Anytime Fitness planning to double number of gyms in India

US-based health and fitness chain Anytime Fitness is planning to double the number of gyms in India to 40 by the year end.

"We have opened 20 units right now and we are projecting to have 20 more by the end of this year. So we would double our size," said Anytime Fitness director of International Operations Eric Keller.

"Apart from Delhi and Mumbai, we are looking at exploring markets in the country to provide world class workout centres in tier 2 cities," he added.

Majorly planning to capture the northern market, the company, which recently opened a new center at North Delhi, is planning to have five centres each in Gurgaon and Delhi. Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore regions would contribute 10, while it is looking to open 10 gyms in Punjab.

"We are coming up majorly in Punjab, where we are looking at centres like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh," Anytime Fitness India managing director Vikas Jain said. The new centres would be mainly franchises, although the company is looking at other models as well.

On being asked about expected network of Anytime Fitness in the coming years, Keller said: "India has potential to have at least 100 of them in next 3-4 years... as franchise is more accepted and demand for our business model is growing, I do not see any reason that we would not have 500 gyms or more in next 15 years."

However, he added that availability of suitable real estate in large cities is a challenge, although growth potential is good for the next 5-10 years.

Gionee seeks nod for single-brand stores in India

Chinese phone maker Gionee is planning to apply for a single-brand retail licence, following the easing of rules. "It is in process," said Arvind Vohra, Gionee India CEO, adding that the application will be filed with the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP) in the coming weeks. Apple has applied for a similar.

In November, India scrapped a 30% local sourcing condition for overseas companies seeking to invest more than 51% equity in the single-brand retail segment. It also allowed single-brand licence holders to sell products through their own online platforms. 

The Chinese company's products are sold through multibrand stores and 30 Gionee-branded franchises. 

It plans to increase the number of franchisee outlets to 100 by March and 250 by December, Vohra said. The Shenzen-based mobile phone maker will also open 200 exclusive service centres in India. 

Even though the company plans to sell its products through its own ecommerce platform, Vohra said a brick-and mortar presence was needed for building the brand in India. "Fundamentally, I believe that first we have to create our brand by focusing on offline rather than online," Vohra said" .  "Online is purely on (discounted) prices with no marketing, branding and loyalty." 

Vohra said India was a key market along with the home Chinese market and Africa. Vohra said the company may open some flagship stores and is targeting the top 100 malls in India to open franchisee stores. 

Adidas eyes 20% revenue from own stores

In a major retail push, German sportswear maker Adidas is planning to earn 20% revenue from its own stores in India by 2020. At present, it operates a franchise-based model here, similar to ones followed by its competitors Nike and Puma.

To begin with, the company plans to open around six flagship stores in large cities, measuring 5,000-10,000 square feet. Envisaging larger volumes, it has also opened a 2.6 lakh square-feet centralized warehouse near the Capital to streamline its supply chain, akin to the ones operated by e-commerce companies.

"We want to double our turnover to around Rs 1,600 crore by 2020 from Rs 805 crore at present. These large format stores will help us achieve that," said Dave Thomas, MD of Adidas Group India. "Our franchise partners were earlier hesitant to invest in these big stores. That mindset is changing. However, most of these flagship stores will be owned by us."

Last year, Adidas became the first sportswear company in the country to get government approval to open its own stores.

This year, Adidas wants to turn its focus on its lifestyle brand Adidas Originals, which accounts for a third of its global business but only 5% in here. "We will launch new formats of Adidas Originals stores here. Earlier, Originals products wouldn't sell here. But now, with increased awareness, the products are flying off the shelves. There is a lot of potential in that line," said Thomas.

While around half of Adidas's business here comes from apparel, Thomas said the trend is changing. "People are buying more expensive footwear. Two years ago, the average buying price of a pair of sports shoes was around Rs 3,000. Now, it's around Rs 5,000," said Thomas.

Massive Restaurants to open more Pan-Asian ‘Pa Pa Ya’ branded restaurants

After tasting its success in Mumbai, Pa PaYa, the modern Asian Bistro and Tapas Bar, is all set to travel to Delhi. Massive Restaurants is planning more outlets of PaPaYa in Delhi as well as Mumbai. According to Zorawar Kalra, Managing Director, Massive Restaurants, the company will open two PaPaYa outlets in Delhi coming months, while adding one more in Mumbai. “PaPaYa has been an eye-opener for us. The restaurant received fabulous feedback since we opened our first restaurant in Mumbai. We always thought that our comfort zone is Indian cuisine. But PaPaYa has made us believe that if we follow the same tenets of passion, and research, you can make success out of other cuisines as well,” Kalra said. The company has 10 operational restaurants under four popular brands like Farzi Café, Made In Punjab, Masala Library, and PaPaYa. When asked about their expansion plans, Kalra said they will be opening six more outlets across brands by the end of the financial year 2015-16. These include Farzi Café (Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore); Made in Punjab (Noida and Mumbai) and Masala Library (Delhi). “We will add three more PaPaYa restaurants over the next six to eight months time,” he added. While expanding their brands in India, Kalra said that the company will also be opening outlets in destinations outside India, especially in Middle East through franchisee business. Farzi Café is all set to open in Dubai and the company is confident of opening a couple more in Middle East in coming years. “All our international expansion will be through franchise business,” Kalra added.

Gas Jeans goes H&M, Adidas way in India

Gas Jeans, owned by Italy based Grotto family, has sought approval from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to open its own single-brand retail stores across India.

Swedish fashion retailer Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) has already debuted in India with opening of two retail outlets in New Delhi this year, while German sportswear maker Adidas is expected to soon set up its retail stores.

Gas Jeans, which offers apparel for the young crowd under its GAS brand, already operates 65 stores in the country, all through the franchise route.

The Italian company's latest step follows changes made by the Government of India in its foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for single-brand retail in India, which includes allowing the foreign single-brand retailers to sell online.

The government has also changed the sourcing norm or 30 per cent of the value of goods purchased, which will now be reckoned from the opening of first store instead of the date of receipt of FDI. 

SOCH TO OPEN 25 FRANCHISE OUTLETS IN 2016

Ethnic women wear brand Soch sees 2016 year optimistically as it hopes to set up 35 to 40 more outlets next year in India. Of these total stores, 20-25 will be opened through the franchise mode.

“We intend to open 35-40 stores by the end of 2016. Our plan is to grow in Central, West and South India followed by opening Soch outlets in North and East of India. At present, our total number of franchise outlets stands at 15. We intend to open 20-25 more stores via the franchise route by 2016,” Vinay Chatlani, MD & CEO, Soch, Said.

The brand currently has 62 stores across India at key locations including Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cochin, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Kolhapur, Vijayawada, Lucknow, Indore, Bhopal, Belgaum, Visakhapatnam, Gulbarga, Kanpur, Salem, Dharwad, Tumkur and Calicut.

Soch, which came into being in February 2005 with its first store, offers fashionable range of designer wear for women at an affordable price. The brand has redefined the traditional Indian outfit for women of all ages and has a wide range of stylish and elegant designer ethnic wear like sarees, salwar kameez, kurtis and bottoms for fairer sex.

Canadian shoe brand opens franchise store in Chandigarh

Canadian brand Native Shoes is expanding  its base in India as it’s another franchise outlet opened in Chandigarh.

“The first franchise store of the brand was opened in Mumbai earlier and this is the second franchise outlet we have opened in Chandigarh. We are excited with the store launch,” says Manish Ohri, franchisee of the Chandigarh store.

Native Shoes was established in Vancouver, Canada in 2009 with a vision to combine the best of evolving technology and great design. Inspired by classic, casual silhouettes, Native Shoes are made from foam-injection molded-EVA, a lightweight, durable and comfortable material. Along with a unique, low-emission manufacturing process, Native Shoes are washable, waterproof and odor-resistant. Native is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and is distributed across the globe.

Van Heusen opens first digital store in Bengaluru

 Van Heusen, the premium lifestyle brand for professionals from Madura Fashion & Lifestyle portfolio, unveiled its first digitally immersive flagship store – Van Heusen Style Studio – in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar.

The first of its kind in India, the 5,500 sq ft store is an attempt to address every apparel shopper’s pain points of finding the appropriate fit, size and style best suited to their personality.

On entry, the shopper sees a 42 inch, digital display called ‘Today’s Briefing’ that offers ‘look of the day,’ informs what’s new in-store, doles out styling tips and updates on new fashion trends.

Next to the display is the ‘Fit Scanner’ enclosure, where the shopper is scanned by an infrared device, after which, measurements are generated from the collar circumference, shoulder width, to the chest, bust, hip, waist, height; which are used to identify the right fit for shirts, trousers, dresses, etc.

Next, is the ‘Style Bar’ digital display that helps a shopper identify their style personality by answering a few questions and throwing up 20 different looks that match the shopper’s style.

Customers choose the style by category, colour, patterns, fabric, and move on to the full length ‘Virtual Trial Mirror’ where the shirts, tees or trousers selected, can be virtually previewed on themselves without stepping into a physical trial room. The store has a ‘Style Simulator’ room, where shoppers can try on outfits for the day/night/evening wear, with an option to create the right mood by turning on music that matches the occasion, for which the apparel is being bought.

When the customer gets to the billing counter, a 42-inch double screen completes the experience – one screen displays inspirational styles recommended by Van Heusen, while the other screen displays style guidance tips.

“We decided on Bengaluru first, because it is home to tech-savvy people, who are exposed to international fashions and are willing to experiment. We are not selling apparel here, we are selling looks – the entire ensemble from the shirt, tie, jacket, pocket square, cufflinks, shoes; and have displayed different looks for men, women and youth, all around the store,” Vinay A Bhopatkar, COO, Van Heusen & People, said.

“We worked with FITCH, Singapore and Experiential Design Lab, Delhi to develop this store from scratch over the last 18 months,” he added.

Plans are on to roll out five Style Studios in the top metros over the next 12 months. Van Heusen has a pan-India presence across 280 stores in 120 cities.

 “Style Studio allows us to offer a wider variety of price points and exclusive merchandise; We expect our average selling price to go up from ₹3,500 to ₹4,500 with Style Studio,” added Bhopatkar.