Raymond is going ahead with plans to set up 40 brand stores — The Raymond Stores (TRS) by the end of this year.
Almost 60 per cent of the brand stores is likely to come up in malls.
Organised retailing is the next happening thing in the country and setting up stores in malls is the answer to it, said Shreyas Joshi, President - group apparel, Raymond.
About 320 TRS presently exists in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Middle-East.
The company plans to set up brand stores to highlight its luxury menswear brands Manzoni, Parx and Park Avenue including the lifestyle outlet Be.
Encouraged with consumers' response to the exclusive Manzoni boutique opened in New Delhi, the company is scheduled to open its second standalone Manzoni store in Mumbai this week, Joshi informed.
The company plans to open exclusive stores for each of its brands as well, as the exclusivity of each brand becomes easier to promote through standalone stores.
The designer brand Be, has been a standalone brand focusing largely on womenswear, forming about 70 per cent of the store's offerings.
Presently there are no plans to discontinue men's range, said Joshi.
There are 17 stores at present, with plans to increase the number of stores to 25 by end of the year.
The company plans to add about 10 more stores by the first quarter of 2007.
The focus at present will be on metros and mini-metros, as customer base is largely made up of urban upper-class.
Earlier this year Raymonds announced its plans to enter kidswear market with Zapp brand.
marketing@alchempro.com
