The East India Company launches first franchise in Kuwait

The East India Company is once again expanding its global trade relationships with the exciting news that the first East India Company franchise store will launch in Kuwait in February.

Opening on 13 February 2013, this new franchise store will carry The East India Company's world renowned teas and coffees; artisan sweet and savoury biscuits; an exquisite chocolate range including luxurious bars and an enrobed selection of fruits, peels, coffee beans and nuts; and gourmet salts and sugars. 

The store will also feature a truly delightful new range of Chakra inspired herbal infusions that taste wonderful and help bring balance to the day.

The franchise will be operated by the Al Maousherji Group which is a family-owned business enterprise based in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with subsidiaries based in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain and India. A grand opening of the store will be held by the British ambassador of Kuwait, and a VIP reception in the British ambassador's residence.

Manyavar to launch women’s ethnic wear brand, “Maanya,” by next festive season.

It started small – from a small shop in AC Market in Kolkata in 1990, to be precise. Today Manyavar brand of men’s ethnic wear has 221 stores and boasts of a turnover of more than Rs 300 crore. The brand has presence in more than 90 Indian cities with 221 exclusive business outlets (EBOs) and more than 800 multi-business outlets.

The company has aggressive growth plans for the future and plans to open 10 flagship stores every year in all metro cities and make its presence known in 100 cities. Also, Manyavar is looking at having no less than 500 EBOs in the next two years.

Vedant Fashions, the company that owns Manyavar brand, is also chalking out a global strategy – it already has stores in Dubai, Sharjah and Bangladesh. It now wants to cover all cities in the UAE as well as open one more store in Bangladesh and make a foray into the markets of Sri Lanka, Singapore, Nepal, the US and the UK in the near future.

For Ravi Modi, Chairman, Manyavar, the retail story started with dissatisfaction. “Even when we had just one store in Kolkata, I was not satisfied with men’s ethnic wear that we got from our suppliers.” Not only were the products they sourced over-priced, there was also a lack of creativity when it came to designs and fabrics. As if that wasn’t enough, Modi had to struggle with untimely supplies. “I decided to start my own line of men’s ethnic wear and thus was born Manyavar,” says Modi, with a satisfied smile.

The first Manyavar store opened in Bhubaneswar Forum Mart in 2008. The store was extremely well received, validating Modi’s point that there was a definite gap in the market when it came to affordable ethnic wear in men’s wear. In its first year itself, the company’s turnover was about Rs 40 crore, with 41 outlets all over India.

It wasn’t like there weren’t challenges, however. The company had to establish its brand of exclusive men’s ethnic wear at a time when other established men’s apparel companies that sold pin-stripe shirts and fabric were also selling a small collection of kurtas and sherwanis. “Men’s ethnic wear has been an extremely unorganised sector, be it fabric sourcing, embroidery and embellishments or stitching of the clothes,” reveals Modi. Not only that, the lack of creativity in the sector made the market drab and boring.

And therein lay the gap. Essentially catering to the wedding market where the groom and the men in the family also wanted to “dress up”, the ethnic wear segment had little to offer.

Manyavar took this challenge head-on and established its own manufacturing unit in Kolkata. With extensive research about fabrics, colours, hues, and even international trends, the company today has an extensive catalogue of products that includes not just kurtas, shervanis and Indo-Western wear but also accessories such as scarves, brooches, safas, kilangis, dupattas, cummerbunds, jutis and bajubands.

Setting up its own manufacturing unit may have meant a substantial amount of capital investment for Modi in the beginning but it has more that paid off. Not only does it keep overheads and middlemen to the bare minimum, it also means the company has total control of the supply chain and ensures timely deliveries. The four manufacturing units in Kolkata have a capacity to produce one million products on an annual basis.

Manyavar’s pride and joy? The company’s EBO at Karol Bagh in Delhi, one of the biggest wedding markets in India. Sprawling over 21,000 sq ft, the Manyavar outlet in the western part of the capital, the outlet sings luxury and has even become a landmark in the area. Apart from company outlets, Manyavar is also considering to take the franchising route for its expansion plans. “We prefer raw people with a good family background,” says Modi, talking about his criteria for choosing a franchise partner. The company has gone on an expansion spree in the past one year and Modi feels it is in keeping with the changing times. As billboards, hoardings, print ads and more stores become more visible, Modi says, “It is time for extensive advertising and make everyone feel the presence of the brand.” In the pipeline is the launch of women’s ethnic wear with the brand name “Maanya”, which will be launched by next festive season. “It would be along the lines of Manyavar – ethnic festive occasional wear,” says Modi. The company is looking at a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore in the next two years. All dressed for the party, we say.

Helios in expansion mode

Helios, the multi-brand watch retailer from Titan Industries, plans to open another 13 stores in different parts of the country by the end of this fiscal. A wide range of latest designs across 20 international brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, FCUK, Fossil, Guess and Armani, ranging Rs 3,000 to Rs 48,000 would be available in the showrooms. By the end of this fiscal, Helios would have 50 stores in India and would open more such stores in future.

Aviraté to open 9 stores

Aviraté, a premium international women’s western apparel brand retailed exclusively in India by Fashion 365 Retail, a subsidiary of Sri Lankan Timex Garments, is expanding its footprint across India with a total investment of Rs 20 crore. 

The brand will also enter the Far East, West Asia and Australia in the next two years with separate investments. 

The Aviraté brand from privately held Timex Garments is one of the top five apparel manufacturers of Sri Lanka with sales revenues of Rs 1,200 crore (FY2012). The firm derives 90 per cent of its revenues from garment exports to international brands such as Espirit, Wallis, M&Co, Jones New York, Diesel and Marks and Spencer. 

Timex Garments has already invested Rs 10 crore in India in stores and stocks and will invest an additional Rs 10 crore to open nine more company owned stores across India in the next financial year. The firm will open four more stores across Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chandigarh in the next six months. 

India’s retail sector is currently estimated at around $450 billion, and organised retail accounts for around five per cent of the total market share, out of which the demand for ready made and western outfits is growing at about 40-45 per cent annually.

‘Dressing Up New India’ Vimal Plans to expand Franchise Network

Vimal, the textile brand owned by Reliance Industries has plans to expand its franchise network with 1,500 new retailers expected to stock its fabrics and apparels. The company recently released a fresh communication strategy in line with its plans, which says “1,500 new outlets across India are waiting for you…” The ad also includes a woman wearing a western dress. Much as the company claims that it is not getting into women’s western wear fabrics, there are indications that the extended franchises are getting roped in to enable the company get into fabrics for women and even home furnishings in the near future.

The textile company revamped the heritage brand in 2007. At present, it has 15 flagship stores apart from 400-odd franchise outlets. By adding 1,500 franchises, the company is looking at increasing the number of franchisees to 1,800 to balance its capital expenditure. In the past, the company had indicated that women’s fabrics would be a natural extension of the Vimal franchise.

With the tagline ‘Dressing Up New India’ Vimal has positioned itself as a brand for the masses. So far offering fabrics for menswear, its new communication strategy hints at the company’s entry into fabrics for women’s wear, though it has not confirmed the development. Though there is tough competition from Raymond and Siyaram, Vimal has the advantage of using the retail formats of the company such as Reliance Trends and Reliance Marts. There is also a likelihood of starting e-commerce through its website onlyvimal.com.

Angry Birds’ franchise hopes to fly high season

Original licensed merchandise from Angry Birds, the mobile game of wingless birds owned by Rovio Entertainment, has crossed revenues of Rs 50 crore in India. Dream Theatre, Rovio’s licensed merchandising agency, is expecting sales to escalate this festival season with companies such as Bata associating with the franchise. 

“The about-to-strike Angry Birds phenomenon is an indicator of how the Indian retail market has warmed up to the concept of licensing, which is commonplace in the West. The popularity of Angry birds is phenomenal and the first of its kind for the Indian market where majority of licensed merchandising so far have hinged on TV exposure. This simple and fun game has captured the imagination of fans,” says Jiggy George, CEO and Founder, Dream Theatre. 

Roping in Indian companies such as Swadesh (for gifts and stationery) and Excel (plush toys), the Angry Birds franchise currently has 140 licensed products being sold at 600 odd retail points, across categories ranging from adult apparel, plush toys to stationery and gifts and novelties. 

“The advent of Android and iPhones having Angry Birds games has helped expand the reach of this franchise. Today, we have one third of our sales coming from Angry Birds products amongst all the character-based merchandise we have at our stores,” said Prasanna Nagarajan, category Manager for toys and gifting, Cross Word Book Store. 

This festival season will see another 350-odd products from the franchise across footwear and footwear accessories, kids apparel, fashion bags, and even furniture. 

Footwear majors such as Bata are also reaching out to the target audience through the licensing pact with the property. Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, group managing director, Bata India Ltd, said, “With this association, we look forward to further strengthen our relations with our younger audience. With a variety of products for pre-teens and teens, Angry Birds footwear with its styles and designs is expected to entice younger customers.” 

Reliance Brands to buy 50% stake in GAS jeans JV

Italian fashion apparel maker, Grotto, best known for its jeans brand GAS, is set to strike a strategic partnership with Reliance Brands, a unit of Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries, in an attempt to revamp its India play. Reliance Brands will buy a 50 per cent stake with management rights in a deal which is in the final stages.

GAS made its India debut in 2006 through Raymond and parted ways three years later. In 2010, GAS returned to the country through a completely owned cash-and-carry format, reaching customers through the franchisee route. 

The Grotto family is expected to assign the brand rights for the Indian market to the new equally owned joint venture company, Economic Times reported, citing sources. 

The GAS label, launched by Claudio Grotto in 1984, is the latest lifestyle brand to tweak its India strategy to sharpen its focus on one of the world's fastest growing economies to offset slowing growth in western markets. 

GAS or Grotto Apparel Sportswear has few exclusive outlets and presence in department stores in the country currently. Reliance Brands operates about 60 stores for a slew of international fashion brands like Diesel, Kenneth Cole, Thomas Pink, Paul & Shark and Zegna among others. 

The company, which has the backing of the deep-pocketed Reliance Industries, wants to be a platform for international labels across lifestyle and accessories aiming to enter the Indian market.