Raymond to double West Asia store count in 3 yrs

Indian textile and apparel major Raymond plans to more than double its current network of 24 stores in West Asia to 50 within three years. This will, according to the company’s chairman and managing director Gautam Hari Singhania, increase its share from the region to 45 per cent of its international revenues from 37 per cent at present.

Unveiling Raymond’s ‘Middle East Vision for 2012’ plan, Singhania said the company is targeting 1.5 million metres of textile in sales in the next three years in West Asia alone, increasing volumes by 50 per cent from current levels.

The company has 35 overseas ‘The Raymond Shop’ stores currently, with the 24 in West Asia spread across a total store area of 63,000 square feet. The 26 new stores will come up in various malls, such as Mall of Emirates, Dubai Mall, Burjuman, Villagio Mall and Pearl Mall, a release from the company said.

‘’The retail sector in West Asia is projected at $500 billion by 2010,” Singhania said.

Presently, Raymond has stores in malls such as Al Rashid Mall Madinah, Al Khobar and Safeer Mall Dubai, the release added.

Raymond also has plans to open 50 stores in the country by the end of the current financial year in smaller cities, a top company official said recently. The company is looking to expand into cities with less than 1 million (10 lakh) population to avoid being crowded out, and to take advantage of lower real estate costs, the official said.