Brand of the youth

Prasoon Pant / Jul 19, 2004, 13:51 IST

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Managing director, Lee Cooper India, Harpartap Singh shares the corporate strategy of the company.

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">How will you describe Lee Cooper as a brand? We are a brand of the youth, with a trendy appeal. We cater mainly to the age group of 16-35 years. Lee Cooper''s marketing strategy has been aimed at targeting the youth and this segment forms our substantial customer base.However, we are quite flexible with our strategy and are among the top three apparel brands in India today. Unlike other brands, Lee Cooper does not have a rigid corporate philosophy because in the long run you have to adapt to the changing needs of the times. And, giving the best to the customer is something we have always aspired for and we believe, a ''brand needs to deliver on its promise''. Can you throw light on the recruitment policy of Lee Cooper''s? Our focus is to hire the best talent available. For our manufacturing and retailing functions, we hire trained personnel from fashion institutions such as NIFT, Pearl Academy, among others as well as management graduates from reputed institutions and even graduates. We look for people who have had good schooling, which I feel is a very important factor in recruitment and go through the candidate''s overall educational background. I would like to point out, however that one doesn''t need to be an MBA to step into the corporate world; especially this is true from Lee Cooper''s point of view. Recruiting IIM pass-outs is not our preference either. We can recruit any graduate who we find is willing to learn, work hard and has an understanding of things in general. Tell us something about your training process? We train our work force in all aspects and aim to make them well-rounded professionals. If we are hiring candidates from institutions like NIFT or Pearl, we try to ''give direction'' to their learning in technical matters. Otherwise, I believe, all training happens on-the-job. But, it will always augur well for an individual, if he or she gathers an all-around knowledge and be flexible and at the same time be more confident in his or her approach. In a nutshell, a good personality along with an adequate skill base counts. Lee Cooper''s strategy is to mould an individual into an all rounder with a good personality. Do you think that today young Indian managers can match their global counterparts? Yes they can. However, a lot of work is required in this direction. This is because in India, our education system still focusses a lot on bookish knowledge and work experience can only be had after one completes his or her education. This is a truncated position. After college, it is vital for an individual to get some working knowledge of the area, in which he or she wants to work and then, after an understanding of the process, go for further or higher study. Only by striking a proper balance between theory and practice can we hope to achieve a mark in the global arena. What are your views on management education in the country? Although a number of such institutions are coming up, I cannot say how good these are. If you pursue education in one of the prestigious B-schools, then your brand value certainly goes up, but you cannot escape learning and training that only a workplace can teach you. I believe that good management institutions need to be established throughout the country and alongside, it is necessary to improve the college education in the country to a great extent, so that it becomes a stepladder to specialised training in a management institute.</div> </div>

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