Ankan B

Experience

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  Madura Garments

  May 2004 - Jun 2004

  Designer - Internship

  • Was responsible for designing and developing a range 'Bahamas' for Allen Solly launched in spring -summer 2005• Worked on the thematic boards for the trend presentation for 2005.• Developing graphic prints and also worked on the colour ways.Key Contributions: • Researched and surveyed the different types of graphic prints used by the different brands in the market and documented it.• Conducted and documented market surveys on the pricing strategies of different brands.

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  Arvind Brands

  Jun 2005 - Apr 2006

  Designer

  Arvind Brands Ltd. (An associate company of Arvind Mills Ltd., the largest producer of denim in India and 3rd largest in the world. Arvind Brands has the largest portfolio of International brands—Lee, Newport, Wrangler, Ruf & Tuf, Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger etc.). • As the Designer, was responsible for managing — prints, styling and washes (for Jeans) — for Lee & Newport brands of Jeans; Lee Ts; Newport casual shirts; Newport woven bottoms.• Was also involved in extensive R & D of prints and fabrics.Key Contributions: • Was managing design and development of trend–based–ranges for each season, with the help of selected vendors across India• Was accountable for marketing, trend spotting, sourcing & analyses Show less

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  ITC Limited

  Apr 2006 - Jun 2008

  Designer Specialist

  • As the Designer Specialist at ITC–Gurgaon, was accountable for ‘John Players’ and ‘WILLS Lifestyle’ range of clothing, including—denims, cargos, casual shirts, casual trousers, party shirts, party trousers, formal shirts, formal trousers.• A team of two junior designers was reporting to me.• Was awarded the ‘Best Performer’ award for the year 2006-07.• Was also awarded the ‘Best Performer’ award for Casual Category in the year 2007-08.Organizational Challenge: The job required to design and develop multiple specific ranges for both the brands (John Players and WILLS Lifestyle) in line to meet the business targets and objectives.Key Contributions:• Consistently met business targets• Proactively planned the specific ranges for both the brands with emphasis on newness as well as the feasibility of designs• Managed the range through extensive trend presentations in domestic markets as well as international markets• Was actively engaged in trend spotting and analysis for both the brands Show less

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  Hirdaramani Group

  Jun 2008 - Jun 2011

  Head Designer

  L.i.C.C. (Long Island Clothing Company is a Hirdaramani Group Venture company dealing in fashionable and stylish casual wear at an affordable price. From a simple start in 2008 in Colombo, the brand has grown organically and quickly• As the Head Designer, I was responsible for every element of the designing process of L.i.C.C., including—logo, signature stitch, signature labels, website design etc• Reporting was to the Members of the Board of L.i.C.C. A team of designers, merchandiser and pattern makers was reporting to meOrganizational Challenge: The job challenge was to launch L.i.C.C. men and women’s denim wear within a very limited time-frame and to develop the brand as a stylish affordable option in the marketKey Contributions:• Was instrumental in promoting the brand to European companies like—British Home Stores, UK resulting in sales of half a million pieces of denims annually. Eventually, created a ‘design basket’ for export buyers and initiated mass production for their brands• Undertook range–planning to accommodate style & fabric trends and incorporated them with necessary changes for the target markets• Successfully identified the right product–mix in coherence with the brand positioning and consumer response • Initiated regular and intense market studies to understand consumer preferences and requirement• Consistently launched new washes, developed new trims and accessories for denims every season to keep the brand contemporary in very competitive markets• Managed the design team. Activities included—hiring, managing and developing the team and skill sets of the team members• Have also been instrumental in managing PR, Branding and Promotional exercises for the denim wear• Have also designed for Colombo Fashion Week 2010. • As the Head Designer, have attended the ‘Bread & Butter Fair 2009, Berlin’ as well as have visited Singapore for trend spotting and broad basing international fashion knowledge Show less

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  Mona Design Pvt Ltd.

  Feb 2011 - May 2013

  Business and Design Head - India

  Mona Design Pvt Ltd. is a buying house in apparel trade both in foreign and in India, making exclusive collections in fashion ladies garments which is their specialty and collections are made by foreign designers in co-ordination with local apparel designers. They largely carter to the European market.• As the design head, I was the one point contact between the European clients and the Design studio in India• Reporting was to the Board of Directors. A team of 40 people including designers, merchandisers, production managers, and sales team are reporting to me.Organizational Challenge: The challenge was to expand the business and create a self-sustainable model which would help in more efficient production and timely delivery.Key Contributions:• Successfully identified the right product in coherence with the need of the buyers.• Promoting the company to European brands like— armand thiery, jacqueline riu, Naf naf, camaiue and others resulting in increased sales.• Have set processes system between Paris head office and India to attain a better efficiency, which helped in reducing the response time by more than 30%.• Created and maintained an archive for all the styles sent to buyers as we receive queries sometimes even after a year.• Reduced the office running cost by setting the correct KRA’s for each division, which directly resulted in increased efficiency. Hence reducing the need for additional manpower and various levels.• Initiated and installed and ERP system (Chain Reaction) Show less

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  RANGER APPAREL EXPORT

  Jun 2013 - Nov 2018

  - As the Director, I am the one point contact for all business and design developments- Reporting to the CEO & Managing Director, while the design team of 35 people including designers, CAD designer, merchandisers, pattern masters and tailors are reported to me-From understanding the clients's briefs to conveying the same to the design and production team is my forte wherein I bring in my experience of the international arena, and my ability to play on the strengths of the local team Organizational Challenge: I took up the challenge to set up a new Design Research & Development facility and put in place a team to provide services ranging from initial concept development through to production while working towards the objective of expanding overall business with existing and new customers. Key Contributions:-Achieved yearly growth target for 1.5 million pieces in the year 2017 from 0.8 million in 2015-Presented a seasonal collection directly to clients like GANT, MUJI, J.Lindeberg, Scotch & Soda, while working closely with every client's design team, and undertaking a detailed seasonal presentation at the client's office, accommodating their style inputs & fabrics -Have worked extensively on developing denims, tech prep fabrics and washes-Added womenswear to the existing portfolio with an increase of 15% of overall business, while working to increase business by 25% in womenswear with a new production unit-The dedicated seasonal design collection helped increase in production orders of 30% SKUs -Have been attending fairs like Bread & Butter, Pitti Umo, Premuim, PV and visited London and Paris for intense market studies and trend spotting bi-annually-Developed environmental friendly collections across seasons with eco washes, sustainable fabrics, BCI and organic cottons for MUJI and GANT-Successfully added new clients to our portfolio - J.Lindeberg and Frame; handling initial marketing presentation through end production Show less Ranger has established itself as one of India’s leading shirt makers. Specialising in the manufacture of Men’s Woven shirts and are able to produce dress shirts, sport shirts, evening wear, casual shirts , vintage shirts …basically anything in a man’s shirt.Ranger stretches to great extents, in giving our customers what they want.In the last 16 years they have had a chance to service customers like Hugo Boss, Strellson, Esprit, Replay, Peak Performance, Scotch & Soda, Charles Tyrwhitt, Lacoste and Gant. Show less

  • Creative Director - Design and Marketing

    Apr 2015 - Nov 2018

  • Creative Director - Design and Marketing

    Apr 2015 - Nov 2018

  • Design Director

    Jun 2013 - Apr 2015
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  Ansawellness pvt ltd.

  Dec 2018 - now

  Co-Founder

  Ansawellness / TBX was started in 2016, at a unique location with a mix of corporates and residential community serving the delicacies of North Indian food. Later, we started another brand for Indo-Chinese named Dragon Box. Today, we cater to more than 300 unique customers daily with a repeat customer base of more than 65% over 4 stores in Bangalore.

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  Arvind Fashions Limited

  Sept 2022 - now

  Creative Head - USPOLO