Global fashion and lifestyle brands like Ed Hardy, Christian Audigier and Kitson will soon be available to the Indian fashion connoisseurs through Wadhawan Lifestyle Retail (WLRPL), a newly formed lifestyle retailing division of Wadhawan Holdings (WHPL)
The group plans to invest around Rs 500 crore to open 100 outlets in by 2012.
The first exclusive outlet in Mumbai is scheduled to be opened on December 19 and its second outlet in Delhi on December 26. By March 2008, the company will open five exclusive outlets.
“We see huge opportunities in the luxury goods and services segment as the Indian market for this segment stands at around Rs 8,000 crore and is expected to grow at 30 per cent per year over the next five years. The investment is dependent upon the number of global brands that we introduce in India and also on the various luxury formats that we will foray into,” said Kapil Wadhawan, chairman, Wadhawan Holdings.
Wadhawan informed that the company will target top eight cities initially and will soon enter other areas in the luxury segment such as fashion café and winery in the beginning of next financial year.
The Wadhawan group is also planning to foray into cash-and-carry and wholesale formats. In the past, the group had acquired Hindustan Lever’s online format Sangam and retail chains – S Mart and Sab Ka Bazaar.
