Allen Solly not keen on e-sales

In an age when everyone is going online, garment maker Allen Solly, part of the $40 billion Aditya Birla Group, on Thursday said it wants to keep the brick-and-mortar model as its main revenue earner rather than focus on online sales.

The garment maker said it was keen to grow its exclusive stores and presence in multi-brand outlets.

"Presently, we have 207 exclusive outlets and plan to open another 50 in the time period 2015-16. Revenue from online sales account for four percent of our revenue," the company's chief operating officer (COO) Sooraj Bhat Ullal told media persons here.

The clothing company, which is targeting to close the current fiscal year at Rs.800 crore turnover, is laying stress on the sportswear segment and on positioning itself as a premium brand.

Asked about the growing trend of heavy online discounts offered by portals, Ullal said: "We won't be part of online sales periods where heavy discount is given."

He said the company specifies the selling price for e-commerce portals as well as the discounts offered online.

Ullal said the exclusive outlets contribute 50 percent to the company's revenue with 46 percent coming in from retail sales in multi-brand outlets (MBO).

The company earns its highest chink of revenue from metro cities, particularly Delhi and the national capital region (NCR), but is keen on increasing its upcountry presence and plans to set up 40 exclusive outlets in tier 2 cities during 2015-16.

Ullal expects to churn out Rs.200 crore from the new line of sports clothing - Solly Sports - in the next fiscal.

"We are considering opening exclusive outlets for the sports segment line of clothing but haven't taken a call on this. It may come up in late 2015," he said.

The company is expecting to garner Rs.1,000 crore during the fiscal 2015-16.