French label Ted Lapidus launched their primary store in Linking Road at Bandra, Mumbai.
The occasion saw actor Aamir Khan checking out the merchandise. In addition to its ready-to-wear collection, the store houses a range of accessories including eyewear, watches and belts.
The brand is rolling out its retail plan with an initial investment of Rs 50 crore. A store already exists in Noida, while the Linking Road store will be the primary store. The end of 2007 will see a store in Vashi, Mumbai. By the end of 2008, a large store will open at DLF Mall in Saket, New Delhi. Stores are also being planned in Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai early next year. The brand is expecting a big response from mid-tier cities.
Basab Paul, brand director, Ted Lapidus Paris, elaborates, “We carried out a market assessment and business study in association with KSA Technopak, who were appointed as consultants for this project. The business plan is to roll out EBOs in ‘AAA’ metros in 2007 and in all leading ‘AA’ cities in 2008-09. We also plan to have accessories of Ted Lapidus available in exclusive sections and corners at large department stores and speciality stores in all major cities throughout the country. By 2010 Ted Lapidus will have an all-India presence.”
Concord Brands will initially import all Ted Lapidus Paris products from France, The Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Mauritius, etc. In any case, as Ashish Joshi, creative head (Concord), says, “While Ted Lapidus is known the world over as a haute couture brand, we have focused our design innovations in developing the citywear line of Ted Lapidus to meet the needs of Indian working men and women.” This has been done specifically with respect to fabric, styling, details and fit, the thought being that this will create a superior edge over competitor brands in the market today.
A fully-fledged product design and development centre has already been set up in Gurgaon. Furthermore, keeping in mind the market size and the need to reduce delivery times in future, major investments are planned to bring in world-class production facilities to India soon.
– Mumbai Bureau
