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.

Five Star Chicken seeks five star franchisees pan-India

Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) is looking forward to open 100 to 150 Five Star Chicken outlets in India by the year end via the franchise route. The brand says 10 % of its total outlets are company-run while the remaining 90 % are operated by its franchisees.

With a production and processing facility at Budigere near Bengaluru, Five Star Chicken has 265 outlets in India across Bangalore, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Hyderabad.

It also operates outlets in Salem, Coimbatore and Erode in Tamil Nadu. Since the brand operates its own farms, storage and distribution freely, they are able to optimise the cost and pass on better value to its customer.

Sanjeev Pant, Senior Vice President, CP Foods, says, “We will be opening around 100 to 150 year by this year end. We will be expanding in South India followed by West. In the near future, we will also have frozen food category.”

The chicken brand, which was founded in the year 1985 in Thailand, comes from a Thai multi-national conglomerate- CP Foods with over $13 billion sales in agro and food industry globally.

Five Star Chicken is one of the most popular brands in Asia with presence in nine countries with more than 7000 outlets in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh and India. In India, the brand launched its first outlet in November 2012 in Bangalore.

With a growing network of stores Five Star Chicken is becoming a strong neighbourhood brand offering great quality chicken at affordable prices to all consumers. The brand offers a wide range of chicken recipes/menu in spicy Indian flavours as well as other Asian and Thai flavours.

Loungewear chain Valentine Retail Plans to Open 200 Stores by 2018

Ashapura Intimates Fashion Ltd., a leading manufacturer of intimate –loungewear garments has a vision for aggressive growth in the retail segment. The company plans to open 200 Valentine loungewear retail showrooms all over India within 3 years on franchise Model.

The company opened its 2^nd Valentine loungewear retail showroom  in Bangalore in February 2015 and will be opening its 3^rd showroom in Bangalore by March end.

Two Valentine showrooms in Ahmedabad will be opened by the company in April 2015.

 The company plans to open 26 Valentine showrooms in Mumbai within one year. Majority Valentine showrooms in Mumbai will be company owned showrooms. Ashapura Intimates Fashion Limited has emerged having largest product basket globally in a niche segment of loungewear. 

With the vertically integrated manufacturing, the 2^nd state of the art plant will open in Gujarat in near future, the company will have biggest capacity in production & warehousing in loungewear in India.

Under the ‘Valentine’ brand, the company sells intimate garments such as lounge wear, bridal night wear, honeymoon sets, bathrobes, nightwear, relax-wear, sportswear, leggings, camisole, bra & panties etc. The new loungewear range is meant for gents, ladies, kids and toddlers.

In India, The Group has 130 distributors and products are sold through 13,000 retail outlets across the country. The company has MOUs with online shopping sites like Myntra, Jabong/ Home Shop 18 and own website.

Chhabra 555 forays into West Bengal

Chhabra 555, one of the renowned ethnic wear retail chains of India opened its first store in West Bengal. The recently opened store which is a franchise unit located at Kanchrapara. The brand has made a notable presence in West Bengal, Bangalore and Gangtok. It is looking forward to foray into areas which have not been explored by it yet.

The outlet showcases the whole gamut of Indian ethnic wear including unstitched and readymade suits,duppatas, anarkalis, bridal lehengas and sarees. The collection is affordable and especially aligned to suit the need and demand of enlightened and fashion conscious consumers of West Bengal. The customers can browse through a variety of collections and choose from an array of dazzling colors, styles and patterns.

Chhabra Triple Five Fashions Pvt. Ltd was established about 50 years ago as a small saree shop. Today it has grown to become one of the top wholesalers and retailers of India. It has its head office in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. Chhabra 555 runs a thriving business rooted in Indian culture and tradition that strives to wrap an Indian woman’s presence in the thread of beauty. Known for its unique designs and fine quality products available at affordable prices, Chhabra 555 provides a large variety of products, which they customise according to individual market and area. 

Italian furniture brand Natuzzi plans expansion in India; seeks franchisees

Italian furniture and upholstery brand Natuzzi, which entered the living rooms of the aspiring Indian families in 2010 with a flagship store in Delhi, plans another 20 shop-in-shop stores by end this year. The company, which opened its second flagship store in Mumbai recently, is looking for potential franchisees to expand presence. At present, Natuzzi has 12 points of sales in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon and Coimbatore. 

Natuzzi is a part of the 514-million euro NYSE-listed Natuzzi Group that designs, produces and sells a vast range of armchairs, sofas and furniture accessories. It exports innovative, high-quality sofas and armchairs to 123 countries in 5 continents. 

Nitin Bahl, country manager, Natuzzi India, said, “Natuzzi Store at Mumbai is a testimony of our continued commitment to this market. Ahmedabad, Pune and Goa are of strategic importance to our growth plans in the country and we are in the process of expanding our presence in these markets.” 

The company also plans to develop a network of Natuzzi and Italsofa branded stores across all key locations in Western Region including Ahmadabad and Pune in the near term. 

The store will give the customers of Mumbai a chance to experience all - from classic leather furniture and relaxed living room environment to sophisticated furniture of modern design and trendy colours.