September 2010

Aditya Birla Group, promoted Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail today said it will set up its high-end luxury stores -’The Collective’ in three new cities next year, besides expanding in the existing locations. The company currently operates two stores, one each in Mumbai and Bangalore that sell high-end luxury apparel and accessories from brands across the world under ‘The Collective’ banner. “We are opening the third store in Delhi on Sunday and the plan is to explore opportunities in Chennai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad by next year. We will also look at opening more stores in Mumbai and Delhi,” MGLRC Chief Operating Officer Ram Iyer told PTI. Iyer, however, did not specify the total number of stores the company is planning to set up in 2011 saying that talks were currently on with the real estate developers. The company is likely to make an investment of about RS 40 crore in next year. “One store entails an investment of Rs 8 crore,” Iyer said without specifying the total investment planned. According to Iyer, the luxury retail market in India is picking up well and strong economic indicators in the country promise healthy growth of the sector. Despite the downturn in the last two years, the existing two stores owned by the company have already reached a break- even point. “The Bangalore store that was launched in October 2008 registered a 35 per cent increase in turnover, while the one in Mumbai launched last year is also registering strong growth,” Iyer said without disclosing the revenue figures. “The plan ahead is to follow a path of economic prudence and look at commercial viability,” he added. The stores house high-end apparel from international brands such as Armani Collezioni, Adriano Goldschmeid, Duchamp, Fred Perry, Hackett, Hugo Boss, Kenneth Cole, Ted Baker, True Religion and Versace Collection priced in the range of Rs 2,500 to Rs 75,000. “We will introduce new brands coming season for men and women both,” he said. The company also sells accessories including watches, cufflinks, shoes, ties, belts, leather products and sunglasses by leading brands like Church’s shoes, Momo Design, Puma Black Station, Toy Watch, grooming products from Molton Brown and others. The stores also offer value added service such as made-to-measure, spa, dry cleaning and alteration.