Europe’s fashion and lifestyle brand s.Oliver plans to become one of the leading casual apparel brands in India by increasing the point of sales from 20 to 200 by 2016 in India. To achieve the set target, the company has entered into a new joint venture with Design Pod, a company owned by Rajive Ranjan.
The brand entered the Indian market in 2007 through a license agreement that later changed into a joint venture with Orient Craft Brands claimed as one of the largest export houses in the country. However, as per the new arrangements, Orient Craft has sold its 49 percent equity holding to Design Pod. After clocking 1.29 bn Euros with record sales in the year 2010 globally, the company is all set to realign its business strategy in India keeping in view the particular needs of the market.
Commenting on the development, Rajive Ranjan, the brand’s new JV Partner and Managing Director, said: “As per our new strategy, products will be customised in terms of price and fashion sensibilities of Indian customers. Our focus will be on repositioning the brand as a casual fashion destination that offers contemporary global fashion with excellent quality.” s.Oliver will continue to focus on targeting men and women who are cosmopolitan, aware of key fashion trends, and value brands that offer the latest in global fashion. “We will invest aggressively in brand awareness once the adjusted value proposition has been implemented in 2013,” he added.
The new strategy will also introduce new store formats of the brand. According to the company officials, the target is to increase per square feet return by optimising retail space. Currently, s.Oliver is present in Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune. Its expansion plans include opening new stores and shop-in-shop format in malls of tier I (such as Bangalore and Hyderabad) and II cities.
s.Oliver currently has more than 260 company-owned stores, over 320 stores in cooperation with partners. It is present in more than 2,700 shop-in-shops and on 3,300 surfaces.
