Killer Jeans is scaling its retail footprint while broadening its product portfolio, as Brand Head Lakhbir Singh outlines the brand’s strategy for growth, profitability and deeper penetration across India
Killer, the flagship brand of Kewal Kiran Clothing (KKCL), has historically been identified strongly with denim. The brand, however, is increasingly positioning itself as a broader lifestyle and casualwear player, with offerings spanning shirts, T-shirts, jackets, blazers, tracksuits and winterwear. In FY26, Killer recorded double-digit sales growth and accounted for around half of KKCL’s overall revenue, according to CRISIL.
Killer’s retail network has also expanded sharply. From 32 exclusive brand outlets in January 2020, the brand now has 480 active stores, with another 30 in the fit-out stage, according to Lakhbir Singh, Brand Head, Killer Jeans. The company plans to add around 55 stores in FY27, with a long-term target of 700 stores.
In an exclusive interview with BW Retail World, Singh discusses Killer’s shift from a denim-led brand to a lifestyle proposition, changing consumer preferences, the rise of Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, online-offline channel strategy, manufacturing advantages and the brand’s next phase of retail expansion.
Killer has been expanding beyond its traditional denim identity into a broader lifestyle and casualwear portfolio. What have been the key sales and revenue drivers, and which categories are growing fastest?
To answer this question, let me take you back around 15 years and look at what Killer was and what Killer is today. The foundation of the brand was built on denim — indigo, denims and jeans. Topwear, winterwear, activewear and layering were not part of the portfolio.
If you are a category specialist, that model can still work, but only in one format of the business. If you really want to scale the business, you have to add other categories.
Topwear was our first priority. When you look at sell-through and repeat buying, especially in the South, consumers buy more topwear and less bottomwear.
Even at a pan-India level, if you look at a consumer’s wardrobe, they may have 10 or 15 bottoms against 40 or 50 pieces of topwear. So, there is roughly a 1:3 industry benchmark between bottomwear and topwear.
That has been a growth lever for us over the last seven years, since we introduced the retail concept and expanded into modern trade. Consumers are no longer interacting with Killer as a one-category solution, but as a lifestyle brand.
Today, we are not only in denim. We make blazers, shirts, T-shirts, jackets, tracksuits and much more.
In value terms, bottomwear will always remain the leading category, contributing more than 50 per cent to the topline. But in terms of quantity, topwear is the leading category.
We currently sell 1.6 units of topwear for every unit of bottomwear, compared with an industry benchmark of 3:1. So, there is still significant headroom for us in topwear.
KKCL has outlined an aggressive retail expansion strategy. What role will Killer play, and how many stores do you expect to add in FY27?
Retail was already there with Kewal Kiran. The retail vertical essentially consisted of K-Lounge and Killer. K-Lounge was a departmental-store format from the house of KKCL, where brands such as Integriti, Lawman, Killer and Easies were available.
These brands targeted different age groups and consumer price points. During the Covid period, we decided to accelerate Killer as a brand in the retail vertical. I still remember that in January 2020, we had 250 K-Lounge stores and 32 Killer EBOs. So, it was around 280 stores as a mix. From 2020 onwards, we decided to put more energy, time and investment into Killer’s retail vertical.
Now, Killer has moved from 32 stores to nearly 500. Currently, we have 480 active stores, and another 30 stores are in the fit-out stage and will be introduced before Diwali.
Every year, we have been adding 60–70 Killer EBOs. This year, we are again going to add around 55 stores in FY27. The plan is to take the network to 700 stores.
We are not restricting ourselves to malls, high streets or Tier 2 cities. We have a balanced exposure across Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, as well as malls, high streets, airports and departmental stores. We have both company-owned and franchisee-owned stores.
That was one of the reasons why, during Covid, Killer was among the last brands to get affected in terms of topline. We were able to arrest the impact because our business was spread across different formats and markets.
Denim is evolving rapidly, with consumers looking beyond regular jeans towards cargos, relaxed fits, stretch fabrics and fashion-led casualwear. Which trends are translating into actual sales growth?
There has been a significant shift in the fashion sense of the consumer.
Earlier, denim meant only indigo. We did not see too many fit options in bottoms. It was either slim or skinny, darker or lighter indigo. That was it.
But the way fashion is changing, the way consumers are evolving and the way they are interacting with international fashion have led to a shift.
Consumers are still buying bottoms, but the style of bottoms has changed. We saw airport dressing, the travel series, pull-up trousers and then the movement towards cargos.
We introduced a concept called Beyond Blue, where we offered more coloured denim — olive green, chocolate brown, moss and camel.
But now there is another shift. People do not want to carry heavyweight, rigid denim on their bodies. If you are wearing garments for more than eight hours a day, you need lightweight options.
Lightweight bottoms are coming back. Linen trousers, drawstring trousers and loose-fit trousers are making a comeback. More than 80 per cent of our range now comes with stretch and Lycra.
Earlier, we had only three fits, although we have always claimed that we are pioneers in India when it comes to introducing new fits.
It is generally said that Killer understands the Indian male physique better when it comes to denim. We introduced bootcut for Punjab, loose fit for Delhi, and ankle fit for Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Now, we have more than eight fits in our portfolio to cater to different age segments and preferences.
There has also been a big shift in the consumer’s buying pattern. Earlier, the son would look at his father for fashion inspiration. Now, there is a shift where the father looks to the son to understand what is trending.
In terms of value, however, denim remains important. As I said earlier, topwear leads in quantity.
During winter and particularly in the northern markets, winterwear becomes extremely important. Nearly 50 per cent of the business happens from November to February.
If you do not have winterwear in your offering, you cannot run a retail store. You cannot run these stores only on topwear and bottomwear. You have to have winterwear. That is what the category mix looks like for Killer.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are emerging as important growth markets for branded apparel. How does sales performance in these markets compare with metros?
It is absolutely right that a major part of the business happens in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.
If you look at my business across metros versus non-metros, or state capitals versus other cities, the contribution from the latter is bigger.
But there are different aspects to this. One is brand sales and the second is brick-and-mortar sales. Where is my retail business? Where is my multi-brand business? Where is my large-format business? And where is my online business?
Mumbai is still the number one city for me in terms of business. Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai continue to be among the top markets.
But if I add online sales, the picture changes. When it comes specifically to physical retail, Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets are extremely important.
One reason is that retail costs are more economical. If you are expanding in retail, your rent-to-revenue ratio is much more affordable in these cities. You also get good partners there.
The tendency to buy primarily during discount periods is comparatively lower in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. These are still festival-driven and marriage-driven markets. There is a blend of need-based buying and mood-based buying.
In metros, it is more about mood-based buying. For example, Durga Puja contributes significantly in West Bengal, and I am not only talking about Kolkata. Even the interiors of West Bengal and the North East can perform far better than many metros.
Similarly, Diwali is much more exciting from a business perspective in cities such as Vadodara, Rajkot and Jamnagar compared with Delhi.
How are you balancing growth with profitability? What is the role of online channels in the next two to three years?
Singh: That is a very interesting question because we generally see cannibalisation from offline to online. You can end up misguiding your consumer by offering deeper discounts online or gradually hurting your own margins by selling products at heavy discounts.
I think we have been able to differentiate these two businesses.
Online, we have different merchandise, which we call SMU — Special Merchandise Units — which we do not offer offline. Offline, we have a separate retail vertical and separate merchandise.
Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi may not have as many retail stores because, in those markets, the Killer consumer is also buying online.
But in cities such as Durgapur, Ranchi and Patna, consumers want physical retail.
Coming back to profitability, we are present on Flipkart and have an exclusive tie-up with them. Either we sell through KillerJeans.com, or we are available only on Flipkart and not on other portals as of now.
When it comes to balancing this with our retail vertical, we predominantly work on a franchisee model. Around 80 per cent of our stores are franchisee-owned, while 20 per cent are company-owned.
Our modern trade and multi-brand businesses also operate on a buy-and-sell model, with limited stock correction. So, we have been able to manage the profitability aspect.
If you check our P&L and balance sheet, you will find that we are among the few brands in the ready-made apparel industry that are profitable.
One reason is that we own the kitchen; we do not simply trade in brands. We have one of the largest washing units in Daman from Kewal Kiran. Almost all our denim is made in-house. Shirts are made in-house and cotton trousers are made in-house, except winterwear and knitwear, where we buy capacity from other vendors.
The advantage of in-house manufacturing is that we can offer strong products at a sharp and compelling price.
The second reason is that our business model is designed with profitability in mind. That is how we have been managing the business.
What is the big trend that will drive Killer’s growth during the winter season?
I think it is not only about the product. There was a time 10–15 years ago when the product was the only hero, but now there are multiple aspects.
You have to have a good product, very strong marketing and a very strong connection with Indian consumers. You have to tick all the boxes, not just a few.
Coming back to the winter season, we have been focusing on our marketing campaigns and on how effectively we connect with the Indian consumer.
We did one series called I Wear India, I Wear Killer. This winter, we are marketing a campaign called Genes of India, where all states, geographies, demographics and customer segments are covered.
We are trying to build the connection that we are an Indian brand that understands Indian consumers — their fit requirements, their expectations, quality expectations and pricing needs.
I think marketing, backed by a good product, will be a key growth lever, along with increasing our retail footprint. As I said, adding 55 stores in this financial year is going to increase our footprint.
So, these three things — strong products, strong marketing and retail expansion — will drive Killer to the next level.
