Swiss Military to invest Rs 200 crore for pan-India expansion

Switzerland-based lifestyle brand for men, Swiss Military, has embarked on a store expansion plan to enhance its presence in India. It has outlined capital investment of Rs 200 crore to set up its own stores and in developing a logistics and warehousing network, a company official said.

“We have been selling our range of products in India since 2011-12 and now time has come to go for a major retail presence. We have decided to have 172 stores in key markets across India,” Anuj Sawhney, MD, Swiss Military Worldwide. He further added: “The company would own and run 12 stores and the rest 160 outlets would come up through the franchise route. The store rollout will start from May and all the 172 stores will be up and running by the end of 2017.”

Swiss Military Lifestyles Products Ltd is the Indian marketing arm of the company. The company’s international range includes travel gear, writing instruments, watches, garments, accessories, kitchenware, eyewear, leather goods, outdoor/ hiking equipment, footwear, cosmetics and electronics. The company has over 1,800 stock keeping units in the global portfolio. Swiss Military will soon introduce watches in India and by June it has plans to offer bicycles to its customers in the price range of Rs 12,000 to 25,000. Better footprint outlines capital investment of Rs 200 crore and plans 172 stores in key markets across India.

Incepted in 1984 with only watches, Swiss Military has now increased its portfolio to a large range of products from key chains to bicycles across 26 countries.

Swiss Military to launch 171 stores in India by 2016-end

Premium lifestyle products brand Swiss Military plans to open 171 stores in India by the end of next year, of which 11 will be company owned and 160 under the franchise model.

"We plan to open 171 stores across the country by 2016 end. Out of which 11 will be company owned stores while 160 would be franchise stores," Swiss Military Worldwide Managing Director Anuj Sawhney said.

The company-owned stores will be in locations such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, he added.

"The franchise stores will be in tier I and tier II cities across the country. Apart from these, we will also be adding over 4,000 multi-brand outlets during the period," Sawhney said.

The investment on the expansion would be around Rs 200 crore, he added.

When asked how the company plans to fund the expansion, Sawhney said: "As a company we are debt free and the expansion will be done through internal accruals, from our global resources and some of it will also come from the franchisees."

The franchise stores will be self-financed and for multi brand outlets also there is no investment done by the company, he added.

Saying that the company is also looking to add to number of its products in the country, Sawhney said: "In India, we currently sell 300 products under 5 product lines -- baggage, leather, electronics, pens and accessories and will be launching 60 products every month."

The brand entered in the Indian market 5 years ago with corporate gifting space in the first phase. 

Then it moved into in-flight sales partnering with Jet Airways, Indigo and Air India. 

The company's products will also be available on online portals such as Flipkart and Amazon.

The company entered into retail market in the country in April 2014 and is now present in 57 towns in 23 states across the country. 

Swiss Military products are available in 550 multi-brand outlets.

Globally, the brand has around 1,800 models of products in segments such as sun glasses, footwear, household appliances, leather wallets, electronics, cosmetics and electronics, and outdoors such as tents and sleeping bags, Sawhney said.

The company currently has 600 stores worldwide, out of which 11 are company owned full stores with most of them being in Switzerland, France and Germany.