Eyeing to boost its retail presence in India, Lifestyle International would invest four billion rupees in India over the next three years, company's Managing Director Kabir Lumba said while speaking on the sidelines of India Retail Forum.
He said they intend to launch six to eight Lifestyle outlets and add around six Home Centre outlets to its existing 14 outlets in India over the next two to three years.
The company also plans to launch 15-25 Max and 5-10 Bossini outlets per year, and also looks at increasing its Splash store count from the existing 7 to 25 in the next three to four years.
Mr. Lumba said Lifestyle has always been keen about synergy and intends to best utilize the Landmark Group's synergies, with maximum leverage. He said they are also exploring prospects of unveiling new formats like Baby Shop.
On the possible impact of entry of the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA in India through foreign direct investment (FDI) on Home Centre, he said Indian market is in an embryonic stage and entry of three-four international players like IKEA would only improve the value propositions of the market.
Operating around 60-65 outlets in the Middle East, Home Centre has an ability to well compete and compliment strong brands like IKEA, he said, and added that there is huge potential for the brand and it does not need to bother about competition for the next 15-20 years.
Moreover, their format and product offerings also widely differ from that of IKEA, he added.
On pricing, he said, no brand would reduce its prices so much, particularly when they are importing products by paying import duty. He added that it is doubtful whether brands like IKEA would change their policies for one particular country.
Lifestyle is hopeful of being able to sustain its 25 percent growth rate in India, but it is vigilant about prospects of Indian retail, and would wait to see the impact of entry of FDI on buying pattern of customers.
Source:
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=116995
