THREADS OF INNOVATION: How Harita Choudhary Kaul Weaves a Product Roadmap for Benetton India

As an accomplished expert, Harita Choudhary Kaul develops a roadmap for products based on their company’s vision, customer and market research and industry insights...

Fashion retail is by definition, a rapidly evolving industry. Embryonic consumer preferences, changing trends and technological advancements have led to the market witnessing significant shifts in design, production, and marketing strategies.

To succeed in this dynamic, fashion retailers need to turn profitable and at the heart of a profitable fashion business is the product. The simple equation therefore is the better the quality of your product, the more profitable your business. But managing a product is no simplistic task.

Product management with an Apparel Product Manager at the center of operations - typically brings together the work of the design studio, pattern cutting and production departments, ensuring a fashion collection achieves the required style, production standards, price points, delivery dates and points of sale.

The job is so advanced that more and more fashion retailers - small scale and large scale are hiring Product Managers.

When we talk of skilled Product Managers who handle a wide range of responsibilities at various stages of apparel's life cycle from buying to final delivery, we can't not talk about Harita Choudhary Kaul, Chief Product Officer, Benetton India.

This accomplished expert develops a roadmap for products based on their company's vision, customer and market research and industry insights.

As Head of Design, Buying & Merchandising and Visual Merchandising, Harita's role entails defining product strategy from concept to consumer, ensuring that the product offering is aligned with brand's vision and market needs. This includes the end-to-end product development cycle, new category launches, trend analysis, store buys and visually appealing in-store display that showcase the product effectively.