Raymond to expand retail presence

Raymond Apparel is planning to expand its retail presence in the country by opening 30 exclusive flagship stores. The Rs 400 crore wholly owned subsidiary of Raymond is also planning to increase its portfolio for women's wear brands.

Shreyas Joshi, president, Raymond Apparel, said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the company's first flagship store in Pune that the company would increase the number of exclusive stores by the end of the current financial year 2006-07.Apparently, India's highest-selling men's formals brand, Park Avenue, will also undergo a face-lift. Joshi said the company would open 25 exclusive Park Avenue stores in the 2006-07 period. Of which, six will be in the 'flagship' category.

"The Flagship stores will be more than 4000 sq ft in size, will have exclusive interiors and offer the entire range of options under the brand," Joshi said. These stores will be company-owned and against the Raymond Shop chain which is a mix with the franchise routes.

Raymond Apparel will increase the number of stores for its top-end brand Manzoni from two to five by March 2007. Manzoni has units in Mumbai and Delhi and will soon be launched in Kolkata and Bangalore with a second store in Delhi, Joshi said. In the informal category, the number of exclusive stores for Parx brand will move up from five now to 12. One of these will be a flagship store on the Pune's busy Jangli Maharaj Road, Joshi said.

While the kid's brand Zapp! will open 10 new stores in addition to two now, the Colour Plus range will be available in 15 more exclusive outlets besides the 40 currently operational. All these stores will require an investment of about Rs 50 lakh each, Joshi said.

Raymond Apparel has recently entered the women's wear retailing with the launch of Be: The company is planning to expand the women's wear range by adding newer brands, Joshi said. The plan is in the finalisation process and the company is considering various options, including launching women's formals, ethnic range or even taking over existing brands, Joshi said.

He said an announcement can be expected by early 2007. Joshi said the company was witnessing a sharp rise in sales recorded by multi-brand shops. "We estimate the multi-brand stores to surpass the growth witnessed by our own stores in the years to come," he said.