Hamleys plans to double its stores in India

Hamleys is already the largest toy retailer in India with 26 stores across 14 cities since its entry six years ago. It now intends doubling its number of stores within the next two years.

Reliance Brands, the master franchise for Hamleys India, is already on the job of launching six new stores this fiscal in tier 2 cities like Bhopal, Coimbatore and Guwahati under different formats including its smaller express stores.

The toy industry may lack buoyancy but India has emerged as the third largest market for Hamleys after UK and West Asia.

India is already the largest market in terms of number of stores and is growing much faster at 33 per cent for Hamleys than countries in Western Europe where growth is in single digits today. While we have 88 stores across 23 countries, India is our third largest market after the UK and GCC countries,’’ said Gudjon Reynisson, Chief Executive, Hamleys.

In India, Hamleys continues to import the bulk of its toys from China for its private label and sources the rest from distributors like Funskool, and has also included popular Indian characters like Chota Bheem at its stores.

Darshan Mehta, CEO, Reliance Brands, said, “ India is possibly the fastest growing market for toy retail. Now we have six new stores under construction mostly in the tier 2 cities and should reach a total count at 32 stores this fiscal. Consumers are going to malls where we are present and we want our stores to be there in even smaller markets like Ludhiana. ’’

FirstCry expands its presence acquires BabyOye

One of the largest Online baby products retailer FirstCry has agreed to acquire Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd’s baby-care business BabyOye in a cash-and-stock deal that will help it consolidate its presence in the growing segment through an omni-channel strategy.

The deal is worth Rs 362.1 crore ($54.3 million). The move will help FirstCry expand its offline presence. BabyOye has about 120 physical stores, including some franchisee outlets, while FirstCry has almost 180 stores & Both companies have e-commerce.  As per the deal, Mahindra will operate all company-owned stores under a master franchise agreement with FirstCry, the companies said.

FirstCry was founded by serial entrepreneur Supam Maheshwari, in a statement  Mr.Maheshwari said the deal with the Mahindra Group will bring in synergies that will help FirstCry expand and achieve its profitability goal much faster.

Mahindra Group had acquired BabyOye in February last year. Later that year, Mahindra renamed its offline babycare store chain ‘Mom n Me’ as ‘BabyOye by Mahindra.’ This was the first M&A deal by an Indian business group in the e-commerce segment, which had until then seen mergers mainly among companies backed by common venture capital firms.

 FirstCry has emerged as a strong player in the segment over the years.  FirstCry has branded franchisee stores across 85 cities, besides its e-commerce site. In addition, it also has distribution partnerships with over 6,000 hospitals across the country. It runs its private label under the BabyHug brand.

In an omni-channel model, companies can create a large online brand supported by a large offline business and then you can integrate, leverage your inventory, own product brand or private label and leverage your customer behavior and loyalty to help build a more pervasive retail brand.”

US based EagleRider set to launch in India

US-based motorcycling experience provider EagleRider Inc  announced opening of its first franchise outlet in India here at the Capital. 

The company said domestic and international travellers will now be able to hire luxury motorcycles on self-drive and pre-determined guided tours or tailor-made adventure holidays within India and neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar.

"We all know that riding motorcycles is fun. But riding a motorcycle as you explore a legendary country like India with so much history in every mile and so many interesting things to see and do is an entirely unique and unforgettable experience," EagleRider Founder and CEO Chris McIntyre said in a company statement. 

"EagleRider is immensely proud to finally be able to make that experience a possibility for fellow riders across the World," he added. 

The store offers motorcycles, which includes a fleet of Harley Davidson, Triumph and Royal Enfield. The premium motorcycles can be rented on daily or longer durations. 

Depending on the model and type, the rentals for the motorcycle can range from Rs 2,900 a day for Royal Enfield Himalayan, Rs 5,500 per day for a Harley-Davidson Iron883 or Triumph Bonneville to Rs 12,500 a day Harley-Davidson RoadKing, excluding petrol expenses. 

Apart from tours, guided or for self-drive, EagleRider India also provides a host of services like shuttle services, guides and hotel stays, as part of the packages, the company said.

The Great Khali eyes gym chain

The professional wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, better known by his ring name The Great Khali, to flex his muscles at the gym, is planning to set up 50 gyms in India in a year and then look abroad. The USP being a combination of gym with fitness and wrestling.

‘’The theme of the gyms would look like a wrestling ring. As members enter the gym, Khali will greet them with an automated voice message. There will be a Khali gallery, which will display and sell merchandise like clothes and boots,’’ says Ankur Makan, Khali’s man handling the project.

To be launched as the The Great Khali Gym & Fitness Club, the large format gyms spread across 4,500-5,000 sq ft will come with unique features like a lounge, kids area, the Khali gallery, marathon track and usual ones like two spas, two Jacuzzis, sweat room, which can be used by 40-45 people at any given time. Users will have to shell out Rs 27,000-28,000 a year, which is similar to what premium gyms charge in Indian metros. 

Khali’s franchisees will have to invest Rs 3.5 crore in gym infrastructure, including approximately Rs 35 lakh sign-up fees to be paid to Khali. A franchisee will also incur variable costs of Rs 50-60 lakh a year, but can hope to make revenues of Rs 3.5 crore a year. ‘’Assuming a gym can get 700 members, it can make Rs 2 crore per annum purely from gym revenues. Plus, it could hope to make Rs 1.5 crore in revenues from the lounge, the Khali gallery, self-defence training for kids, zumba, aerobics, power yoga,’’ says Makan.

The lounge will sell food supplements like protein bars that sell for Rs 2,000/kg while the gallery will sell merchandise for wrestling. These are likely to be the two key non-gym revenues, says Makan. Every gym will be personally inaugurated by Khali. ‘’He doesn’t want to compromise on the service parameters like hygiene, personal trainers, and wants to ensure that it doesn’t spoil his name,’’ says Makan. 

The first gym will come up in Jaipur by January, and the second one in Delhi. Gyms in Tier-II or Tier-III cities will be smaller— these will have fewer machines, and one spa and one Jacuzzi. Khali is doing this project under Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE), his company which has set up a wrestling academy in Jalandhar in Punjab that has over 350 students. After India, Khali wants to open gyms in markets like the US, Canada and Dubai, where he enjoys good following.

Scotch & Soda inks exclusive franchise Partnership with Reliance Brands

Dutch apparel brand Scotch & Soda has struck a long-term partnership with Reliance Brands to open its stores in India, which was being sold exclusively on Myntra.com.

Reliance Brands, which runs stores of 19 international brands in India, including the likes of Muji, Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden, Diesel and Brooks Brothers, will start off by opening two stores next year for the Euro 600 million brand. 

The e-commerce rights for the brand will also move to Reliance at a time when fashion retailers are looking to deploy a multi-channel strategy of having physical stores as well as a notable online presence.

Scotch & Soda was founded by Laurent Hompes in 1985 and presently runs 160 mono-brand stores globally. In 2011, US-based apparel group Kellwood Company acquired the Dutch fashion brand. Darshan Mehta, president & CEO, Reliance Brands, said, "Myntra will be one of the channels for us and we will continue to sell through them. But we are now the exclusive master franchise partner of Scotch & Soda across all channels in India."

E-commerce, both mono-brand through scotch-soda.in and multi-brand online commerce would be an important part of our growth and reach strategy. We would also push multi-brand brick and mortar stores, Mehta said. Over the past year, conglomerates like Aditya Birla group, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, which owns Reliance Brands, and Tatas have all spruced up their online commerce offerings particularly in the fashion and lifestyle category. Snagging online rights has become significant for retail groups which bring in foreign retailers to India. 

Scotch & Soda's CEO, Dirk Jan Stoppelenburg said that Reliance recognizes the brand's breakthrough style and creativity. "We are looking forward to growing our brand in collaboration with Reliance's expertise in this very important region," he said. Reliance Brands has over 200 stores across its portfolio. 

FranchiseExpert wishing a very Happy Independence Day to every Indian.

Thousands laid down their lives to make our country breath this day, Never forget their sacrifice as we celebrate this Independence Day!

FranchiseExpert wishing a very Happy Independence Day to every Indian.

Bata India to grow via franchise model

Shoemaker Bata India Ltd will slow down expansion of its own store network and hand out more franchises to tap into rural and semi-urban markets, a top company official said.

“This is something we have never done before,” said Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, managing director and chief executive officer of Bata, referring to the plan. “Currently, all our stores are company-owned.” He was talking on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the company.

Bata, which sells over 50 million pairs of shoes every year, has at least 1,265 retail stores across 500 cities. But lately, it has started experimenting with the franchise model: its partners have launched around 30 stores in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The initial response is encouraging, according to Gopalakrishnan.

Typically, Bata launches around 100 stores every year, but this will change as the company will now focus on expanding its distribution network through franchisees. Over the next two years, Bata aims to add 200-300 new stores under the franchise model.

According to analysts, this could, in the long run, turn out to be a more efficient model because Bata already has 7,700 workers. Opening new stores also means paying for real estate from its own finances.

A lot of companies are shutting loss-making outlets, which have high real estate costs, said Sreedhar Prasad, partner (e-commerce) at consulting and professional services firm KPMG. Instead, they are using that cash for online customer acquisition and on innovative sales channels, he added.

The rural market has a lot of potential, said Gopalakrishnan. But the company needs to offer a “different product line” for this market. Bata already has within its portfolio some products that are expected to do well in rural markets, but the company needs to develop more products priced between Rs.200 and Rs.1,000 a pair, he added.

In the last fiscal year, Bata added only 26 new stores. The company also sells select lines through some departmental stores. Currently, 80-85% of its revenue come from its own stores.

In the current year, it is looking to turn around at least 40-50 loss-making stores, said R.K. Gupta, director (finance) and chief financial officer. These will be refurbished and given a wider range of products to sell, but if they still cannot turn in profits, they will be shut, he added.

Online sales are growing, but for Bata, it is still at 1.5% of its total revenue, Gopalakrishnan said. Bata sells from its own e-commerce platform and through other online retailers such as Jabong and Amazon, but offers only a small collection for sale through this channel to protect its own retail outlets.

The footwear maker’s management remains circumspect about committing resources to shore up online sales. Bata wants to scale up online sales profitably, Gopalakrishnan said, adding that organically, online sales will grow to 5% of the company’s total revenue over the next four-five years.

Wyndham Hotel group set to launch its new brand Wyndham Garden

Eyeing a slice of India’s growing mid-market hotel pie, global hospitality company Wyndham Hotel Group is set to launch its new brand Wyndham Garden as per a report.

“We will be looking at introducing mid-market full-service brand Wyndham Garden in the Indian market. We want to launch it in the next six-eight months,” Deepika Arora, Regional Vice President-Eurasia, Wyndham Hotel Group, said.

In India, the group currently has brands such as Ramada Plaza, Howard Johnson’s, Days, Ramada Encore, out of its 16 brands globally. “India is growing towards mid-market so Wyndham Garden is a great offering in that respect.

“It is a typical business or a leisure destination hotel. It is similar to Ramada but with a different look and feel. It will work well in a metro or leisure destination,” she added.

The company has 3,000 keys across 26 hotels in India and 5,000 keys across 41 hotels under construction. About 60 per cent of its new openings are in tier II cities and the rest in tier I.

On whether the company is looking to launch any other brands here, she said: “We would rather push existing brands Howard Johnson and Days brands. Ramada Encore is a cookie-cutter brand which we would rather promote than getting another brand and then work on its promotion.”

The company, which has expanded in India using the franchise model, unlike other global players which have grown through management contracts, is now also looking at the latter option.

“We’ve done fairly well in the franchise model. We have grown from eight hotels to 26 in the last five years. Today, we are in a position where we are far more equipped to offer a management solution to a hotel owner compared to six years ago,” she said.

While the hotels currently in the pipeline will continue to be in the franchise model, the company is looking at offering management contracts too.

“We will look at tier I markets or a good leisure destination for the management contact model,” Arora added.

Globally, the hospitality company is working on the transformation of its brand image in order to make it customer-friendly. The brand will revisit the look and feel of properties as well as taglines across all Wyndham brands.

Taco Bell is embarking on an Expansion drive in India

Mexican Fast food chain Taco Bell Owned by the US-based Yum! Brands Inc., is embarking on an expansion drive in India and plans to open more outlets in 12 cities in the next four years.

At present it operates nine stores in three cities and plans to add three more outlets taking the number to 12 by the year-end.

The company has partnered with the promoter family of Dabur, the Burmans whose firm Burman Hospitality has taken the franchise for north and some southern markets such as Karnataka and Telangana.

“Our initial focus will be the top metros and their neighbouring cities. We are already present in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. These three are important markets,” Taco Bell India managing director Ankush Tuli said.

Taco Bell plans to enter cities such as Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad, The company plans to have multiples stores in big citie,s he said. “We are looking to 10-12 cities between now and 2020.”

Taco Bell is also tweaking and adapting some local flavours in its menu to suit the Indian palate. “We have now tikka masala burrito. We are among the few global markets of Taco Bell which has an R&D facility. The entire vegetarian range is made for India as we do not have vegetarian outside much of India,” said Tuli.

He said by the end of this year, Taco Bell would completely source raw material and equipment locally.

Joost Juice Bars bets big on growing health awareness in India

Australian retail chain Boost Juice Bars, which is present in India under the brand Joost Juice Bars, is looking to operate about 100 stores by 2020.

The company introduced the natural juice and smoothies bar concept in India through a master franchise agreement with NatureU Enterprises, which currently operates 14 stores in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai.

Talking about the brand's growth in India, Janine Allis, Founder, Boost Juice Bars Australia, said: “In India, there are challenges due to lack of infrastructure, cold chains and it takes time to build a supply chain. Through the past few years, we have now understood the market. If one looks at the demographics and the potential, I believe India could be one of our fastest growing markets, now that the foundation of the business has been established.”

Allis said factors such as India being primarily a vegetarian market and growing health-consciousness will be catalyst for the company’s growth.

The Indian master franchise expects to be running 30 stores by 2017.

Currently, the company has outlets at airports, hospitals, shopping malls and gyms. It hopes to woo health-conscious consumers with cold-pressed juices, smoothies, low-fat wraps and sandwiches.

The fresh juice segment in the country is largely unorganised and fragmented.

Rivoli Sinha, Founder and MD, Joost Juice Bars, said: “Now that we have established the first few outlets and have a robust supply chain, we believe we will be able to scale up faster. We will expand through roping in sub-franchisees. We have already identified cities such as Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad for expansion.”

She said while the company would first look at expanding in metros, it would also look at smaller cities.

“For smaller cities, we may have to look at a different model and ensure we price ourselves right. While we operate in a niche segment, we want to ensure we are affordable.”

Overall, Boost Juice Bars have presence in 14 countries and operates about 450 stores.

McDonald’s enters Goa; 240th outlet in west, south India

Westlife Development Ltd, owner of the master franchise of McDonald's restaurants in west & south India through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Private Ltd (HRPL), officially announces its entry in the state of Goa with the inauguration of its first restaurant. The new outlet marks its entry into the 10th state and opens its 240th restaurant in west & south India.

As per a press release, the new restaurant has found abode in the Mall De Goa, a centrally located mall on national highway 17, Porvorim, and accessible from all routes in the state. The restaurant is spread over 1,090 sq ft, in a food court which will deliver the same quality of food, service and ambiance that the brand is internationally known for. It will offer customers a convenient dining experience in the mall's open food court on level 3, between 10 am and 10 pm every day.

Commenting on the launch, Ranjit Paliath, vice-president, business operations, McDonald's India (west & south), said, “Eating out has always been extremely popular in Goa and we see a lot of potential in this rapidly evolving cosmopolitan market. At McDonald's, we always focus on providing quality, service, cleanliness and value (QSC&V) to our customers and our priority has always been customer service and convenience. We are proud to bring the McDonald's experience to customers in Goa. Our local market knowledge combined with our proven track record of operating arrival of McDonald's restaurants will allow us to offer an exceptional experience to Goan customers.”

“With the arrival of McDonald's in Goa, we are confident that we can continue to drive growth in the region by bringing customers a truly unique good food, fast experience. Our customers in the state of Goa have a strong appreciation for food and we believe we can create a unique destination between home and work where they can relax, enjoy share and discover McDonald's world famous signature burgers and fries with friends and family. We come with a promise to delight the culinary senses of the Goan locals and bring along the classic McDonald's menu that is high on quality, great in taste and value for money. We are confident that McDonald's in Goa will continue to live up to its reputation of being a family brand that provides customers a quick, tasty and affordable eating out option,” he added.

Currently, the Goa restaurant has a team of 20 to 25 employees who are locally hired and trained to manage operations. It aims to generate more employment and provide training to local residents at par with international standards, create opportunities for first time job seekers while also adding to the strength of 7,500 individuals that they have directly employed across business operations in west & south India.

Treebo Hotels set to grow its India footprint across 40 cities by year end

Treebo Hotels, a franchise budget hotel chain, after tasting initial success with 85 hotels in 17 cities in India, is looking at growing their footprint to 200 hotels in 40 cities by year end. The hotel company which just completed a year of operations has been able to carve a space of its own in the budget hospitality space.  Talking to TravelBiz Monitor, Siddharth Gupta, Co-Founder, Treebo Hotels, said that they have been able to exceed their growth expectations in the first year and able to gain trust and confidence of hotel owners.  

Across 85 franchised hotels, Treebo currently manages an inventory of 2,300 rooms. Counting an average hotel inventory of 25 rooms, Gupta is hopeful of reaching minimum of 6,000 rooms under the Treebo network by the end of this calendar year.

Distinguishing Treebo from the ‘aggregators’ of budget hotels, Gupta said that the hotel company works on the same model of franchisee-franchisor relationship that larger brands like IHGs and Marriotts of the world works with. “We are not an aggregator or distribution partner for hotels. We are brand partners for hotel owners. We are responsible for both, driving business for owners as well as ensuring consistent service for the customers,” he explained. “Our relationship with all channel partners, including OTAs is very good. This helps us to deliver consistently high occupancies to our hotels,” he said.

Talking about combining technology and service elements to deliver total experience to customers, Gupta said that while they cannot compete with main stream hotels on the “talent front”, at Treebo Hotels they try to fill the void with the help of technology.  “We are a digital hotel. We function with the mind of an engineer and heart of an hotelier.  For us technology is the means to reach the end, i.e. service,” he said.

Gupta said that while individual hotels might look in terms of their location, room size, colour schemes, etc., they try to incorporate ‘standardization in terms of core aspects” of customer experience, like safety, hygiene, etc. across properties. He said that the company might look at introducing “sub-brands” for hotels with different specs in future.

As far as funding was concerned, Gupta said that they are an “efficiently managed” hotel company with “good cash position” currently, but might go for funding in future as and when need arises.

Essar Oil plans to roll out 5000 pumps in next 18 months

Essar Oil, India’s second largest private oil refiner, plans to nearly double its petrol pumps to 4,300 in next 18 months, a senior company executive  said.
“We have 2,225 petrol pumps now which we will increase to 4,300 in next 18 months,” Essar Oil’s chief executive officer (CEO) retail Madhur Taneja said.

The retail network expansion planned is on franchise model and will entail an investment of about Rs.2,500 crore by the pump owners. “We were the first private company to enter fuel retailing business when we in 2003 opened our first petrol station,” he said.
After diesel price was deregulated or freed from government control in October 2014, the expansion was restarted and network has reached 2,225 now, he said.

“We saw sales volume increase from 700,000 kilolitres in 2014-15 to 1.67 million kilolitres in 2015-16 and we hope to continue to grow at over 100% this year as well against an industry growth of 7-7.5%,” he said.

India’s first private sector petrol pump came up in Maharashtra only about 13 years ago in 2003. Essar Oil was therefore the first private company to enter petro product retailing in India at a time when the government was experimenting with the idea of deregulated oil pricing by freeing up the price of ATF.

Through the course of this regulation regime, Essar Oil, in a bid to keep its retail ambitions alive, provided financial support to its franchisees through various schemes, thus helping them in tiding over the difficult times. This earned the company the dealers’ trust. In October 2014 when diesel prices were completely deregulated, and private retailers like Essar Oil were given a level playing field with their PSU counterparts, the company already had a network of about 1,400 retail outlets. Over the last two years, Essar Oil has been on a ramp-up drive to create a larger retail footprint across the length and breadth of the country. Many outlets in its existing network were revived and work began on launching new Essar Oil pumps.
Today, Essar Oil has a pan-India network of 2,200+ fuel stations, while an additional 2,800+ stations are in various stages of commissioning.

Essar Oil has an asset-light business model. It pioneered the concept of setting up retail outlets using the franchisee-owned, franchisee-operated model wherein the dealer leases his land to Essar for 30 years and invests in setting up the entire infrastructure of the outlet. Essar focuses on enhancing franchisee business by supplying high quality petrol and diesel at competitive rates.

Vegetarian restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan to open hotels

Chennai based vegetarian restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan is planning to open hotels chain in India.

The group is soon launching a hotel in Chennai followed by many other openings.

The South Indian Restaurant chain which has entered 20 countries with over 63 outlets in these countries and about 37 in India will be focusing on hotel part of the business for coming fiscal.

“We will not be opening more restaurants this fiscal, this year will be focused on hotel openings,” said Shiva Kumar, MD, Saravana Bhavan.

Adding to the opportunity the brand is seeing in India, Kumar added, “In India there is plenty of scope and growth and our brand has lots of potential to grow as people like eating south Indian food.”

Keys Hotels to grow via the franchise model, management deals

Keys Hotels is staying away from building its own hotels and has decided to expand through franchises and management contracts to shield itself in a slow market. Having invested in seven hotels, the chain has now set its sights on smart cities such as Visakhapatnam, Calicut and Jaipur to grow through franchises and management contracts with almost 70 new hotels planned in the next 12 months.

Vikas Chadha, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer, Keys Hotels, said: “Looking at the current market, we will now be expanding mainly through our budget and mid-market brands like Keys and Keys Lite. We will continue to take over unbranded properties and convert them under our brand as long as we get the right location mostly in tier II markets where there is lack of branded hotels.”

In fact, most of its added hotels would be in the budget and mid segment rather than its premium brand of Keys Prima. “The majority of our hotels would be under the Keys Lite brand in the budget segment with only a couple of them under Keys Prima since it is not easy to find luxury properties which can get converted,’’ he added.

With 20 properties and 1,800 rooms across brands like Keys (mid market), Keys Lite (budget) and Keys Prima (upper mid market), the hospitality company has been mainly catering to the business and corporate sector.

“Almost 70 per cent of our revenues come from the corporates to whom we also sell directly and also through OTAs,’’ he added. Becoming asset-light through franchises and management contracts is also expected to help the company reap profits.

Keys Hotels is promoted by Berggruen Holdings, a New York-headquartered proprietary fund, and has been present in India since 2006. “The fund was set up specifically for entering the Indian market under the Keys brand and has already invested $100 million in India,’’ added Chadha.

Lacoste to expand in non-metros; aims 10% sales from online channels

The Indian unit of French clothing firm Lacoste hopes as much as 10% of its sales to come through ecommerce channels, including its own recently launched portal, in the next 18-24 months.

The company, which currently doesn't sell its products on any third-party online platforms in India, is also in talks with ecommerce firms as part of its strategy to tap the online opportunity, Lacoste India Chief Executive Rajesh Jain said.

It is in advanced talks with at least two major e-tailers to open exclusive Lacoste stores on their platforms. Jain declined to name these companies, citing confidentiality agreements.

He said Lacoste would start selling its products on only those marketplaces that can offer it a premium, no discounting environment.

He expects Lacoste India to start selling on the marketplaces in the next two months.

According to Jain, the French company expects 3-5% of sales coming from the Lacoste official website and 5-7% from the e-tailers with which it would tie up.

Sports & Leisure Apparel, the licensee company of Lacoste in India, manufactures 95% of apparel at its Noida facility. The remaining 5% is imported.

The sports-inspired brand is looking to expand through franchise network.

Lacoste India has 49 brick-and-mortar stores. About 10 of these are franchised outlets and the rest are company-owned.

Lacoste, which entered India in 1993, started opening franchise stores just one-and-half year ago and it is now betting big on this strategy. In the past financial year, Lacoste opened seven stores out of which four were set up partners. In this financial year, all the six stores it plans to open would be through the franchise route. It also wants to expand beyond the metro cities.

"We wanted to leverage our presence now. So far we were expanding only in metros. But we saw some good retail real estate development in some tier I cities as well. So we thought of expanding into those markets. It makes sense for us to ideally have a local partner in these cities who understands the local customer needs and tastes," said Jain.

From now onwards, the company will focus more on opening franchise stores in non-metros, where the store size is small. It will open company-owned stores at important locations in metro cities, where it may not make commercial sense for the franchisee because of the huge investment required, he said.

Across the globe, Lacoste sells products in eight categories and, in India, apparel is the largest selling category for the brand with an about 89% share, followed by footwear at about 8%.

French luxury label Longchamp to debut in India

French luxury leather goods brand Longchamp has announced its India entry and will open its first store in New Delhi this week. DOIT Retail Brands has bagged the master franchise rights for Longchamp in India. 

Leather goods major Longchamp was founded in Paris in 1948 by Jean Cassegrain and is still owned and run by the Cassegrain family. "We wanted to partner with a global fashion brand and were looking for synergies. 

Longchamp already has a loyal clientele in India and was scouting for an Indian partner. Its products are universal, simple and sophisticated and cater to a wide audience. The brand has maintained its luxury values of craftsmanship, creativity and quality. We are delighted to bring the brand to India," said Radha Kapoor, founder and director of DOIT Retail Brands. 

Longchamp owns more than 300 exclusive stores globally and retails from another 1500 points of sales. It is famous for its iconic leather handbags, luggage, shoes, and other fashion accessories sold at retail stores like Selfridges and Bloomingdale's besides its own stores. Kapoor said the company is scouting for a second location in Mumbai and is keen on Palladium. 

"Real estate costs are high and there is a dearth of quality real estate. We would like to take it slow with Delhi and Mumbai and we may look at other locations like Chennai and Bengaluru going forward. The brand is in the affordable luxury space and considering the footfalls, malls make more sense than high street," she said. Kapoor said the brand could be positioned somewhere between Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors. 

The 1,000 square feet store at The Emporio mall in New Delhi will retail Longchamp's bestselling products like Le Pliage Heritage, Penelope, Roaseau and Le Pliage Cuir bags along with other accessories. Longchamp announced annual sales of 566 million in 2015. It stated its revenue grew 15% in Asia, and the Asian market contributed 25% to overall sales. 

Yellow Tie Hospitality to launch Genuine Broaster Chicken in India

Food and beverages franchise management company Yellow Tie Hospitality has tied up with US-based Genuine Broaster Chicken to launch the brand across 40 outlets in the country by the year-end and will invest USD 3 million till 2018 for expansion.

Yellow Tie Hospitality plans to launch the brand first in Mumbai, followed by roll-outs of franchise outlets in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Surat and a few more cities in the first three months, it said in a statement here.

The brand will be served exclusively in different franchise formats with an authentic menu by the company, the statement added. Currently, Genuine Broaster Chicken is present in 36 countries across the world. "Broaster Chicken has been an integral part of America's food heritage for the past 60 years. Therefore, we felt it was time to introduce this to Indian consumers, filling the gap in demand and supply for better fried chicken," Yellow Tie's Founder and CEO Karan Tanna said in a statement. Along with its brand promotion, Yellow Tie Hospitality aims to augment the food startup industry by giving entrepreneurs a chance to scale their business through collaborations, he said. "With Broaster chicken, the customers enjoy delicious fried chicken, which is of far superior quality, uses less oil and retains natural chicken moisture. We are very bullish of our products in India," Bill Loeffelholz of Genuine Broaster Chicken said.

Aditya Birla Fashion buys India rights of Forever 21

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, part of Aditya Birla Group, has pipped e-commerce portal Myntra to acquire the rights for global fashion chain Forever 21 in the country for an undisclosed sum.

Forever 21 had a three-year-old tie up with DLF Brands and wanted to exit the partnership for much aggressive play in the country, said sources in the know. Myntra was also in talks to buy the rights of Forever 21, reports said earlier.

Aditya Birla Fashion has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US based Forever 21 to acquire its exclusive online and offline rights for Indian market and its existing store network in India from the current franchisee Diana Retail, the company said in a release.

Pranab Barua, managing director of ABFRL said, "The proposed acquisition is in line with our strategic intent to create the largest integrated branded fashion player in the country. With the acquisition of Forever 21 India business, we aim to create a strong foothold in the womenswear business in the western wear segment. Currently, the western womenswear segment is growing at more than 20%. The proposed acquisition will further strengthen leadership position of ABFRL in the branded fashion space."

Forever 21 entered the country in 2010 through a Middle East-based group Sharaf Retail, but could not scale it up. In 2013, it forged a partnership with DLF Brands to open 40-50 stores in five years in the country, but couldn't open stores as planned.

Jatin Malhotra, director, global expansion, Forever 21, said: "Forever 21 has built a very strong franchise in India in the last few years and has already become a brand of choice for fashion conscious women. The young demographics of the country and emergence of fast fashion segment offers opportunity for rapid growth for the brand. The partnership of Forever 21 and ABFRL will help establish Forever 21 as one of the largest womenswear brand in the country".

Based in Los Angeles, California, Forever 21 sells fashion merchandise for men, women and kids. Forever 21 is ranked as the fifth largest speciality retailer in the United States.

Founded in 1984, Forever 21 operates more than 730 stores in 48 countries with retailers in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany and others. Forever 21 has brands like Forever 21, XXI Forever, Love 21 and Heritage in its portfolio.

F45 India appoints ex-cricketer Brett Lee as brand ambassador

F45 India, the master franchise for Australia-based functional training system for fitness F45, today announced the appointment of former Australian cricketer Brett Lee as brand ambassador for the country.

Pradeep Palli, Director of F45 India, said the company is also planning to open as many as 300 outlets under the franchise model.

“Fitness chains in India have sprung by dozen, but many of them lack the steam to carry on or transform into successful business models. F45 is here to lay all that to rest. The chain of health transformer is innovative, cost effective and incredibly systemized in their training facility,” Brett Lee said in a press conference.

Skechers to double its store count in India

American footwear major Skechers is looking to double the number of stores in the country to 100, a top company official said.

The company said it is also planning to launch its apparel and accessories collection next year.

"This year we plan to add 50 stores, taking our count to 100," Skechers India CEO Rahul Vira told PTI.

"We plan to have a healthy mix of 50:50 own stores and franchise-owned and going forward, the franchise business would be slightly on the higher side because in a country like India it makes more sense to go through the franchise route because that really drives the business in the markets where we don't have our infrastructure," he added.

He added that typically a 100-150 sqft store entails an investment of Rs 1.5 crore.

The company entered India in 2012 through a JV with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group and now has presence across 700 multi-brand outlets in the country.

Skechers is growing at a fast clip of 70 per cent year on year in India and plans to expand its consumer base.

"We still are not present in a lot of markets. So our focus would be to enter those markets and build our consumer base. There is a huge potential for us to grow in the Indian market.

"In tier I and mini metros, we still are not present in the manner that we should be. Also, we will look at tier II and tier III cities but getting the right real estate is important for us," he said.

It plans to set up its manufacturing unit in the country in the next three to five years.

"We would be looking at setting up our manufacturing and that would be our mid to long term plan. So as the market evolves and we start gaining grounds in the market, it would (take) three to five years," he said.

Skechers sells its footwear in the country and plans to launch its apparel and accessories next year.

"We are evaluating apparel and accessories and hopefully we should be able to bring those product lines soon for our consumers, probably next year," he added.

The company, which received the FIPB approval for single-brand retail in India last month, plans to hawk its products through its website skechers.inlive by third or fourth quarter of this calendar year.