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.

Hidesign to open standalone shoe stores

Leather bags and accessories brand, Hidesign has plans to open standalone stores for its shoes vertical by 2016. Hidesign is operational since 1978 and started franchising in 2002. The company, which is entering into the footwear category with limited products in February 2015, will initially sell in 30 select existing stores in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Currently, the brand has 76 Hidesign stores in the country and is planning to open another 12-14 stores next year. The brand may consider franchising as an option to expand by next year. The brand also sells its products through e-commerce channels including Amazon and Jabong. Hidesign’s turnover was approximately Rs.150 crore in the last fiscal.

Hidesign always looks to expand into newer markets. The kind of franchisee that Hidesign would consider to invest in would have to hold similar brand values and an understanding of the product and the consumer. Franchisees provide them with an in depth understanding of their geography and expertise of customer handling that is appropriate to the market.