Wills Lifestyle targets 20 per cent sales growth in 2014-15

ITC expects its apparel retail chain Wills Lifestyle to increase sales by 20 per cent in the next financial year and plans to add 15 stores in non-metros in the next 18 months.
Formal and casual wear brands, along with a separate women's range, online retailing and new stores in tier 2 and tier 3 towns would be the growth driver for Wills Lifestyle.
"In the coming year we are targeting a growth of 20 per cent in the Wills Lifestyle brand," ITC Lifestyle Retailing Business Division Chief Executive Atul Chand told PTI. The division has a nationwide retailing presence through Wills Lifestyle and John Players.

The company posted sales growth of about 15 per cent in the current financial year, he said, without sharing details of revenue, citing company policy.
On expansion, he said: "We are looking at adding 15-odd stores in the coming 12 to 18 months in tier 2 and 3 towns under the franchise model."
He said the company's strategy in the near future would be to focus on formal and casual wear and the women's range, online retailing and new stores.

"This is the way in which we will be approaching in the coming 12 to 16 months in terms of growth," Chand said.

Currently, ITC has a network of 95 stores across India selling Wills Lifestyle products, including in towns such as Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Surat, Ludhiana and Coimbatore.
Its products are also available at 700 other sales points in departmental stores and multi-brand outlets, he added.
"Now the focus is really going to be in the tier 2 and 3 places. There is a lot of focus in those small markets," he said, adding that all new store additions would be in the smaller towns.
Currently, the company gets less than one-third of its sales from non-metros and this share is expected to reach about 35 per cent in the next two years.

Asked about online sales, he said: "It is becoming bigger. It's a newer channel. We have opened our own e-commerce site. We are also available through various online trading partners such as Jabong, Flipkart and Myntra."
Less than 5 per cent of sales comes from online retail.
"Although we have doubled it since last year, it is still less than 5 per cent, but of course the footprint is wide, it's evolving," Chand said.