
Men in suits: Nikhil and Nitin Mohan of Blackberrys Menswear

Summary
The co-founders of Blackberrys Menswear on their conscious decision to focus on the blazers and suits category, staying relevant in a saturated market, and their own personal styleIt’s a delicate dance being brothers and running a multi-crore business together. Talking to Gurugram-based brothers Nikhil and Nitin Mohan, co-founders of Indian menswear brand Blackberrys Menswear, will leave you with the impression that they’ve worked out how to accomplish this quite adeptly. “Early on in our childhood, we were each other’s best friends. And so, when we came together as partners, those early values came to the fore," says Nitin, 56, the younger of the two, choosing to describe their operating style as “fire and ice; as today and tomorrow".
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Born into a family that was in the business of textile retailing—the family owns the 142-year-old textile retail store chain Sriram and Son—the choice of business was natural. “Our father and uncles ran Sriram and Son (the original store is in Chandni Chowk), and so there was a love for fabrics and garments and customer interaction from the very beginning. In fact, during college years, we’d end up at the store more often than we wanted to," recalls Nikhil, 58, in this conversation taking place over a video call with the brothers on a Wednesday morning.
It was in September 1991, when the winds of economic liberalisation were blowing in India, that the brothers’ independent vision took wing in the form of a self-funded, nascent venture in garment manufacturing called Blackberrys Menswear. Just in their early 20s, the brothers, who’d both graduated from NIFT Delhi with specialisations in apparel marketing and merchandising, got into the thick of things from the get go.
“We were 25 and 23, and instead of opting for the comfort of running our (family’s) established stores in South Extension and Chandni Chowk, we chose to jump into the deep end. We went into the innards of the city like Okhla and Kotla to meet suppliers during the initial days of learning the business," Nikhil recalls.
One of the early decisions they consciously took was to focus on the blazers and suits category. The reason, they say, was they wanted to offer young men who were looking to break new boundaries with ready-to-wear suits in new fits and colours. Until then, the category was dominated by brands like Raymonds and Vimal, who were focused on the “suiting-shirting" material market. “Our competitors were very straitjacketed. They operated from the mould of ‘aisa hi milta hain’, ‘aisa hi hota hain’ (this is what you get; this is how it’s done). It was a very top-down method." The mood and approach at the Blackberrys’ office in Okhla—their current headquarters is in Gurugram—was different. “The business was small and because we were just starting out, we had no markers or milestones to measure or compare against. It was total freedom without any constraints and that allowed us to create our own journey," says Nitin.
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Looking back, the timing of the launch couldn’t have been better. The newly liberalised economy was changing the way people ate, what they watched, and what they wore. From wearing shirts tailored by the local tailor, the average Indian officegoer was now embracing ready-made workwear. Terms like “Friday Dressing" had started populating advertisements and conversations. “There was a big shift in the adoption of ready-made garments and there were dress codes like wearing navy blue and black to office. Existing brands were collaborating with European labels. And from being viewed as an elitist garment, people were looking at blazers as formal workwear in India too," says Nikhil. There was also the onset of large-format stores like Shoppers Stop entering retail. “There was a whole wave of liberalisation and customers were willing to make the change. As a new brand, Blackberrys certainly rode that wave," he adds.
They took chances instead of sticking to the tried and tested. “We experimented with the colours of our suits and blazers. The usual options available at the time were blue and black suits. We came in with shades like teal, maroon and royal blue," says Nitin. Nikhil adds that to stand out from competition, they would import fabrics and trims like buttons from Europe. “Our buttons cost more than the fabric but that definitely caught people’s eyes," he laughs.
At 32 today, Blackberrys is a “millennial" brand. In the past three decades, it has grown from being a wholesale manufacturer to a mass retail undertaking. Today, Blackberrys—with the Mohan Brothers at the helm as founders and directors—has 1,250 retail touch points, including 400 exclusive stores, in over 350 cities in the country. The brothers have seen the menswear business change rapidly in these three decades. They have seen shopping evolve from being a brick-and-mortar experience to one that’s done online. They have seen customers’ tastes and spending power change, not to mention competition from similar brands like Louis Philippe and Van Heusen. Unlike haute couture or luxury fashion that allows a label or fashion designer to go edgy with their offerings, the retail fashion space is, for the most part, conservative. The range is largely limited to shirts, T-shirts, trousers, suits and traditional wear like kurtas and sherwanis. The market is healthy, though.
A recent report by market research firm Statista on men’s apparel in India pegs the market at $31.10 billion in 2024. With a CAGR of 3.46%, it is estimated to be worth approximately $36.88 billion in 2029. Blackberrys’ annual turnover is expected to touch ₹1,800 crore by the end of the year, up from ₹1,500 crore last year. This year also saw it open 30 retail stores, with 20 more in the pipeline. Along with suits and jackets, its other popular categories are dress line trousers, patented India Fit shirts and casual wear, including T-shirts, casual shirts and denims. The price range for the products varies from ₹895 for tees to ₹34,995 for a three-piece suit. Being an omni-channel brand, Blackberrys sells online on its website along with an exclusive partnership with fashion e-commerce company Myntra. The revenue from the online business, which now also includes hyperlocal delivery, is 7% of the overall retail revenue.
Given the drastic changes that they have had to adapt to over the years, how have they ensured the brand stays relevant and runs to scale successfully? “We’ve done that by staying within a tight boundary. While we did enter the womenswear market between 2003-10, we eventually decided to dig our heels deep and superspecialise in men’s fashion," says Nitin. He further notes that their experiments with collections were never undertaken at the cost of the consumer. “(Our goal) was never about taking uncalculated risks. It was never about dishing out fashion that was unresearched, non-technical or non-performing. It was always about staying focused and listening to the consumer," he adds. Nikhil, however, adds that staying relevant and being a national brand with a presence across geographies in the current scenario is a lot more complicated. “Earlier, there was no supply and the customer had fewer options. Today, we are in a situation of excess in terms of clothes and brands on offer," he says.
The task of satisfying the needs of every kind of customer out there in such a scenario is humongous. “You have to cater to the hardcore wedding customer from rural Bihar while not losing sight of the south Bombay or south Delhi minimalist customer," he quips.
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Along with a laser-focus on product category, innovation is the other key to how the brand has survived the volatile business. The brothers have invested in R&D to launch menswear collections that use innovative fabrics or technology. Take their TechPro collection, for instance, which was launched in August. Comprising T-shirts, shirts, khakis, trousers, blazers, and all-season jackets, the collection is made from stretchable fabric, is wrinkle-resistant and has Smart-Dry technology, which ensures the wearer stays dry/sweat-free in any climate.
In 2022, they created the India Slim Fit range of shirts specifically designed for Indian body types. These shirts, as per their website, have extra features like an extended placket and a high stance collar.
The duo’s inspiration to innovate comes from the customer himself. “It is our customer’s lifestyle that really inspires us," says Nitin. He adds that the idea for the TechPro collection came from observing that today, the average employee is not someone who only goes to an office to work.
“Remote work, instead, has ensured that people can work from the beaches of Goa or the mountains of Manali. We realised that there’s an opportunity to explore fabric that adapts to temperature." Sourcing material for these collections, he reveals, hasn’t been difficult. “Some of our suppliers are as old as we are. At the same time, we pretty much work with all textile producing countries, from Taiwan and Turkey to Utah in the US. There are also companies that specialize in textile technology that we collaborate with," he says.
This brings us to the question of their own personal styles. “I love experimenting and like to try on different silhouettes. But when it comes to weekday workwear, I spend just five minutes on my wardrobe," Nitin reveals. “Layering is an important part of how I dress, and so you’d see me wear a deconstructed jacket that’s minimalistic, not too colourful but is versatile," says Nikhil.
And then we come back to where we started, about how they work together harmoniously. “When we got into the business, there wasn’t a piece of paper where we wrote down our roles. It’s a good partnership that’s not copied or duplicated from somewhere. It’s something we’ve created ourselves," Nitin signs off.
QUICK 3
Favourite designer: “Paul Smith," says Nikhil Mohan
An accessory you love collecting: “Socks. You can communicate a lot, albeit subtly, through the colour of the socks you wear and how you match it with your shirt or pants," says Nitin Mohan.
Favourite holiday spot: Nashik and Hampi.
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