Levi's expands presence in small towns, strengthens base in metros

Premium denim company Levi Strauss & Co is expanding retail presence in small towns, which it considers as one of the pillars of growth in India, said a top company official.

Besides, the company is strengthening its base in metro and tier I cities by building larger stores.

"Our tier II, III & IV strategy is to continue to expand our reach to the consumer in the market. It's one of the critical pillars for expansion in the market and growth for India," Levi Strauss Managing Director - South Asia, Middle East & North Africa Sanjeev Mohanty told PTI.

According to him, small towns is "one of the key drivers" for the Indian market, which has large number of millenials.

Levi's premium assortments and collaborations as Hello Kitty, Super Mario Bros and special assortments as levi's made and crafted would cater to metro markets.

Besides, the company is registering a good growth in women's segment and expects this trend to continue.

Levi's brand, which is present in the country since 25 years, has a network of over 450 retail stores and most of them are operated by its franchise partners.

The company has a mixed omni channel retail presence here and is witnessing two to three times higher growth rate from online sales channels as the base is low and is attracting new set of customers.

When asked about the growth in the Indian market, he said Asian market grew around 12 per cent last year and India is keeping pace with that growth.

"India is definitely among the top 10 markets globally and from volume point of view, we are among the top five markets," he said.

When asked whether the Indian market would go up in the ranking, Mohanty said,"Obviously, India is a large emerging market, and the growth rate from this market and expectation are also in that tune. We definitely hope to continue to lead in this market and improve our market share."