DOMESTIC RETAIL
DECODING THE RAPID RETAIL EXPANSION
Sourcing to increase …
About a decade ago, India saw a huge retail wave when big brands forayed into the Indian market. Today, it’ s the turn of mid- and small-sized brands to cash in on the open retail policy and a huge gap in the market for branded products. According to reports, 50 new retail brands are coming to India out of which 13 are apparel and lifestyle brands. And as for the existing brands, they are looking for rapid growth; bricks-and-mortar stores are foraying into the online market and vice versa. Team Apparel Online talks to some of the faster growing retailers / brands to decode what goes behind the expansion plans.
As of today, India is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world, triggered by an expanding economy, booming e-commerce and growing middle class. Riding on the back of this booming market, many retailers / brands are on an expansion mode. Splash, the apparel brand of Dubai-based Landmark Group, started its operations in India eight years ago with their first store in Hyderabad. They are planning to open 10 new stores across the country by the year-end. Abhinav Zutchi, Chief Operating Officer of the company tells us,“ We are expanding both in the metros and Tier-I and Tier-II cities equally. We look at the demographics and customer profiles while targeting a city, and since we work with the malls, it becomes easier to find the right location.” He further adds that assortment planning differs from place to place, though they have a clear strategy for the overall brand as to which product they want to place on their shelves.“ So, for a conservative market, we place more of basic garments and in a fashionable market, more designoriented products are offered,” shares Abhinav.
Nilesh Chandra, Buying and Merchandising Head, Nysaa Retail Pvt. Ltd.( 1-India Family Mart)
Nysaa Retail Pvt. Ltd.( 1-India Family Mart) value retail chain plans to invest Rs. 200 crore and open around 100 stores in the next two fiscals.
With the planned expansion, sourcing for the new stores will also increase in right proportions, explains Abhinav. Since the head office of Landmark is based in Dubai, tapping into new hubs for sourcing takes place on a global level. In India, 75 per cent of total sourcing for the brand is done from Tirupur, Coimbatore, Ludhiana and Mumbai. As for their vendor management, the global team takes care of the compliances and quality checks for all the brands; so while considering a vendor, they go for the ones which are compliant on all levels right from production practices to labour procurement.
Focusing on building the brand Splash, the company is renovating the look and feel of the stores to give customers a complete experience. Taking an omnichannel approach, they are planning to make the stores more browser-friendly too in next six months or so; if you like something and it is not in the store, you can directly order it online to be delivered at your doorsteps.
Mumbai-based Pretty Secret, a women sleepwear and lingerie brand, is rapidly growing. Realising the potential of lingerie market, they have by far opened 22 stores across India and are planning to open another 100 by end of 2018. Over the years, the brand’ s presence has been felt in more than 350 MBOs and big departmental stores. The company’ s scale of operations is also growing with the launch of its exclusive offline stores.“ The consumer psyche has changed, which has given a new direction to experiential retail, hence more and more retailers are expanding and also taking an omnichannel approach. Our team believes that lingerie is highly
40 Apparel Online India | JULY 1-15, 2018 | www. apparelresources. com