Zudaas France, a premier international apparel brand for kids, has planned to open 200 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) by the end of 2010. As part of the plan, the company will soon launch 20 EBOs in the next two months in places that include Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, informed a top company official.
Speaking to IndiaRetailing, Hitesh Mehta, director – India and South East Asia, Zudaas France, said, “Out of the 20 planned stores to be opened in the next two months, 12 stores will be opened in Punjab, five in Delhi, two in Madhya Pradesh and one store in Haryana. The proposed markets are totally new for our brand but with the kind of goods that we supply, we expect good sales from these states.”
Elaborating the expansion plan, Mehta further added, “We are in the initial stages of expansion of the product portfolio in kids wear as of now, but we are also integrating few other options like ladies wear and gents wear also. We are planning to evolve family wear stores with the same brand name Zudaas and the project is expected to come up very soon in this year.”
The company currently operates 55 EBOs in states including Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharastra, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The company, which operates stores through its franchise partners, owns around seven stores out of the 55 EBOs in Delhi and Chandigarh. However, it has planned to hand over these outlets to its franchise partners. “We have decided to hand over these stores to our management partners. We have also planed to have some good management partners cum investors in the company. In this way we will generate good cash flow. Our focus will be on managing stock, supply chain management, promotions and discounts,” added Mehta.
To partner with the company, a franchise requires an investment of about Rs 7-10 lakh per store. The normal size of the store is around 600 square feet. In the last financial year, the company posted a turnover of Rs 7 crore and is expecting Rs 20 crore in this financial year.
— Sarimul Islam Choudhury
