Indus Fila plans to invest Rs 200 cr in retail biz

The company, which is a preferred supplier to some of the prominent apparel brands like Nautica, Lee and Wrangler is mulling to set up 30-40 retail outlets across India within a year. The first store will be opened in Bangalore by September this year, said Nitin Mandhana, Vice Chairman and Director, Indus Fila.

Speaking to Business Standard, Mandhana said, in all the company will set up about 500 stores in India and other Asian countries over 2-5 years. "We plan to invest about Rs 200 crore to begin with," he said, without disclosing further details of the proposed investment.

The company has already tied up with two franchisees and identified the location for its first store in Bangalore. The product range would include apparel, shoes and accessories for men and women. The focus would be to sell "good quality prod-ucts at affordable prices, mai-nly to the middle-class", Nitin said.

IndusFila will sell the products under its own brand and about 80 per cent of the products to be sold in retail outlets would be manufactured by the company itself, he added.

The company clocked revenues of Rs 515 crore for the fiscal-ending March 31, 2008. About 40 per cent of its revenues are from exports. IndusFila has a manufacturing unit in Bangalore.

It is setting up a plant in Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh and has also tied up with a Sangli-based textile company. The company recently bought the fabric division of Mysore-based Sri Laxmi Industries to expand its manufacturing capabilities.