Esprit Considering The Franchise Route For Further Expansion

Esprit Looking At Franchise Expansion

NEW DELHI: Aditya Birla group company, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle today said it will open exclusive outlets for fashion accessories range of the international lifestyle brand, Esprit.

Madura Fashion and Lifestyle (MFL) that distributes the brand in India plans to have ten points of sale for Esprit accessories by next year and is eyeing a total turnover of Rs 100 crore this fiscal from the entire Espirit range of products, including ap parel.

“We are planning to roll out a new format, exclusively for Esprit accessories. In the beginning of next fiscal the company will set up small mono brand stores, counters and shop-in-shops only to sell accessories,” Madura Fashion and Lifestyle Chief Opera ting Officer (Esprit), Ms Manjula Tiwari said.

To begin with about ten points of sale will be opened next year, she added.

The company’s focus on accessories as a segment has gone up as it offers huge opportunity. The segment includes products such as bags, eye wear, jewellery and watches that contribute about 10 per cent to the total turnover currently.

At present, Esprit products are sold at 53 retail points in India, including 23 company owned exclusive stores in 11 cities.

Commenting on the sales outlook for this fiscal, Ms Tiwari said: “We hope to cross a turnover (at retail value) of Rs 100 crore.”

The company is also looking to expand its reach by opening new stores for the entire range of Esprit products in the existing markets as well as entering smaller cities.

“As we go ahead we would spread presence in smaller cities as well. In the next three years the plan to make the brand available in thirty cities,” she said.

By the end of current fiscal, at least 4—5 new stores will come up around India, Ms Tiwari added.

The company that currently owns and operates all the existing retail points, is also considering franchise route to spread the business, she said.

Esprit is an international youthful lifestyle brand that offers 12 product lines encompassing women’s wear, men’s wear and kid’s wear globally.

Tags:Aditya Birla Group, Espirit, Espirit Franchise, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle, Madura Franchise, Manjula Tiwari, MFL Franchise, retail franchise, lifestyle Apparel Franchise, garment franchise

Source: PTI,The Hindu Business Line,Nov 14 2010.

Willls Lifestyle Plans Franchise Expansion To Penetrate Smaller Cities

Wills Lifestyle, India’s premium apparel brand and the name behind India’s most celebrated annual fashion event, is all set to spread its fashion and lifestyle footprint across India. It plans to add 30 Wills Lifestyle outlets by June 2011. Currently, it operates 70 retail outlets in India, most of them being in the metros and larger cities. The company plans to focus on small cities such as Amritsar, Jalandhar, Bhopal, Aurangabad, Guwahati and Indore, among others in this phase of its expansion. They are also opening Wills Lifestyle boutique stores in ITC-operated five-star hotels to cater to the super-premium customers. With a distinctive presence across segments at the premium end, ITC has also established John Players as a brand that offers a complete fashion wardrobe to today’s young men. With its brands, ITC is committed to build a dominant presence in the apparel market through a robust portfolio of offerings.

Atul Chand, divisional chief executive, Lifestyle Retailing Division of ITC says they had to slow down their expansion plans as many retail properties, especially malls, were delayed during 2008-09, due to the economic slowdown. Now that these properties are nearing completion they have resumed their store expansion plans. Chand feels with rising aspirations, there has been a robust demand for quality apparel products in smaller cities and the company is keen on capitalizing on it. On an average a Wills Lifestyle store is spread over 2,000 to 3,000 sq. ft, creating a sense of premium shopping experience. Apart from company-owned stores, ITC is also looking at the franchisee model for new stores as the franchisees are expected to lower the gestation period for new stores. They expect around 20 per cent sales growth during the next year.

Indian Terrain Apparel Franchise Company To Add 35 Franchisee Stores By March 2011.

Indian Terrain, the premium men’s clothing brand has come up with a new fit in cotton khaki trousers -- a slim straight fit named Kansas. “We feel this will be liked by a lot of people. Our slim fit shirts are very popular. We have a range of products in the Kansas fit ranging from Rs 1,299 to Rs 1,599 price band,” says the CEO, Charath Narsimhan. As a brand Indian Terrain stands for self expression of each individual with its encouraging tag line 'Just Be'. This belief is personified in the brand’s range of clothing. ‘Just Be’ promotes uniqueness and originality which is reflected in its chic and lively lifestyle products and apparels. Having started out with just shirts and trousers, today the brand has a comprehensive product line. Positioned as a lifestyle brand with a bit of American casual wear inspiration, Narsimhan says, Indian Terrain is all about being an affordable, accessible casual lifestyle brand.

Collectively, the brand’s outreach is in about 93 towns and cities across India and its chalking out expansion plans. “In the next two to three years, we will expand into Tier II-III cities, where there is a lot of opportunity. We are looking to expand in those markets both through distribution as well as through our own stores. We have been opening a lot of stores in smaller towns in the last six months and that’s going to be our focus in the next two years,” Narsimhan says. At the moment, the brand has 45 EBOs. Only five are company owned and managed and the rest are all franchisees. The five company-owned shops are flagship stores in metros with an area of 2,500 sq. ft. each. “We will open more flagship stores in the next two to three years,” Narsimhan informs.

By March 2011, they will have another 35-odd franchisee stores. The aim is to have a total of 90 stores by the end of March 2011. Right now they have 70. As of now, 40 per cent of their sales come from MBOs, 30 per cent from own stores and 30 per cent from large formats. Over the next year, when all 90 stores are fully operational, 45 per cent would come from own stores, another 35 per cent from the MBOs and 20 per cent from the large formats.

Interestingly, Indian Terrain entered the men’s denim wear market about 18 months ago. Denim has a five to seven per cent share in the brand and by 2012, it is expected that denim’s share will grow two to three fold, reaching about 18 per cent. “As our retail footprint expands, we see an opportunity for denim to expand because many of our casual shirts, T-shirts are ideally worn with denim. So today a lot of consumers come and buy our upper wear and end up buying denims from others for reasons of fit, accessibility, brands and so on. We see a chance to convert part of that into our in-house clientele,” he avers. Indian Terrain will close 2010 with a turnover of Rs 100 crores. The management is confident they can target a 45 per cent growth by March 2011.

Tags:Apparel Franchise, Charath Nasimhan, clothes franchise, denim franchise, franchisee stores, garment franchise, Indian Terrain, Indian Terrain Franchise, retail franchise, textile franchise

Source:Fashion United,Friday, 12 November 2010