Indus Targets Rs 100 Crore Turnover This Fiscal

The company is also looking at having 50 exclusive stores up and running by end 2000.

After establishing a strong presence in the Middle East, the company is now looking at fanning out into eastern and southern Africa with the Scullers brand which was launched in late September last year.

Indus League, which has stuck to a predominantly European-look advertising in keeping with its international brand image, is planning to up its adspend to Rs 5 crore on the Scullers brand alone this fiscal.

"We believe that there are two faces for a brand, one is the advertising and the other is the retail store. And, the retail store needs to stand for the brand, so that's what we've done with Scullers," Fazle A Naqvi, director, marketing and merchandising, Indus League Clothing Ltd, said.

 

The flagship 1,400-sq ft Scullers Store has been launched in Bangalore on Brigade Road, designed by French retail store designer, Jean Claude Panighetti.

The store, inspired by the interiors of a Sculling team's clubhouse, is dominated by the nautical themes and a boathouse feel that the company plans to replicate across all new launches.

Continuing with the Scullers pitch, the company has launched a Web-enabled ordering system pilot project for the brand which will allow customers to browse the store's warehouse stocks and order on-line.

At present, the company has 19 exclusive franchise stores operational, with 18 stores in the works accounting for 60,000 sq ft of space at a rate of around 1,200 sq ft per store.

In the next phase of its store roll-out, the company is targeting towns with a population of more than 25 lakh and will then move on to towns with a population of more than 10 lakh. Indus League is also looking at creating a shop-in-shop niche for Scullers across multibrand outlets in the country.

Sometime in April, the company cleared the decks for an attractive stock option plan for its business associates and will be pumping in significant investments into its pan-Asian expansion plans, especially in the Dubai, Sharjah and Saudi Arabian markets.

The company's turnover of Rs 27 crore last fiscal was 60 per cent higher than the original business plan projections based on which it received its funding from Draper International and Dalmia Cements.

Indus League expects to move into the Rs 300-crore league in the next three years and touch a Rs 17-crore export turnover this financial.

ICICI Venture, which valued Indus League at Rs 50 crore, picked up a significant but undisclosed stake in the company in January 2000.