The premium French skincare, bodycare and fragrance brand, L’Occitane, is on a rampant expansion spree in US, Italy and India. The brand, which registered a 13.9 percent hike in sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, will up its number of stores in the US to 300. It is also going to roll out a new store concept in the States. “In the US a lot of the stores hadn’t been touched in a long time, so we are revamping,” says Leela Petrakis, Managing Director, L’Occitance, US.
In Italy, the brand is aiming to tap into the Italian natural cosmetics market, which grew 5.8 percent in the first quarter and 5.5 percent in the second, by bolstering its retail presence there.
“For many reasons Italy was overlooked, but we have witnessed how consumers are excited about the brand from our results. In Italy, the plan is to open 30 freestanding stores in two years,” says David Melki, Managing Director, L’Occitane, Italy.
In India, L’Occitance recently signed an agreement with the Pune-based Sanghvi Group to set up a chain of spas, and is fast planning to expand to metros (other than Delhi) and have a presence in tier I and tier II towns. “Realistically, we plan to set up 20 PoS in the next five years and will already have six in over a year of setting up the JV,” says Guillaume Geslin, GM, L’Occitane, India.
Furthermore, the brand is scouting for locations to open stores in high-growth markets, like China, Brazil, Russia and Mexico.
Posted on: 24.11.2010
Source: www.wwd.com
