Gas Jeans targets tier-2 cities; seeks franchisees

Gas Jeans India Pvt Ltd, running on the wholesale cash and carry model, is planning to tap into the potential of tier-2 cities. Running on a franchise model with just three stores in Mumbai and Delhi, the premium denim brand is extending its reach beyond the metros to enter smaller cities such as Ludhiana, Pune, Chandigarh and Hyderabad. Gas intends launching 12 stores in the next three years and also turning profitable by the next fiscal.

“Tier-2 cities have the spending power and there are opportunities for the brand. We should start with the first store in Ludhiana followed by other cities like Pune and Chandigarh,” M M Kamath, director, Gas Jeans Pvt Ltd, told Business Line.

With a seed capital of Rs 6 crore, Gas is staying away from making big investments into the country till such time FDI is allowed. “All the 12 stores that were under the joint venture have been discontinued and today we run with minimal investments on the franchise model,” said Kamath.

Today the Gas brand is made at its home base in Italy along with other countries such as Tunisia and Romania in Eastern Europe. With steep import duties at 28 per cent, Gas is also looking at ways to reduce its dependence on imports. “There is a possibility of setting up a manufacturing base somewhere in South India in the future, but it is still early days to take a decision,” said Kamath.

There is also a likelihood of introducing online sales for the brand as it already has an e-commerce model in Italy.

Globally, Gas is a Rs 600-crore brand and in India the brand is aiming to achieve a turnover of Rs 40 crore by 2013.

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BG Cleaning Systems, Iceland participates at The GOA Franchise Expo at Hotel Fidalgo, on 24-25 Sep11 | PRLog

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FREE Franchise Your Business FRANCLINIC at Hotel Fidalgo, Goa on 24th & 25th Sep 2011 | PRLog

FREE Franchise Your Business FRANCLINIC at Hotel Fidalgo, Goa on 24th & 25th Sep 2011 PRLog

Sahara plans major expansion in FMCG retail space through franchising

Business conglomerate Sahara India has announced a mega expansion plan in the fast-moving consumer goods retail space, with plans to launch a range of food and non-food items at over 10,000 franchised outlets across 285 cities in India.

"For the first time in India, Sahara India Pariwar is setting up the largest FMCG company in the country with its own distribution network through over 10,000 franchise outlets," Sahara India said in a public announcement.

The group plans to have 305 warehouses spread across 285 cities with more than 25,000 distribution vehicles in order to cater to consumers right at their doorsteps, it added.

As per its website, at present, Sahara offers a range of FMCG products and other items through a chain of showrooms under the banner 'Unique' at various locations in India.

Sahara India claimed that with the new initiative, the unorganised retail sector is set for a "complete transformation".

"With 3,500 quality advisors and seven state-of-the-art quality labs in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Nagpur, Patna and Lucknow, Sahara India Pariwar will assure quality through packaging, uninterrupted supply chain, doorstep delivery and money-back guarantee," the announcement said.

It is hunting for a new chief operating officer to steer the new venture and is also hiring professionals across levels and verticals, including supply chain management, marketing, finance, legal, human resource and sales.

The group currently has assets with a market value of Rs 1 lakh crore and a workforce of more than 10 lakh people, it said.

It has a presence in various sectors, including financial services, infrastructure and housing, media and entertainment and information and technology.

Paris Hilton set to launch accessories line in India

Fashion-accessories company Brand Concepts will bring 250-300 Paris Hilton-branded items to Indian consumers when the fashion line is launched next week. It is the fashion-licensing partner for the soon-to-be-launched Paris Hilton handbags and accessories in India.

Abhinav Kumar, CEO, Brand Concepts, said the Paris Hilton line of accessories includes handbags, watches, fragrances and clutches at Rs 2,000 to Rs 12,000. Paris Hilton will launch the line in Mumbai on September 24, he said.

Brand Concepts is the exclusive licensee in India for Tommy Hilfiger (travel gear and small leather goods), Nickelodeon and Barbie back-to-school bags, Arrow small leather goods and the entire collection of Rocky S.

Premium licensed brands of Brand Concepts are currently available in multi-brand outlets and 15 exclusive stores. For the Paris Hilton range, the company is setting up four exclusive outlets this year -- in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai or Hyderabad -- and will also make it available at multi-brand outlets, Kumar added.

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Spanish designer Adolfo Dominguez catwalks into India

Adolfo Dominguez, the Spanish designer recently unveiled his flagship store in New Delhi. The store has stocked the latest spring/summer 2011 clothing and accessories collection, for both men and women.

For its Indian operations, Adolfo Dominguez has entered in to an eight-year exclusive master franchise agreement with Wadhavan Lifestyle Retail and has plans to pump in around Rs 500 million to establish the brand in India.

In 2008, Wadhavan Lifestyle had brought the American urban street wear brand Ed Hardy to India. With over 35 years of experience in about 37 countries, the first Spanish Adolfo Domínguez stores opened in 1982 in Madrid and Barcelona.

As a marketing strategy, Wadhavan wants a lot of consumers to be aware about Adolfo Dominguez. They have started with a little bit of marketing by creating some awareness about the brand. Apart from which, other activities would talk about the luck and heritage of the brand.

Mr Abhinav Zutshi, Head – International Brands, Wadhavan Lifestyle Retail Pvt. Ltd spoke exclusively to fibre2fashion about their future plans for the Adolfo Dominguez brand in India and the potential for European designer wears in the Indian market.

Speaking about the potential for European designer wears, he said, “I think, in the last 3-4 years, a lot of European brands have come to India and have been well accepted by the consumers. This is the right time for new brands to come into India and try the market.

“For all the global brands, China and India are now the largest markets in the world and it’s high time that they come in and see how their products click with the Indian consumer. I think there is tremendous potential for all these brands to come in. The consumers and the markets are available. According to me, this is the best time to be in India”.

Giving an insight in to the trends of the Indian market, he informed, “Mostly the Indian brands have either focused on women’s wear or men’s wear because these are the two main categories in India. But apart from this there is a lot of scope for kids wears as well as home products.

He added by saying, “The Indian consumer is maturing and has a fair understanding about international styling and products across all categories. In the next five years, one will see a lot of activities and lot of global brands coming in to India”.

On the strategy to increase their presence in India, he said, “I think the strategy goes hand in hand with the availability of real estate. Good real estate basically means good malls and good hyper cities at a place where all like-minded brands are available, which gives the consumer a wider choice as well as create awareness levels.

“So based on how the market is evolving and the number of malls coming up in the next two years, we will be sounding out bigger metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. After a period of two years we willexplore other cities like Pune and Nagpur. These are the cities where the brand evolution will be slower”.

Mr Zutshi however was critical about the imposition of the 10 percent excise duty on branded clothing. He said, “The input processes in apparel production are very complicated so it’s not very simple for international partners to understand customs policies and procedures. Once you open the doors for FDI, the investors look for single window clearances.

"Currently one has to through multiple levels of clearances, apart from which there are different committees. Once the government makes up its mind that, they want more people to come and invest in this country, they will have to look at simplifying the process”, he wrapped up this very informative interview by saying.

Source : Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

Yum! Brands sets $1 billion revenue target from India by 2015

Yum! Brands Inc, the US owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants, expects its Indian operations to be around Rs 4,600 crore [$1 billion] by 2015. With plans to open a total of 1,000 outlets across brands in India by then, the company will also invest Rs 460 crore ($100 million) in the next four years.

"We expect our business in India to grow four-fold [from present] by 2015 with a turnover of Rs 4,600 crore [$1 billion]. With that kind of a revenue growth, India would start contributing meaningfully to Yum! Brands globally,” Niren Chaudhary, managing director, Yum! Restaurants India, told PTI.

Though India is a very small market for Yum! Brands in terms of revenue generation at present, the firm is making strategic investments in the country. "Our business in India is seeing tremendous growth across brands...From now onwards to 2015, we will invest $100 million here," Chaudhary said.

Yum! Restaurants India currently operates close to 400 restaurants mostly under KFC and Pizza Hut brands and three Taco Bell outlets for Mexican food.

"All our brands are growing at double digit rate both in terms of sales and number of transactions...KFC for instance has grown 70 per cent in terms of sales in the last one year," he said.

As it looks to deepen ties with India, Yum! Brands is also looking to contribute to the society through its 'Yum's World Hunger Relief programme'.

"Globally, we have raised $85 million for the United Nations' World Food Programme [WFP]. From India alone, we have already contributed Rs 2 crore since 2007, and hope to raise for funds from both corporates and our customers going ahead," Chaudhary added.

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