Innerwear brand Dollar out with 'woke' spot, new identity

But why is Bollywood star Akshay Kumar wearing a Santa cap in the video? We spoke to the brand’s head of marketing and communications Bidyut Nath to find out.

Dollar Industries, the hosiery and garment manufacturing giant, recently introduced its new brand identity by unveiling a new logo with a tag 'Wear The Change'.

The Kolkata-headquartered brand released a 30-second-long film, featuring Bollywood star and brand ambassador Akshay Kumar, to announce the launch of the new logo. The video has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas.

In the film, Kumar is seen narrating a bedtime story to his on-screen daughter from a rather 'old' book, in which a princess saves a prince.

But why is Kumar wearing a Santa cap? Bidyut Nath, head of marketing and communications at Dollar Industries, tells us that it (the cap) was a part of the script. “The script is as such that it talks about gender stereotyping. Akshay, in the film, is seen with his on-screen daughter. The cap, as a prop ,enhances the ambience of the film, and adds a sense of relativity.”

About the logo change, he says that the updated logo signifies the upgraded business of the brand. “We are no longer only a hosiery brand. We’ve graduated from it. Our portfolio includes products for women and children as well. The brand today covers an entire range of knitted garments, from basic wear to outer wear.”

“The idea for the rebranding is to be more consistent in the competitive market, to be more innovative, and reach out to the target audience on a wider range,” added Nath.

As a part of identity change, the brand has consolidated its product range into five broad categories - Dollar Man, Dollar Woman, Dollar Junior, Dollar Always, and Dollar Thermal. Dollar will include a wide array of products for men, women and kids, such as briefs, vests, athleisure, leggings, thermals, etc.

As of today, the brand manufactures products for the age group starting four-plus years, and caters to audience of up to 60-plus years.

Speaking of the new logo’s specifications, Nath says, “The ‘knitted and overlapping D’ symbolises Dollar’s identity and the knitting industry.”

The new logo has been ideated by LinConsult, Lowe Lintas’ strategic brand consulting arm.

This, however, is not the first time that the brand logo has undergone a change. When the brand was founded in 1972, it had a fairly simple logo.

In 1990, the original logo underwent changes to meet the demands of the open market economy.

In 2005, when the brand brought onboard actor Salman Khan as its face, the logo again underwent some changes.

With Kumar as the face of the brand, Dollar Industries launched its ‘Fit hai Boss’ campaign in 2010. The brand revamped its identity again earlier this year.

The brand launched the latest logo earlier this month (June) to address the ‘new young India’, says Nath. “The logo also reflects our new way of doing business, addressing young Indians.”

Speaking about the vest market in India, Nath reveals that when Kumar was roped in 10 years back, the brand had a turnover of around Rs 293 crore. “We, today, sit at a turnover of more than Rs 1,000 crore.”

He says this jump in figure is surprising. “The biggest thing that came as a multiplier is the young generation. Of course, Akshay has been appealing to a lot of youngsters.”

“Innerwear is very personal to people. We also see a surge in this market to use better quality products. Also, over the years, we have expanded our reach to 70 per cent of rural India as well, which has helped us grow,” Nath added.

He points out that most players in the segment are from across the borders of the country. While they may have a dedicated audience, the prince point of Indian brands lures more customers, especially the middle class. “The Indian audience is mostly attracted to ‘better quality at cheaper price’,” Nath states.

Talking about the impact of the COVID-induced lockdown on the company's business, Nath says, “While the business was badly hit during the first couple of weeks during lockdown, since May, when e-commerce platforms were allowed to deliver non-essential products, the business is gradually coming back to its pace.”