Apparel Online India Magazine May 2nd Issue 2018 | Page 48

DOMESTIC UPDATE THE LATEST NEWS HAVE YOUR SAY For the latest news on apparel and textile, make sure that you visit https://apparelresources.com/top-news/ Write to Apparel Resources, B-32, South Extension-1, New Delhi (110049), India or email: [email protected] Alcis Sports continues retail expansion; opens stores in Delhi, Jaipur New Delhi and Jaipur have become latest locations to host new stores of Alcis Sports, a Noida-based sportswear brand. The openings of these stores are part of their expansion plan under which they intend to increase the store count to 15 by the end of this year. With the opening of these stores, Alcis now operates a total of four outlets in the country. “We have received a phenomenal response from consumers and it is a very happy moment to announce the opening of our exclusive stores in these locations,” Roshan Baid, MD, Alcis Sports was quoted as saying in report. training, yoga, football and racquet sports will be available at these retail stores. The official fanwear merchandise of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia will also be stocked at Alcis stores as it has exclusive licensee for the official fanwear merchandise of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia for the Indian market. The latest range of sportswear across all sports, like running, Additionally, the company recently secured an investment Markedly, the apparel retailer opened its first exclusive brand outlet (EBO) in Kochi at LuLu Mall, one of India’s largest shopping malls, while the second one was inaugurated at Mumbai’s Phoenix Market city in Kurla. from Singapore-based Venture Capital firm RB Investments. The brand is now expecting to note around 7X jump in its revenue from Rs. 4 crore it clocked last year to Rs. 28 crore (approx. US $ 4.3 million) in the current fiscal. Roshan Baid, MD, Alcis Sports The company recently secured an investment from Singapore-based Venture Capital firm RB Investments. At present, Alcis Sports retails through 150 shop-in-shops and is available online at Jabong, Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. Baid elucidated that Alcis is an affordable brand that came into existence, to provide an ‘athleisure’ brand which is at par with international labels in terms of quality and is also in sync with the Indian sensibilities. V-Mart all set to fortify its retail presence in FY 2019, reveals plans Gurugram-based value retailer, V-Mart is geared up to expand its physical retail presence in the fiscal year 2018-19. Markedly, the company has been growing at over 20 per cent year-on-year in the past and over 90 per cent of its revenue comes from the fashion and apparel segment, while rest is contributed by Kirana. The retailer is looking to increase its retail space by around 15-17 per cent that would translate into the opening of roughly 35 new stores during the current fiscal, said Anand Agarwal, CFO at V-Mart Retail Ltd., in a recent interview to BloombergQuint. Currently, the company operates 172 stores, spread across 145 cities and towns with a major presence in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Even as both these states are its largest markets, the company would like to tap other states also, Agarwal was quoted as saying. So far, V-Mart has been mostly present in Tier-II and Tier- III cities, and as it would continue to fortify its presence in its traditional bastions, Tier-IV cities are also on its expansion radar now, he further apprised. Notably, the company reportedly began tapping Tier- IV geographies about a year ago. “Following a cluster-based expansion strategy, we will continue to roll-out stores in the immediate vicinity of the cities/ 48 Apparel Online India | MAY 16-31, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com towns where V-Mart is already present,” he defined, adding, they’ll refrain from entering unchartered territories unless a pertinent opportunity arises. Also, for the last five years, the company’s same-store sales growth has been roughly 8 per cent, and it is expecting to touch double-digit levels by the end of March next year. However, Agarwal also underlined that, “It will depend on market conditions and our abilities.” Nevertheless, the continuous expansion is expected to benefit the company in the long run. Furthermore, it has also been reported that the retailer has been working towards improving its inventory cycles and even increased focus on integrating technology at the warehouse, supply chain and store levels. Besides, efforts have been made to enhance the customers’ in-store experience as well, by bringing about improvements in the look-and-feel and ambience of the store, visual merchandising and presentation of the products, and the merchandise itself. Several stores have been refurbished to lend fresh appeal to them. It is worth mentioning that V-Mart Retail, founded in 2002, has been growing strength to strength over the past few years and has already surpassed Rs. 1,000-crore revenue mark in the fiscal year 2017.