Benetton India to double stores

With Gujarat being viewed as a high-growth retail market for branded garments, Benetton India is planning to double the number of its United Colors of Benetton (UCB) brand stores by the end of the year.

Presently, the Italian fashion house runs three showrooms in the state, one each in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Surat. It aims to double the nmber of stores in these cities and also open one in Jamnagar.

In Ahmedabad, the company has acquired around 1,500 sq ft space at the upcoming ISCON Mega Mall on S G Highway.

Benetton India, the 100 per cent subsidiary of Benetton Group, has 110 stores around the country and plans to double their number too.

Moreover, speaking on the company's other brands like Sisley, Play Life and Killer Loop, Managing Director, Gagan Singh said, "Apart from UCB, in October we launched our Sisley brand of store in Delhi and will soon launch one in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and other major cities by next year."

On differentiations in the brands, Singh said, "UCB is a young, trendy wardrobe brand whereas Sisley is an elite and high-end fashion brand. Since the high-end fashion brands' market is still in nascent stage we are not launching the Sisley brand immediately in India. However, since the market for UCB is growing at 30 per cent we are concentrating more on it as of now."

According to Singh, the company expects its sales to increase this year from the present 2.5 million garments per annum, generating around Rs 100 crore revenue in India. The company has a manufacturing unit in Gurgaon and also a 75-100 strong base of vendor network with a capacity of over a million garments per annum.

Although presently the company has tied up with Lifestyle for its UCB brands, Singh denied any plans to tie up with other retail chains.