Madura aims at Rs 1,100 cr from Van Heusen by FY13

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle is targeting a turnover of Rs 1,100 crore from its premium apparel brand Van Heusen by FY13 on the back of retail expansion across India, including small cities and towns.

The brand that is sold at 135 exclusive stores, is set for an aggressive expansion as the company plans to add up to 60 new outlets every year.

"We closed the year ended March 31, 2011, with a turnover of Rs 650 crore and expect to finish the current fiscal at Rs 850 crore...We are targeting a turnover of Rs 1,100 crore by the end of FY13," Van Heusen Brand Head Ajay Ramachandran told PTI.

He said by the end of this fiscal, the brand will be available at 150 exclusive stores.

"Van Heusen was launched in 1989...But the actual retail expansion by way of standalone stores began only two years back...The route ahead is aggressive expansion across the country, especially in tier II and tier III cities," Ramachandran said.

"Every year we will add 50 to 60 new exclusive stores, most of them will be franchisee-owned," he added.

The Aditya Birla group firm, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle sells premium fashion apparel and accessories for men and women under the Van Heusen and V Dot brands through around 1,000 retail points, including multi-brand stores and conventional trade outlets.

Besides expanding its retail network, the company is also planning to increase its product range by introducing new categories such as eye wear, luggage and shoes for men.

"In the next two years we will introduce new products in non-apparel segment that currently accounts for 3% of the total revenue," he said.

Commenting on the softening cotton prices he said, "Raw material prices have come down, so by November we might be able to pass on the benefit to the consumers by bringing the product prices down by 3-4%."

He said around March this year, the company was forced to increase product prices by almost 15% due to rising cotton prices and excise duty on branded apparel.