Evoke Ventures, an international retail initiative of the Chennai-based GKK-Taurus Group, has marked its entry in the Indian retail market with its first exclusive retail outlet at Park Sheraton in Chennai. On shelves will be the Rs 200-crore company’s Fuse premium accessories label.
The company has been retailing the Fuse brand in New York, Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo, Shanghai and Cape Town for the last couple of years. In India, it plans to open nine more outlets, largely in the major Indian cities over the next couple of years. While New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai will have these outlets by the year-end, launches in Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Goa, Chandigarh and Kochi are scheduled get going by mid-2008.
The Fuse product range includes leather accessories, footwear, clothes, perfumes and costume jewellery. In India, the company is initially launching only the leather accessories range featuring handbags, briefcases, wallets and laptop cases. The portfolio will eventually be extended to footwear, clothes, fragrances and costume jewellery.
Gilbert James, director, Evoke Ventures, said that the luxury accessories segment of the Indian retail market was a key emerging area with tremendous potential. “We are positioning the Fuse brand as a premium accessories brand, just below the luxury segment. Our prices will be about 40 per cent cheaper than products in the luxury segment,” he informed.
The company, which will invest about Rs 3.5 crore for this year, is hoping to earn a revenue of about Rs 3 crore in the first year of operations. Additionally, it is looking to invest about Rs 30 crore in expanding its presence in the domestic and international markets over the next years.
GKK-Taurus Group has manufacturing units for leather products at Chennai and Ranipet in Tamil Nadu. It also sources clothes and fragrances from South Africa and South Asian countries.
