The Hindu Business Line : Move for Lepakshi franchisees abroad

BUOYED by the success of its handicrafts exhibitions across the country and abroad, and by the increasing number of enquiries for the supply of handicrafts, Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd (APHDC) has decided to set up franchisees overseas, according to the State Minister for Major Industries, Commerce and Exports Promotion, Mr Botcha Satyanarayana.

Speaking to newspersons after inaugurating a 10-day exhibition of `Lepakshi Heritage Collection', the handicrafts and handlooms exhibition, at Ameerpet, the Minister said that the first Lepakshi franchisee would come up at Chicago next month. A group of NRIs would run the franchisee on a commission-sharing basis.

The Minister said that a MoU would be entered into with the NRIs in this regard. A few more franchisees would come up in the US at locations such as California, New York and Washington, and some in other countries.

Following enquiries from Italy and Spain, where APHDC recently participated in exhibitions, the Corporation is planning to set up franchisee centres in these countries.

Currently, the Corporation markets the production of over 1.5 lakh artisans through its network of 13 sales emporiums under the trade name of Lepakshi.

During last fiscal, the Corporation achieved a sales turnover of Rs 31 crore and has fixed a target of at least Rs 33 crore for the current fiscal.

According to the Minister, the Corporation has already achieved a turnover of Rs 24 crore as of January this year and is set to surpass the targeted sales turnover.

APHDC, which clocked sales of Rs 8 crore through the handicrafts and handlooms exhibitions alone during last fiscal, has recorded a turnover of Rs 7.9 crore up to January this year, said the Managing Director, Mr B. Jayaraj.

These exhibitions, craft bazaars and melas help the artisans assess the demand and tastes of the customers and to modify their products, which in turn, helps increase the market base for their products, he added.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Flutter for grains

Reading the Budget can be taxing

Move for Lepakshi franchisees abroad

DD jacks up ad rates for Indo-Pak series

No damp prospects