Q] With Alpine Club, you are entering the mass-premium travel gear market in India. What gap did you identify that drove this move?
Globally, Swiss Military targets the premium travel gear segment. In India, that is a niche market. The estimated branded travel gear market in India is about Rs 7,500 crore. Out of that, the premium market is about Rs 2,500 crore, and the mass market is about Rs 5,000 crore. So, for a global premium brand like Swiss Military, it is imperative that we enter the mass market with a new sub-brand. That’s how Alpine Club came about.
Additionally, India’s travel market is evolving, and consumers are looking beyond basic, functional products. They are becoming more conscious of quality, design, specifications, functionality, and obviously, reliability. There are consumers who want better products, but may not want to spend a lot on premium products. That is where the gap is—Rs 2,500 versus Rs 5,000 crore. Alpine Club has been specifically created for the consumer who is aspirational, yet value-conscious. The sub-brand will significantly expand our accessible and addressable market, while allowing the mother brand, Swiss Military, to retain and further strengthen its premium positioning.
The initial portfolio would be about 36 SKUs across polypropylene luggage, because it is cost-effective and extremely reliable. The three hard case collections are called the Miles, the Helix, and the Vortex. The market operating price (MOP) would be between `6,500 and `7,500. We will soon be introducing soft luggage, backpacks, messenger bags and travel accessories as well.
Q] Younger consumers, who form a core part of the target group for the sub-brand, are increasingly viewing travel gear in fashion and lifestyle contexts. Is Alpine Club more aligned with that expectation in terms of design and other things?
Alpine Club was conceived as a rugged, adventure-led outdoor brand, while also keeping the ethos of Swiss Military in mind. If you see the collection, the colours are very different and fashion-led. The sub-brand is going to be much more aggressive in following trends, understanding consumer needs, and being multi-functional. Certain products under the new brand will sport eight to nine pockets.
Q] Alpine Club targets a demographic that is extremely present on social media. What marketing approach will you take, and how will it differ from Swiss Military?
We really want our consumers to derive the benefit of the brand by putting everything into the product, rather than spending too much money to convince people to come and buy from us. A lot of money, time and effort goes into researching the product, understanding consumer needs, and then matching the two. This is what we call ‘demand vacuum’ inside the company, which no other company or brand is looking at, because it is inconvenient.
It is not like we don’t spend money on social media or advertising. But there is a method to the madness involved. Advertising, digital marketing, influencer marketing are all important for us. In fact, we are doing all of that and more, even for Swiss Military. But this cost has to be built into the product. An ATL expense on advertising or a BTL expense on in-store activations have to be included in the final price. There has to be a certain percentage you allocate to it.
Ultimately, we believe that it is important to have an omni-channel experience in addition to good product design, packaging, retail presentation, visual merchandising, digital communication and overall storytelling. And that is exactly what we are doing for both the brands—Swiss Military and Alpine Club.
Q] Since you are entering the mass-premium segment, what role will Tier-II and Tier-III cities play in your growth strategy?
They create a compelling opportunity, not just for us as a brand, but also for our distributors, retailers and other trade partners. With Alpine Club, we get to participate in emerging and regional markets, where consumers are increasingly transitioning from unorganised products towards branded travel gear that offers the right balance of quality, contemporary design, functionality and accessibility. Now, the global brand is right at their doorstep.
This gives our partners a broader product and price architecture to address a substantially larger consumer base. For Tier-II and Tier-III markets, our portfolio strategy is increasingly structured around clearly differentiated consumer propositions. For example, at one end, the Blackpool Collection in Swiss Military addresses the ultra-premium segment through elevated designs, best-in-class materials, specifications and product experiences; on the other end, Alpine Cloud offers high specifications and design-led products, but at a much more accessible price point, tailored particularly to the requirements and the purchasing patterns and behaviours of an Indian consumer. These differentiated propositions are allowing us to participate across a wider spectrum of the travel products market, while maintaining clear-cut brand segmentation.
Q] What is the current market share for Swiss Military in India, and what revenue targets do you have for Alpine Club as it launches in the country?
As I mentioned, the branded segment in India is about Rs 7,500 crore, out of which Rs 2,500 crore is the premium segment, where Swiss Military is. Presently, we are at about 10 per cent market share, which is about Rs 250 crore. In the next three years, the aspiration is to take about 30 per cent of that pie. We are looking at about `750 crore coming in from Swiss military sales in the premium-branded segment.
The mass-premium segment, which is where Alpine Club comes in, is about Rs 5,000 crore. We are looking at about a three to five per cent market share in the next three years, which is about Rs 250 crore.
Our target turnover in the next three years is Rs1,000 crore. One-fourth of which is expected to come from Alpine Club, and the remaining 75 per cent from Swiss Military.
Q] What is the retail, e-commerce and quick commerce distribution for the brand?
Traditionally, online was not a focus for the brand. But for the last six months, we have understood the importance of e-commerce platforms. We entered the quick commerce channel about four months ago. Blinkit is a massive partner for us, and we are looking at expanding that product portfolio across other marketplaces. At the same time, Amazon, Myntra and Flipkart have been doing well for us. And we are looking at about a 10 per cent target turnover coming in from online platforms, with the balance 90 per cent coming in from offline.
Under offline, we are pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy. We plan to launch 30 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) by December this year, with the network expected to grow to around 70 stores by March 2027. At the same time, we are significantly expanding our presence across general trade (GT) and large-format retail (LFR). Our multi-brand outlet network is expected to reach 3,000 stores, while we also plan to enter three major large-format retail chains by December this year. We are also introducing the shop-in-shop concept, featuring dedicated displays for Swiss Military and Alpine Club within retail stores. We expect to have this format operational across approximately 100 stores by the end of the year.
The plan is to introduce the brand at CSD, KPKB, and the INCS, which are Armed Forces canteens.
Q] How important is distribution and supply-chain expansion to your growth strategy?
We are heavily investing in a manufacturing facility. And we are now at about 29 warehouses pan-India, including four Mother-and-Feeder warehouses. Four other warehouses are opening as we speak, so we will be ending at about 32 or 33 warehouses. This is to make sure that any customer ordering the product through our omni-channel presence, across offline and online media, can get the product on the same day, which is our brand mandate.
