Wadhawan Lifestyle Retail plans for 12 new stores
Wadhawan Lifestyle Retail Pvt Ltd, a master franchisee of Ed Hardy is planning to open 12 stores in standalone and shop-in-shops formats by next year. Out of these 12, five will be opened in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Ludhiana. The company is mainly targeting north India as it has high level of brand awareness amongst consumers. The company runs a total of nine Ed Hardy stores; out of which three are EBOs/standalone stores and six are shop-in-shops, across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Amritsar and Jalandhar. Opening of dozen Wadhawan Lifestyle Retail stores is an opportunity for signage players extensively engaged in in-store retail segment.
, has launched its fourth store at Mega Mall, Andheri (W) in Mumbai. The value fashion chain is already present in this western Indian city is areas like Navi Mumbai (Vashi, Kharghar), Mulund West and Bhayander. Spreading on an area of 8,500 sq ft, the store shelves apparels, footwear and accessories for men, women and kids. Ushering of the new Max store in Mumbai is an added advantage for the in-store signage companies
Following Rs 385-crore investment made by private equity firms Bain Capital and TPG Growth, India’s leading kids wear brand Lilliput Kidswear is all set to double its retail space this year with a total investment of Rs 175 crore. The company is planning to open around 70 stores pan-India. Also in the line of plan is introduction of its new range of ‘Everyday Essential’ which is children casual wear in September at a starting price of Rs 125. The company is opening 50 stores of Liliput and 20 stores of Liliput World in tier I, II and III cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Guwahati, Jodhpur. Mega expansion of Liliput stores would offer room for a new business opportunity to in-store signage companies as well as PSPs, fabricators, sign makers.
The Mumbai store in the Palladium mall is a few metres away from Kakkar’s shop-in-shop outlet inside Pantaloon department store in High Street Phoenix. The chance to observe Zara’s has proved hugely beneficial. Zara is indeed the Coca-Cola of the fashion world. Starting sometime in the mid-1970s in Spain, Inditex, the Euro 11 billion (revenue) company that owns Zara and some other labels, built a hugely successful business model of taking the latest catwalk designs and converting them into affordable high street fashion in a matter of three weeks. Zara stores will be a new zeal for in-store signage segment where sign makers, fabricators, printers and others would able to tap new business.
MINC, an eco-friendly fashion store for women in 2007, has opened by Mini, who was previously head designer with popular brand Weekender and her husband Cdr Shibhu, decided to start off on their own. The concept was to promote eco-friendly fashion, working with khadi fabrics, organic cotton and vegetable-dyed fabrics, while supporting a social chain of tribal cotton farmers, weavers and dyers community, therefore, trying to facilitate a healthier environment. Despite being a den for fashion freaks, flaunting of such new set-up retail store is an unmatched opportunity for signage companies engaged in retail sector.
The world’s largest corporation and retailing giant, Wal-Mart will open “hundreds of news stores” if the government of India allows foreign companies to invest in the sector. The firm, under its 50:50 joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, has just two stores currently and will expand very slowly if the government does not allow foreign companies to address the retail customer. Under the current arrangement, Bharti-Wal-Mart owns and operates only wholesale or ‘cash and carry’ stores which are open only to traders and not to ordinary customers. Well, it’s now wait and watch situation for signage companies engaging in retail sector. Once the Wal-Mart’s proposal is settled, it’s new delight for in-store signage players and other associated with them.
Gitanjali Gems’ premium diamond jewellery brand Gili plans to expand its retail network in smaller towns even as it eyes a 50 per cent top-line growth this fiscal. Gili, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Gitanjali Gems, is looking at opening 31 stores this fiscal at an investment of Rs 200 crore. As the company is looking at expanding its store network to 50 this fiscal, total number of stores the company has as of now counts 19 EBOs besides 400 shop-in-shops. The company’s main focus will be on Tier II and III cities as the growth is coming in from there segments. Of course, Gili’s new stores will be a golden opportunity for in-store signage players and others like PSPs, sign suppliers, fabricators engaging in the retail sector.
Improvement in operational performance, fresh equity investments and FDI proposals has augured well for the organised retail sector in India. IIFL believes India’s largest listed retailer, Pantaloon Retail, is likely to increase its retail space over the next two-three years from an annual rate of two million sq ft currently to three-four million sq ft. The review shows performance of other retail giants like Koutons Retail, Pantaloon Retail, Shoppers’ Stop and Trent. Visibility to such mega expansion plans is a likely to contribute new business opportunity to in-store signage companies and others associated with retail sector.
Eying 20 percent year-on-year growth for the next five years, VIP Industries Ltd (VIL), the major luggage manufacturer in India, plans to open 60-80 new outlets every year across the country. Moreover, the company is also planning to promote all its brands—Aristocrat, Alfa, Skybags, Footloose and its international brand—Carlton. In India, the company has 55 per cent market share in organized sector. Now that the luggage company is in the expansion mode, it is ascertained that signage companies engaging in the retail sector would bag a new business opportunity.
L’Occitane, the natural skincare and beauty brand, is on an expansion mode. After recently becoming the first French company to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and being oversubscribed 160 times, it is now entering the Indian spa market in partnership with Devi Resorts. The company’s three stores in the country have been very successful. Its original plan was to open 20 stores in the next five years, but returns have been promising and planning to open four more by the end of this year. The new upmarket spa stores are indeed an opportunity where signage companies will able to unfold new business.