Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Oct 13, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Oct 13, 2005 |
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Marketing
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Retailing Liberty-Pantaloon footwear venture to launch two retail chain brands Our Bureau
Mumbai , Oct. 12 SEGMENTING the footwear market, Liberty Shoes is planning to launch two new branded retail chains to cater to the mass and premium markets as part of its joint venture with Pantaloon Retail. Having recently floated a separate venture with Pantaloon the new company has been registered under the name — Foot Mart Retail Ltd — to cater to the different segments of the footwear industry. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Anupam Bansal, Director, Retailing, Liberty Shoes Ltd, said, "There will be two business models in our retailing venture. One set of stores would cater to the masses with value-for-money footwear products while the other chain of stores would comprise premium footwear, targeting the fashion conscious consumers." With the intent of opening its first value-for-money footwear store in Ahmedabad by the year-end, the company expects to have certain overlaps in its pricing between its two retail brands. "The cheapest lifestyle brand at our premium stores would probably be available at the high end at our mass stores," says Mr Bansal. The retail chains would be sourcing a plethora of brands, including Liberty's own brands. Apart from shoes there would be accessories such as handbags, foot care and shoe care products. "The purpose is to create a footwear destination with a certain ambience, service and mindset," says Mr Bansal, who has plans to launch 15 stores within the first year of operations. The company has also appointed the Bangalore-based design solutions company — Idiom — for creating advertising, designing the retail space and even naming the brands for its retail stores. By combining the retail expertise of Pantaloon with Liberty's design, sourcing and merchandising expertise, the new company plans to launch 45 standalone stores by 2008. "We will get a pan-Indian feel of the need gaps in footwear retailing with our manufacturing set-up and hope to set up a supply chain which will be stronger and faster,'' claims Mr Bansal. Foot Mart Retail Ltd will have Pantaloon holding a majority stake of 51 per cent while Liberty will have the remaining stake of 49 per cent. Liberty is expected to infuse Rs 12.25 crore as part of its stake and the company will have an initial authorised capital of Rs 25 crore. "Through this strategic alliance, we intend becoming as successful as Pantaloon in the retail business," says Mr Bansal. With plans to capture 25 per cent of the organised retail footwear market, the company is targeting both metros and mini-metros and expects a turnover of Rs 700 crore within five years.
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