Mcdowell To Set Up Speciality Stores In 5 Metros

The Vijaya Mallya-promoted McDowell International Brands Ltd (MIBL) is entering the retail business by setting up speciality stores in five metros.

The company, a fully-owned subsidiary of McDowell & Company of the UB group, will be investing about Rs 20 crore for setting up these outlets which would sell international brands of wines, perfumes, cosmetics and cigars along with other products from the group companies.

McDowell International at present markets international brands of various lifestyle products such as wine, perfumes, cigars and crockery since it was incorporated in 2000. The company markets its products through 30 distributors across West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and seven north-eastern states.

"We have properties in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai. We plan to use these for setting up the stores," B K Pardal, chief executive officer of McDowell International Brands, said. The company is planning to set up these stores by the end of current year, he said.

However, Pardal said the stores will also sell products from the UB group according to respective laws of the state governments. He said the company would focus on big cities for setting up more outlets, while smaller centers would be covered by distributors.

MIBL imports a range of products including premium range perfumes from France, crystalware and bone china from United Kingdom and Germany and cigars from Belgium and Holland. The major brands under the company's marketing portfolios include B & B cosmetics from Italy, Gosh cosmetics from Denmark and Colibri lighter from United Kingdom.

The company plans to focus on the products such as cosmetics, perfumes, cosmetics and wine for the initial years before expanding into other products. It will be appointing 45 more distributors in the coming months in order to expand its presence in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.