Thaindian News

Hyderabad, June 17 (IANS) Leading textiles conglomerate and apparel retailer Arvind Ltd plans to set up 70 more Arvind stores across the country during the current financial year and has set a target of Rs.400 crore revenue from this new format by 2013.

The company Friday opened its first company-owned flagship store in Hyderabad and announced plans to ramp up the new format of the business.

Arvind presently has 13 Arvind stores, 10 of them in Andhra Pradesh, and plans to open 100 to 120 stores every year, targeting not just the metros and tier II and tier III cities but also small towns with population of five lakh.

Kulin S. Lalbhai, chief manager, Arvind Limited, told reporters here that of the 120 stores planned every year, 50 to 60 would be company owned while the rest would be franchise.

The number of stores will be 200 to 250 by 2013. The company is adding six stores every month and will be looking at 700 to 1,000 locations in coming years.

“New format Arvind store is bringing best of Arvind under one roof. We are excited about this business as it not only works in cities like Delhi and Mumbai but also in small towns like Karimnagar and Warangal,” he said.

While Arvind Megastore sells all readymade brands, 30 percent of the revenues of Arvind store comes from readymade and the rest 70 percent from fabric and tailoring or customized wardrobe solutions.

During the current year, the company will open stores only in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and West Bengal but will extend to other states next year

Kulin said Arvind would launch two new readymade brands during the current year. The new brands will be in youth ware, but refused to share the details.

Arvind’s readymade brands and retail business is expected to go up from Rs.820 crore this year to Rs.1,200 crore next year and to Rs.2,500 crore by FY13.

The company as a whole is expected to achieve a turnover of Rs.5,000 crore during the current financial year. Of the total turnover 30 to 35 percent comes from export of textiles.

Brands like Arrow already have presence in Dubai, other parts of Middle East and South Africa. “There is also market for Arvind store concept in Dubai and Thailand,” Kulin added.