The Hindu Business Line : Shoe retailer Stylo to bring in Carlton brand from London

UK's shoe brand Carlton London would shortly be available in India. Stylo Plc of UK, the company that sells Carlton London in the UK, the UAE and Eastern Europe, plans to open 10 stores in the country over the next one year to retail shoes, handbags and accessories.

The stores would be opened in the A and B category cities. Based on the success of these stores, the company may open more stores and also tap C category cities. However, the company is not decided yet how much investment it will make in the Indian market. "We are in the process of charting out our investment plans in these 10 stores," said Mr Michael Ziff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Stylo.

Though Stylo has `Shellys', `barrots' and `Priceless' chain of shoe stores elsewhere, it would introduce only Shellys and barrots chains in India initially. The company sources all its shoes from China, India, Italy, Brazil and Vietnam, among other countries.

Since the company would be sourcing for its India sales from India itself, the shoes would be priced lower than elsewhere, said Mr Ziff. For the supply of footwear in the Indian market, it would partner with Carlton Overseas and Mirza Tanners, the same companies from where it sources its Indian footwear for the overseas markets.

The company has sold about 18 million pairs worldwide in 2005. Of these, about 2.5 million pairs were sourced from India, said Mr Ziff. In 2006, it targets sale of 20 million pairs of which four million could be from India, he said.

Stylo is the second largest shoe seller in the UK and owns around 600 stores. The turnover of the company stood at £250 million this year.