they feel comfortable and confident in their bodies. The #BraFitChallenge is for women who want to feel inspired, and live freely on their own terms, and the overwhelming response has made us believe in this challenge and our determination to spread the word on wearing the best fitted bra.

On the #ItsPersonal campaign for Triumph India, and the kind of media mix you have utilised for the #BraFitChallenge and the #ItsPersonal campaign to reach out to your target audience

The #ItsPersonal campaign, is about women embracing their personal journey and making their individual lingerie choices. It is about having real conversations with women and understanding them better. Striving for a world where all women can wholeheartedly embrace who they are, their individuality, and what makes them unique. Every individual is different and it’s important for everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin.

This season, the collection is all about everyday comfort, inspired by the flexibility to be ‘you’. As an industry expert, we feel every individual is different and it’s important for everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin, as we make lingerie for every woman.

While reaching out to our audience we feel we need to be visible in the space where they are most present, we have used social media extensively for our campaigns, but are not limiting our activity to digital, we have also engaged in traditional media like print, OOH and influencer marketing

On the focus and inspiration for the newly launched Spring/Summer Collection'23 at the Triumph Rendezvous Fashion Show May'23

This season, we highlighted at the fashion show - the collection which is all about everyday comfort, inspired by the flexibility to be ‘you’. The SS23 collection adorns a line-up of bras, bralettes, and underpants in vibrant hues alongside an exclusive preview of the Autumn / Winter ‘23 line-up. We had in our collection summery pastels, lightweight and super soft material with recycled lace. 

The fashion show also featured Triaction, Amourette Charm, Aqua Lucky, Aqua Jade, and other collections. The Fashion Show included a blend of classic shades and prints, pastel color palettes, bold looks, thematic presentations like loungewear for a night of Netflix & Chill, and so on. With an entire segment dedicated to celebrating plus-size, women were seen exuding confidence in Triumph’s elegant lingerie, which brought out their personal style and individuality. 

Attendees also witnessed the unveiling of Triumph Triaction, an innovative range of sports bras and leggings that bends and twists with your body. 

Incidentally, this was the twelfth successful year of the Triumph Fashion Show and today Triumph has evolved from a lingerie brand to a fashionable lifestyle offering, with products ranging over activewear, home wear, sleepwear, lingerie, and more.

On your advertising and marketing strategy for Triumph India, this year and what are the upcoming campaigns of Triumph in the media going to be all about

In June, our conversation is highlighting Yoga, with Triaction by Triumph being the product focus, July-August is aimed at EOSS, then we launch our AW23 collection and enter into festive starting with Pujo, moving towards Diwali and we conclude the year with hosting a perfect party for the month of November and December 2023.

On Triumph India's focus on comfort first and being a sustainable lingerie brand

Triumph is a completely comfort-focused brand, we believe in providing comfort along with style and design.  Triumph is committed to making sure our entire business is as socially and environmentally responsible as possible. We believe our fabrics should be as environmentally responsible as they are comfortable. That’s why we’ve taken stock of each material we use to make them as planet friendly as possible. 

Infact, we intend for most of our materials to be recycled. By 2025, we're aiming to make 60 per cent of our collections from planet-friendly materials.

With respect to our product range, it is made from modal material – it is a form of rayon, another plant-based textile. Modal is durable and flexible, often blended with other fibers like cotton and spandex for added strength.

On retail expansion in India – online, offline (through in-store, franchise outlets, EBOs)

We are surely looking at retail expansion for this year, our focus is going to be pan-India expansions, we will be having 18-20 retail stores in India by the end of 2023.

We are also focusing on opening stores in tier II cities as well.

On the significant markets for the brand in India, and expanding to other cities

We are present pan India and specifically in Tier 1 cities, but we are expanding to Tier 2 cities as well like Indore, Bhopal, Nashik. We will continue to expand in tier I and tier II cities.

On your vision and way forward for the brand in 2023

Never standing still - Striving for a space where all women can embrace their individuality, we never stand still. Our progressive mindset strengthens the expertise and heritage at our core — driving us ever forward as the category leader.