Puffing on a cigar in his study, Sherlock Holmes once makes a passing comment to Dr John Watson stating that the most intriguing crime is the one that is the most commonplace. The point here is not about crimes. It is about how we tend to miss the most obvious, the most commonplace. The Holmesian logic and perception can very well be applied to the Indian retail scenario. We all know that the Indian retail market is growing by leap and bounds. It is so obvious. Now. What is just as obvious is that Indian retail also needs more of fashion.
We have been told time and again that organised retailing is growing. We also know that fashion is a big component of both the branded as well as the total retail market. Time it is to look at what has been obvious all along and cast a look at some figures that tell their own story.
Fashion has driven the retail boom in India and it continues to mark its prominence in all kinds of markets, malls and stores.
As the mall sprawl continues, the macro issue will be how to fashion the future of retail that has the potential of bringing Rs 40,000 crore business in the organised fold by the year 2006-07.
Consider this: Indian retail by 2006-07 would have over 50 million sq ft of quality space across the country and about 50 per cent of this space earmarked for fashion lifestyle retailing. What does this mean in terms of value? An estimated Rs 20,000 crore retail sales coming in the fold of organised retail business from the fashion sector alone. That is what at least the expectation is. We have seen similar developments happening at a rapid pace in the Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and they have each emerged as a retail paradise – be it in terms of fashion, tourism or cuisine.
Back to the Indian context, if we were to discuss retail as a business and fashion as a segment, who are these brands and retailers that will occupy this upcoming premium space? With each mall beginning to look like the other with the same set of anchors and brands, the challenge will be for brands, retailers and malls to differentiate their offering. We are talking of no less than 35 hypermarkets, 325 large department stores, 1,500 supermarkets and over 10,000 exclusive retail showrooms that need to lease or buy space in over 300 malls, shopping centres that are under construction and hundreds of markets that are being renovated all over the country within the next three years to make retail really happening.
Of brands and markets
But then, do we have enough brands or retail companies that can fill the kind of space that is coming up?
Where are the opportunities and avenues for expansion for existing players and new organisations? Indian retail clamours for more fashion. How do we fulfil this need?
A population of more than a billion – a huge consuming class – India is considered to be one of the preferred destinations for investments in the world.
Clothing and textiles constitute the largest block of organised retailing and if we were to consider all fashion and lifestyle segments like jewellery, watches, health & beauty care services, and also mobile handsets into one common grouping, then fashion as such would constitute about 60 per cent of the organised retailing pie.
Of all the retail segments, watches are the most organised with almost 40 per cent of the market being controlled by branded and organised players. The next most organised segment is that of footwear (25 per cent) followed by clothing (13.6 per cent). Titan Industries deserves the credit for having revolutionised and galvanised timewear retailing while in the case of footwear this credit goes to Bata and, of late, Liberty as well.
If we look at the growth areas, then the top 15 cities cater to 33 per cent of total urban population, but as high as 38 per cent of Sec A and B (the top two socio-economic consumer strata) urban population. The next 15 cities only add to another 7 per cent of Sec A and B population. So, the focus will be restricted only to the top 15 cities. About 96 per cent of total organised retail is in the top 10 cities, of which the top six cater to 82 per cent. However, the rate of growth will be higher in the bottom four of the top 10, which will have a 20 per cent share by 2005 against the present share of 15 per cent.
Let’s get straight to the point. You have read in earlier issues how by 2006-07, over 50 million sq ft of quality retail space will be up for grabs, 50 per cent of which will be for fashion lifestyle retailing.
With evolving fashion and changing face of Indian retail, our consumers are in for a rapid transformation. The good news is that consumer spending has been on the rise. Most organised retail businesses have not only reported increase on their sales but have also witnessed increasing profits quarter after quarter in last two years.
A welcome spurt in domestic tourism is expected to further boost sales of malls and department stores, which have become a sort of destination points for consumers. With the onslaught of malls, traditional shopping centres are innovating new ways to push sales. Shopping festivals in association with brands and services by those who want to connect with consumers have reaped rich dividends.
While in the department stores the share of the fashion wares will be over 95 per cent, in hypermarkets like Big Bazaar the share could be as high as 70 per cent. It will be again fashion that will see maximum growth in terms of organised retail expansion with over 1,000 branded exclusive showrooms and over 50 large department stores coming up by the end of 2005.
Fashion brands from the house of Bata, Liberty, Raymond, Titan, Tanishq, Arvind and Madura set the pace for organising retail in India. These companies could take on aggressive retail expansion drives as their backend is in order. With more and more corporates like Lakme, Lever and ITC getting into the fray, the fashion retail market is likely to look a lot better structured in times to come.
Clothing has been the most important segment in the context of retail evolution in India, not because of its size but the way it has effected lifestyle changes in the lives of the people. It was clothing that drew international brands into the Indian market which in turn set the ball rolling for organising the retail sector. Multinational brands with innovative concepts in retailing injected the necessary desire to change among all. This was what fuelled the growth of real retailing in the country.
With rising income levels and growing 'look good, feel good' attitude, fashion offers immense potential for deeper penetration into the Indian markets. Clothing is also the segment that sells the most across most MBOs.
Apparel chains
The ready-to-wear revolution did not usher in the retail revolution in the first decade of awakening. The multibrand stores which sold all types of products were the prime distribution channel for clothing. The early Nineties saw the setting up of solo shops focussed on ‘one brand’ and in this context the effort at Madura Garments and Zodiac helped the evolution of fashion retailing. There was for the first time a serious attempt in retail positioning as the brands started to compliment the retailing format or the other way round, and the product and retail stores together began to strengthen the ‘retail positioning.’ Modern retailing is all about satisfying consumer needs and in fact giving them more than what they need. The concept of shopping as an experience came to India only in the early Nineties with the launch of international brands like Allen Solly, Benetton, Lacoste and Arrow. Educating consumers about their shopping rights, these brands pushed others to fall in line.
Raymond, the only successfully growing textile chain, reacted positively to this change and went on an aggressive retail expansion drive – modernising its showrooms and making Raymond stores – a one-stop-shop for all men’s clothing needs. Today, it is the largest chain in the country selling clothing & textiles with more than 300 stores across the country.
The growth in the brands’ exclusive and speciality outlets – selfowned or franchised – has been phenomenal in recent times. The fact that in past 12 months over a thousand brand stores opened in fashionwares alone speaks of the value of exclusive store formats in the emerging scenario. Among the old players expanding through this format are Raymond, Zodiac, Benetton, Lacoste, Colorplus, Reebok, Adidas, Nike, Woodland, and the brands of Madura Garments and Arvind etc.
Among the new entrants, Wills Sports – subsequently renamed as Wills Lifestyle – emerged as the leading fashion forward chain opening 42 stores across the country within the first two years of its operation, but held on to its expansion plans for some time. It is now again planning a further expansion of this format. Simultaneously, it is also now going aggressive on its mass brand John Players.
Others in the league are Pepe, Levi’s, Dockers, Gini & Jony, Blackberrys, Scullers, Freelook, Ruff Kids, Egana and Oxemberg. Indian Terrain, Classic Polo, USI are some brands that recently started opening their exclusive brand stores. The space requirement for this format, which mostly fell in the range of 400-1,500 sq ft shot up to 5,000 sq ft with Madura Garments opening a series of its large concept stores – Planet Fashion.
For Lee Cooper the market has evolved rapidly, especially in terms of distribution. “Originally the distribution was old style, through multibrand jeans stores, and that has evolved towards shopping malls, towards Lee Cooper exclusive stores or store corners. We distribute our products through department stores, exclusive stores and multi-brand stores. We have 11 exclusive stores at present and plan to increase that to 30 by the year 2005-06,” said Duncan Wilson, managing director of the UK-based $300-million denimwear company Lee Cooper International during his recent visit to India. The entry of Marks & Spencer, Mango, Tommy Hilfiger, etc saw yet larger space going for single brand outlets.
Department stores & malls thrive on fashion
It was fashion again that enthused investors and retailers to think of large format stores in mid-Nineties. With the advent of Shoppers’ Stop in Mumbai, Kemp Fort at Bangalore, Big Jo’s, Ebony etc in New Delhi and the value retailing chains of Pantaloon in several cities across India, the market started looking a lot different. Large Indian retail stores of yesteryears began to look smaller in comparison to the new mega stores of 30,000-70,000 sq ft that started attracting more customer traffic, thus ushering in the period of retail concentration.
The entry of large corporate houses and MNCs into the fashion retail businesses added more life to the happenings at the marketplace. While the Tatas launched the fashion retail brand stores called Westside, the Dubai-based Landmark Group came to India with Lifestyle Stores and Rahejas came up with Globus. As the competition for consumer loyalty grew stiffer, exercise in consumer relation management (CRM) and loyalty programmes acquired considerable importance.
Large space requirements by department stores encouraged real estate developers to build international styled malls. Crossroads in Mumbai, Spencer Plaza in Chennai and Ansal Plaza in Delhi marked the beginning of international retailing in India.
Shoppers’ Stop
Thus offering all that goes into the making of a fashionable you, be it yourself or your home, these swank shopping chains are now growing like never before, more often than not finding space in malls. Shoppers' Stop, with a loyalty membership programme called 'First Citizens' with a 3.00 lakh member base, has 16 stores with two more expected to come up shortly. From 4,000 sq ft in the early Nineties to 7,39,903 sq ft, it has been a long journey with its dynamic CEO BS Nagesh at the helm of affairs. Adjudged the Images Retail Destination of the Year earlier in September, this award was chosen on the basis of how a shopping centre or a store, favoured by locals, tourists and travellers alike for shopping, emerged as a retail destination for consumers and for brands as the most profitable avenue for retailing. Selling at Rs 6,700 per annum per sq ft, the revenue of Rs 404 crore that it accrued in the last fiscal saw a net profit of Rs 14 crore i.e. 3.46 per cent. Sales grew by 35 per cent in the last year.
Westside
Westside with 17 outlets in 11 cities had sales of Rs 120.1 cr and Rs 166.39 cr in 2003 and 2004 respectively. The gross leased area (GLA) of Westside is 3.25 lakh sq ft, and has four outlets in Mumbai, three in New Delhi, two each in in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, and one each in Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Nagpur, and Indore. The company plans to open six or even more outlets especially in the cities of Bangalore, Delhi Kolkata and Baroda with a cumulative GLA of 170,000 sq ft.
Westside’s allocation of staff is equally proportional to the sales generated by the different categories of products. The highest share of sales come in from the clothing category: 90 per cent. Likewise, 90 per cent of the staff strength is allocated to look after this segment. The other segments like footwear, cosmetics, jewellery, etc, yield only 10 per cent of the total sales, and are hence allocated 10 per cent of the staff strength.
A number of promotional campaigns are organised by Westside through the year. As many as seven were organised in 2004 with sales increasing by 25-30 per cent over the normal figure during the promotional periods. The year kicked off with a January Sale and ended with the Christmas Sale. There were a month-long Summer Carnival, a September Spree and a Diwali sale among other events in between. One of the mainstays of the Westside chain are its instore labels: SRC, 2Fast4U, Gia Richmond, Urban Angels, and Street Blues.
Piramyd
Piramyd is on a major expansion mode. With three operational stores in 2003, Piramyd Megastore will make its presence felt across India by adding five to six new stores every year. With 11 properties already signed and more in the pipeline, the total tally is expected to be beyond 30 stores by 2008. Phase 1 will see opening of stores in west and north India – New Delhi (5), NCR (2), Ludhiana and Ahmedabad (1), Pune (2) and Mumbai (3). Carpet bombing the East and South India is scheduled during the phase 2 roll out, which will see stores opening in Hyderabad (1), Bangalore (2), Chennai (2) and Kolkata (2). Of these, 2005 will see five stores come up with one each in New Delhi, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad and two in Pune.
With a growth that will engender 30 department stores, 16 entertainment centres and 125 large, medium and small format supermarkets in the next five years, the Retail Business Group is slated to become a Rs 1,500 crore turnover entity by the year 2008.
Globus
The Globus chain of MBOs has seven outlets in five cities – two each in Chennai and Bangalore, and one each in Mumbai, Indore, and New Delhi. The first of these was launched at MG Road in Indore spread over a GLA of 22,500 sq ft. The largest in terms of GLA is the one at T Nagar in Chennai with 31,000 sq ft. The others are relatively smaller. The Bandra outlet in Mumbai has the largest staff strength of 163, and is expected to grow by 20 per cent in 2005. The New Delhi outlet is expected to grow most (21 per cent), with the T Nagar outlet in Chennai following close behind (20 per cent). In fact, all outlets project sales growths of at least 18 per cent.
Globus plans to expand further in 2005 with two outlets in Mumbai, three in the NCR, and one each in Kanpur, Pune and Hyderabad. The largest of these would be set up in Noida with a GLA of 25,000 sq ft. The focus of all these new outlets would be fashion apparel for the youth. The focus on apparel is not surprising since the clothing category generated sales to the tune of 80 per cent of total sales in 2004. Cosmetics/perfumes and jewellery had a share of 10 per cent each. In terms of floor area, 90 per cent is allocated to clothing and 5 per cent each to cosmetics/perfumes and jewellery. The floor allocation is proportional to the share of profits that these categories generate for Globus.
Globus organises promotional packages regularly as well. The most rewarding in 2004 was the Spring Summer 2004 bonanza that was spread over three-and-half months. The sales generated were 45 per cent more than usual and required a spend of Rs 68 lakh. The most ambitious promotion was during the Diwali festival which entailed a promotional expenditure of Rs 95 lakh, and generated 35 per cent more sales during the period. The most optimum was the X-Masti promotion which required a spend of only Rs 1 lakh, but was able to generate sales of more than 20 per cent than usual. Globus has its own two instore labels: Globus (all categories) and F21 (partywear), both of which are expected to grow at the rate of 30-40 per cent in 2005.
Lifestyle
The Lifestyle chain of MBOs has seven with the largest being at the Inorbit Mall in Malad sprawling over a GLA of 55,000 sq ft. From two outlets in 1999-2000 with a sales turnover of Rs 22 cr, this chain has expanded to seven outlets in 2004-05 with an estimated sales figure of Rs 320 cr. The other four outlets are in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mulund and Phoenix. Four more are planned for the next year in Noida, Chennai, West Delhi and Mumbai. Lifestyle usually plans four promotional offerings through the year: Great Toonage Fest, Style Vroom, Shop for a Surprise, and Well O Fortune.
Ebony
Ebony currently operates eight stores in a retail space that adds up to 1.5 lakh sq ft. The last addition in the stores was in 1999. The retail revenue in the last year was Rs 80 crore. Profitability stood at 1 per cent i.e. Rs 80 lakh. The retail chain totes up Rs 5,300 p a sq ft of sales. Studio Ivory is a recent addition that sells designerwear targeted at the middle income category. Offering its entire range of merchandise at its online shopping portal www.ebonyclick.com, private Label Etc contributes 22 per cent of the apparel sales. Ebony's offerings include apparel for men, women and children, books, music, personal care and cosmetics, jewellery, luggage. The books and music are sold through its concept book store called Wordsworth. Its loyalty programme, Ebony Elite Club, has a base of 40,000 customers.
Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd sells fashion through various formats. It has 13 Pantaloons stores, 10 Big Bazaar's where the fashion component is in majority and two Central Malls. Big Bazaar promises a wide range of products at 6-60 per cent lower than the corresponding market price, coupled with an international shopping experience with the catchline Is Se Sasta Aur Accha Kahin Nahin!!
Regional chains, independent stores
Some retailers in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai have triggered cross border movements as well. Popular for wedding outfits, Diwan Saheb, and Snow White in New Delhi, Roopam of Mumbai, Kapsons of Chandigarh and Naidu Hall of Mumbai have seen some successful expansion.
The entry of large chains pushed independent retailers to modernise and expand in space, products and services and the result is livening up the whole retail activity in the Indian marketplace. Some of the old clothing retailers like Jainsons/Big Jo’s in New Delhi, Jade Blue in Ahmedabad have not only added more attraction to their existing stores but also have added/planned more and much larger stores in different locations in and around their cities.
Sohum Shoppe
Sohum Shoppe in Guwahati’s prime Fancy Bazar area with a GLA of 14,850 sq ft, registered sales of Rs 12.32 cr and Rs 14.58 cr in 2003 and 2004 respectively. The expected growth in sales for 2005 has been put at 26 per cent. It has a store-specific staff strength of 83. Sohum plans to expand in 2005 with another outlet in the city’s GS Road area with a GLA of 34,680 sq ft.
The bulk of Sohum’s sales comes from the clothing category with sales of Rs 5.62 cr in 2004. Understandably, this is also the MBOs focus areas with as many as 41 staff allocated to this segment alone and covering 5,750 per cent of the GLA. Sales figures for other segments like footwear, cosmetics, and jewellery lag far behind. Most of these other segments have a staff strength that varies from four to eight, and generates sales slightly more than Rs 1 cr each.
Sohum spends the most on its Matka Jhatka offer in the month of May. Last year, it spent Rs 8.25 lakh on its promotion, but generated sales to the tune of Rs 1.42 cr. On the other hand, its sales for the Bihu Hungama were close behind with Rs 1.28 cr though Sohum had to spend only Rs 1.90 lakh for the promotion. The Great Monsoon Sale needed Rs 6.52 lakh for promotion, and yielded Rs 1.17 cr in sales. Sales, however, are the highest during the Puja season with a figure of Rs 2.63 cr and entailing a promotional spend of Rs 4.64 lakh. The other promotional time is during Christmas.
There are three shop-in-shops in Sohum Shoppe – Gili, Provogue and Watches & More. While all three have been growing steadily, Watches & More is expected to grow at a pace of 62 per cent in 2005, with Provogue behind at 35 per cent and Gili at 25 per cent. Gili, however, contributed the most to Sohum’s sales in 2004. Watches & More has the least floor space (153 sq ft) while Provogue has the most at 220 sq ft.
Dhiraj Sons
Dhiraj Sons Fashion World in the the Gujarat textile city of Surat had sales of Rs 9.45 cr in 2003 and Rs 10.5 cr in 2004. Dhiraj Sons, which has a store-specific staff strength of 100 and a GLA of 42,000 sq ft, expects sales to climb by 20 per cent in 2005. The MBO plans to open three more outlets in 2005 in Surat, Navsari and Kamrej, but with a cumulative GLA of 40,000 sq ft.
The clothing category does best in Dhiraj Sons as well with sales of more than Rs 7 cr. Naturally, the store focuses more on this segment. All other segments contribute a minuscule percentage to the sales and are allocated a proportionate number of staff. Profits, surprisingly, are not the much in the clothing segment: only Rs 22.88 lakh in 2004. The highest profits came from footwear (Rs 34.41 lakh), gifts and toys (Rs 33.57 lakh) and jewellery (Rs 33.44 lakh).
The MBO organised three promotional offers in 2004: a watch mela, a Diwali offer, and a family special offer. About Rs 13 lakh were spent for promotion of the month-long Diwali sale but yielded sales of Rs 2.5 cr. The fortnight-long watch mela returned sales figures of Rs 9 lakh or so only, but had needed only Rs 18,000 for promotions. On the other hand, the grand family sale (of 60 per cent off) spread over five weeks generated sales of more than Rs 2.8 cr and had needed a promotional investment of Rs 9 lakh.
There are as many as ten shop-in-shops in Dhiraj Sons Fashion World: Ruff, Napoleon, Blackberrys, Sunny, BKK, Tiny Girl, Zeal, CHN, Allen Solly, and Gini & Jony. The space allocated ranges from 150 sq ft for Zeal to 300 sq ft for Sunny. The highest sales from these shops comes from Ruff which sells bermudas, belts and briefs, among other things.
Expansions and cross border movement by brands and retail chains that are lending their names with retail expertise transfer for expansion beyond their existing boundaries of operations, have opened up attractive franchise options for real estate owners and investors. Franchising has created a great opportunity for Indian entrepreneurs to become business associates
Fashion – A passion in retailing
Emergence of fashion designers in the Eighties saw thousands of small and large boutiques and designer studios musrooming all over the country. There also emerged niche markets to sell designer fashion and craftwares. Stores like Ffolio, Sheetal Design Studio in Mumbai and the two stores of Study by Janak in New Delhi added some more margin to the growth of fashion retailing in India.
Featuring a mix of designer, diffusion and prêt, over the years, these stores have established themselves as retailers of repute. Designers like JJ Valaya, Ritu Beri, Ravi Bajaj and Rohit Bal are also expanding their respective networks, opening private label studios, mostly under franchise arrangements.
It is quite an encouraging sign that now corporate majors like Raymond have forayed into the business of designer fashion retailing – opening its Be: stores across the country and one in Dubai too. It will continue to add more and more branches and designers as a part of its expansion. Saga and C I E have also started retailing designer labels now adding more and more signature labels to their stock.
Fashion goes beyond just clothing that has been responsible for the building excitement in Indian retail. Without the glittering jewellery outlets, home décor and beauty salons the scene of Indian retail would not have been the same.
Having invested in large infrastructure and systems, retail companies today have no choice but to move forward. Learning from each other's experiences, they are continuously working towards modelling a structure that is flexible and allows them to work with not only product companies and brands that they sell but also with other retailers and chains across different product categories with an arrangement of sharing space, promotion and profits.
Growth opportunities in fashion retailing
Indian retail, needless to say, is undergoing a metamorphosis. From traditional to modern, all retailing formats are donning the retail face. Fashion that takes the major share in all real estate developments in the retail sector will continue to bear the torch for others. As proved by examples from the rest of the world, multiple supply chains and multiformat retailing would continue to coexist and evolve together for a long time. There is tremendous scope for specialty stores, department stores, discounters, as well as a wide range of non-store retailing formats. With the opening of over 1,000 branded exclusive showrooms and over 50 large department stores coming up by the end of 2005 in clothing, footwear & accessories, beautycare, jewellery and watches, fashion is going to make a stronger impact on the overall retail scene.
“Customers can pick a complete wardrobe, with the assistance of fashion-literate staff, trained to be unobtrusive yet helpful. A customer can exchange a garment bought at any of our stores at an outlet anywhere in India, without the need of a cash memo or a price tag. Walk in. And rediscover the pleasure of shopping”.
Such assurances that came from fashion retailers like Wills Lifestyle, Shoppers’ Stop and alike will go a long way in creating benchmarks in customer servicing not only in the fashion sector but also in various other sectors like consumer durables, electronics or for that matter banking, finance or insurance.
The formats that are expected to emerge in the retailscape are hypermarkets, department stores, supermarkets and specialty stores. A lot more players are needed, more so in specialty segments like footwear and furniture. Supermarkets in the food category have the largest opportunity.
A huge laboratory for free will and enterprise, the Indian market beckons daredoers at an exciting stage in the economic development of the country in a niche segment that could in the years to come emerge as a chief factor fuelling growth. “No other country in the world, perhaps has witnessed this kind of rapid churn and experimentation. We are on a learning curve. The malls that are emerging with the right kind of planning and understanding of the market dynamics are better than the good we already have. Those who have just stepped into the whirligig of the times are teaching themselves too. A process of consolidation has now begun and it will be a few years before the dust begins to settle down,” says Arvind Singhal, director, KSA-Technopak.
While it would be still a while before the dust settles, the learning curve means that more focus is needed on the consumer, as habits and lifestyles undergo a rapid and continual change. The onslaught of advancements in technology and science continue to revolutionise life and living. Thus, the key to success for any retailer lies in understanding their evolving needs, aspirations and lifestyle by meeting two basic demands of the new consumer: accessability, experience and service and secondly product and price. A land as diverse as not many, it is imperative that the enterprising develop customised solutions and services, more so in the semi-urban and rural areas where the masses still wait to be tapped.
Increased brand consciousness
A brand is essentially a covenant of faith. It is a promise that includes both tangible and intangible attributes. Brand consciousness is intimately connected with people’s desire to differentiate and seek different identities. Studies on brand consciousness point to a distinct trend towards its increase. The entire perception of a brand has changed in some ways. A brand is no more a mere statement of financial status of a person but is more a reflection of a mindset. Today’s consumers want better and innovative offerings that are customised to their needs. With increasing variety of brands to choose from, consumers have grown finicky. Brands that do not offer differentiating or competitive edges are becoming mediocre. In other words, increased brand consciousness is a concomitant of a more individualised consumer. Consumers are rarely sticking to a particular brand if they do not get a perceived value proposition from it.
On the other hand, wake-up calls to brand managers are ringing loud. A significant number of consumers don’t recall brands. This is especially true in the menswear segment. Though youngsters are becoming more fashionable, they are also creating their own identities – often ignoring the brand in the process. The capriciousness of the youth has frequently rejected set brand appeals.
Benetton
The United Colours of Benetton sees a huge potential in the Indian market and on the anvil are high street megastores across the country, some 20 of them by 2007-end through the franchisee route. Benetton recently bought out the stake owned by the DCM group in a 10-year-old 50:50 joint venture company to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary. Benetton currently operates 61 stores across India. Those that do not conform to the brand's international stature will be closed down or renovated. With a turnover of Rs 65 cr (Rs 10 crore growth over 2003), 80 per cent was from company owned (14) stores, 20 per cent from franchised (17) stores. With no plans in MBOs, it will go in for space expansion in shop-in shop formats, large flagship stores and women’s exclusives with the women's share in sales projected to increasing by 45 per cent in 2005. 2004 saw a 55 per cent growth in kidswear. It has already opened six kids’ exclusives.
Raymond
The Rs 1,500 crore Raymond Group retail expansion plans within the Raymond format include 22 exclusive stores for both fabrics and apparel, four each for Park Avenue, Parx and Be:, and two for Manzoni. Manzoni will, however, be available also across 7 shop-in-shops. Park Avenue and Parx will be available across 950 more MBOs. The brands are already available across 310 exclusive Raymond outlets notching Rs 500 crore sales at retail shelves in 2004, making it the largest fashion retail company of India.
Colourplus
A brand that revolutionised menswear and had them donning all hues of the rainbow and manfully too – Colorplus, in which Raymond has a stake, saw its total MRP sales increase by over 20 per cent – up from Rs 80 cr in 2003 to Rs 98 cr in 2004. In 2005, the company expects a further growth with sales projected to increase by slightly less than 20 per cent to rea
