Madura Fashion to treble 'The Collective' outlets by 2015

Aiming a bigger share of Indian luxury market, Aditya Birla group firm Madura Fashion & Lifestyle plans to expand the reach of its multi-brand retail chain 'The Collective' by almost three times at an investment of over Rs 100 crore by 2015.

The company, which is looking to increase the number of 'The Collective' outlets to over 20 from 7 at present, is also targeting to cross Rs 100 crore revenue in this fiscal.

"The demand for global luxury brands are increasing gradually. There are very few luxury multi-brand outlets in the country at present.

"So to cash in on the growing appetite, we are planning to ramp up our store reach in the coming 2-3 years," Madura Fashion & Lifestyle Chief Operating Officer (International Brands and New Business) R Satyajit told PTI.

As part of this plan, the company will launch three more showrooms of the retail chain by the end of this year, he added.

"Our target is to have more than 20 outlets by 2015 across big cities. All the stores will be company-owned," Satyajit said.

Talking about the investment for this expansion, he said the average size of a 'The Collective' store is around 15,000 sq ft and each unit requires an investment of about Rs 7-10 crore to be set-up.

"In the next 2-3 years, we are going to invest at least Rs 100 crore for about 14 stores. We take the space on lease and the amount will primarily be invested for designing the interiors as per our standards," he added.

When asked about The Collective's revenue, Satyajit declined to share details saying it is "a two-digit figure".

"During 2013-14, we will be in a three-digit revenue figure category," he added.

The Collective will also increase its manpower strength to about 300 people by 2015 from 150 at present, Satyajit said.

Elaborating on its expansion plans, he said: "In this year, we will add one store each in NCR, Hyderabad and Chennai. Going forward, our focus will be North India. We will also expand in Mumbai as luxury market is very strong there."

The retail chain currently sells products from 60-70 brands and adds 2-3 new brands every year.

Some of the major brands of The Collective include Paul & Joe, McQ Alexander McQueen, Love Moschino, True Religion and Jacob Cohen.

Last month, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle's apparel brand Van Heusen had said it is expanding its reach by adding 50 new stores by the end of next fiscal.

Van Heusen, which is looking for a jump of 16-18% in sales turnover in 2013-14, is also planning to expand reach in the North Eastern region by doubling the number of outlets.