Chennai, Aug 31: Indus-league clothing Ltd is planning to open 50 retail stores across the country and 13 abroad by Dec 2000 to showcase its major brands - `Indigo Nation' and `Scullers' - in the men's ready-to-wear segment. It currently has 19 stores in India - in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kochi and Calicut - and six stores abroad in Dubai, Doha and Colombo. It is also present in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.Of these, about 10 would be the flagship stores of the company with high impact exterior, gigantic signage and the interiors of the store as international as possible, says Indus League Clothing Ltd director (marketing and merchandising) Fazle A Naqvi. He was here for the launch of the company's first Indigo Nation flagship store in Chennai on Aug 31, 2000.Designed by international retail designer Jean-Claude Panigetti, the store is spread over 2,800 square feet and houses 3,000 shirts, 2,000 trousers, 1,000 knits and a host of accessories including ties and leather bags.
Different sections of the store have been allocated to the various sub-brands of Indigo Nation - Classics (formal wear), Khakis (casual wear), Blues (comfortable casual wear) and Great Outdoors (adventure wear). It also offers ironing and alteration services. Targeted for the age group 22 to 35 years, price ranges from Rs 549 to Rs 999 for shirts and Rs 699 to Rs 1,099 for trousers and Rs 299 to Rs 699 for knit shirts.
The company wants to expand its presence to cities and towns where it is not present, like Delhi, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Coimbatore, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada, Mangalore, Goa, Guwahati and Bhuvaneshwar, said Mr Naqvi. About 45 of these 50 stores would be franchised and the company would run only a few stores in the metros, he said. Abroad, it will focus on southeast Asia and South Africa, in addition to the gulf and Sri Lanka.
Started in Sept 1999 with a venture capital of around Rs 15 crore from ICICI, Dalmia Cements and San Francisco-based Draper International, the company registered a turnover of Rs 27 crore for the year ended March 31, 2000. It is targeting sales of around Rs 100 crore for the fiscal ended 2001, according to Mr Naqvi.
The company has earmarked Rs 12 crore to Rs 14 crore for advertising and promotional activities for the current fiscal. Apart from traditional media advertising, the amount would be used for online advertising and in-store promotions. According to a company official, the company will also invest in partnerships with top fashion designers and fashion institutions like National Institute of Fashion Technology (Nift), Delhi etc by taking part in their initiatives. The company is investing heavily in its design studio in Bangalore, which churns out 100 new styles every month. "We expect fashion to drive our business, instead of traditional advertising", said Mr Naqvi.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.