Arrow eyes over 20% sales growth in 4-5 years

Formal wear brand Arrow is targeting over 20 per cent year-on-year sales growth in the next 4-5 years, and plans to open 55 exclusive brand outlets this fiscal to expand its footprint in tier II and tier III cities.

"We will continue to see growth upwards of 20 per cent in the next 4-5 years. We don't see this growth slowing down," Arvind Lifestyle Brands Chief Operating Officer - Heritage Brands Division Sumit Dhingra told PTI.

The brand, however, does not disclose its financial numbers.

Dhingra expects demand for work wear as a category to continue to grow in the foreseeable future. "However, the way people dress up for work is changing so we have three sub brands within Arrow to meet that need," he said.

"We plan to open 55 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) and 250 shop-in-shops this fiscal. One of the big initiative of this year is to enter tier II and tier III markets," he said.

We are well represented (with stores) in top 6 cities. Bulk of our expansion this year, will happen in tier II and tier III towns. Out of these 55 new outlets, 40 would be in tier II and tier III towns, Dhingra said.

At present, there are over 250 Arrow EBOs, out of which 45-50 per cent stores are in top 6 Indian cities, and 1,000 shop-in-shops in multi-brands outlets like Shoppers Stop.

Dhingra, expects online sales, which is the fastest-growing sales channel, to contribute up to 20 per cent of Arrow's sales in the next five years.

"At present, online sales contributes 11 per cent of Arrow's overall sales. It is growing by 60 per cent year-on-year. We expect it to grow faster than other other channels and account for 18-20 per cent of Arrow's total sales in the next five years," he added.