Zodiac Clothing Company

The Zodiac story began way back in 1954 when M.Y. Noorani started a trading company. One of the first orders that he received was for fabric for an Indian company. When the fabric arrived in India, the buyer cancelled the order and Noorani was faced with a choice whether to abandon the consignment, thereby losing the entire amount paid for the fabric, or to pay import duty and take delivery of the consignment. He chose to pay the import duty and take delivery of the consignment himself, which he converted into Neckties. Thus began, Zodiac's legendary Tie business. The Ties became so successful, that soon there was a need to brand the Ties. Noorani in consultation with a few friends and colleagues selected the name Zodiac. The rest is history.

Noorani did well in exports as well and soon established business in Europe for premium quality ties and shirts. At home the Zodiac name became a synonym for ties and soon the company entered the arena of men's accessories with Cuff links, Belts, Wallets and Handkerchiefs.

Zodiac entered the domestic shirt segment in the late '60s and it was only recently that it added a premium range of trousers to its array of products. In 2002 Zodiac successfully launched a trendy, casual wear brand ZOD! creating a special “Club Wear” segment for the Indian male.

Today, Zodiac's combined manufacturing capacity is 5 million shirts, half a million ties and 1 million pairs of socks. It has manufacturing facilities in India (Karnataka, Gujarat) and the UAE (Dubai), with design and sales offices in 3 of the 5 fashion capitals of the world -- New York, London and Dusseldorf.

With 12 Branches in India and about 3500 people employed, the House of Zodiac is one of the few apparel majors that controls entire operations from Design to the Shelf a seamless organization between in-house Design, Development, Manufacturing, Distribution, Marketing & Retail. Zodiac is the first woven garments company in the world to get the SAA 8000, only the second company in India across categories to get this in India, ITC Tobacco Division being the first one.

Who would forget the Zodiac bearded man? The taste of success with Ties inspired M.Y. Noorani to go for an advertising campaign for Zodiac. With Bal Mundkur of Ulka Advertising, Noorani conceptualized the Zodiac Man who was to represent the stylish endearing 60's. “Looking at the example set by Hathaway shirts in the U.S., who successfully used an unconventional model with an eye patch, we identified Dhanji Rana as the Zodiac man. He was bearded, well built and epitomized a macho image; It was very unconventional to use a bearded model in those days. The strategy and creative concept was a runaway success and the Zodiac man - Dhanji Rana became an icon equal to the Air India Maharaja. Widely recognized, that face launched not only Zodiac ties & accessories, but also the shirts”, narrates senior Noorani with distinct pride on his face.

There was nothing in that black & white advertisement campaign except the Zodiac man, still people remember it. “That's the brand power of Zodiac”.