Jul. 24, 2009 (The Hindu Business Line) --
Swetha Kannan
The company launched men’s casual wear from US Polo a month ago across departmental stores such as Lifestyle, Central and Shoppers’ Stop, apart from a few premium multi-brand retailers in the country.
Today, the brand is present across 18 points of purchase, apart from one exclusive brand outlet (EBO) in Delhi.
“Next season (September-January), US Polo will be present across 60 doors. We will also open five EBOs. But US Polo will be largely driven by departmental stores for establishing the brand in the country,” says Mr J. Suresh, CEO, Brands and Retail, Arvind.
Sports-wear brand Izod (from Phillips-Van Heusen Corp (NYSE:PVH) ) will be launched next year in February — again through departmental stores. Arvind is also looking to take premium US brand Gant into Shoppers Stop stores. (Gant is currently present in the country through two EBOs.)
Apart from establishing the brand in consumers’ mind, Mr Suresh says departmental stores also ensure better footfalls than EBOs.
“While an exclusive outlet on a week-day gives a footfall of 20-30 people a day (70-80 on weekends), departmental stores have a footfall of 5,000 on a normal day and 7,000 in the weekend. Investing in departmental stores makes more business sense; this is a safer platform today,” says Mr Suresh.
There is “no point blindly setting up EBOs” unless rentals and returns are compelling, he adds. One has to be “careful” and take “measured steps” while “doing own stores,” says Mr Suresh.
This doesn’t mean Arvind Brands will totally shy away from exclusivity. It will continue to open new stores for its principal brand Arrow to ensure its distinct imagery. In fact, in the last three months, Arvind opened six Arrow stores in the country, taking the Arrow store tally to 65.
At the same time, Arvind is also looking to create a separate identity and look-and-feel for Arrow Sport (the casual sports wear brand from Arrow) in Shoppers’ Stop stores. Arrow Sport will get into more shop-in-shops soon, says Mr Suresh.
