The Hindu Business Line : Mothercare expansion may exceed targets

(From left) Mr Martin Antony, MD, Mothercare Sourcing India Ltd, and top officials of the UK-based Mothercare — Ms Neil Postance, Mr Ben Gordon and Mr Gill Oliver, on the occasion of the opening of the company's country headquarters in Tirupur on Wednesday. — M. Balaji

Chennai , Nov. 1

Mothercare, the UK-based brand for expectant mothers and children, may well see its India business plans exceed targets given the current pace of retail expansion.

Speaking to Business Line at the first Mothercare store here, Mr Ben Gordon, CEO, and Mr B. S. Nagesh, Managing Director of Shoppers' Stop, which has the exclusive franchise in India for the brand, said that they had planned to set up 40 stores in five years in 25-30 cities.

However, in seven months since setting up shop in April, eight Mothercare outlets have sprung up in five cities already; 12 more are planned to open by the end of March next year; if things continue at this pace, there may well be 100 outlets at the end of five years, said Mr Nagesh.

The partnership initially envisaged 20 standalone stores and 20 shops-in-shops in Shoppers' Stop stores. Of the eight stores operating so far, six are housed in Shoppers' Stop. There are two standalone stores - one in Chennai and another in Mumbai's Inorbit Mall.

The 45-year-old Mothercare has been focusing on international expansion for a while now. It started off its global foray in Kuwait 24 years ago and now does big business in West Asia, Turkey, Russia, Greece and Ireland. It is present in 39 countries with 300 outlets.

Global perspective

"We're trying to behave like a global brand - an iconic British retailer with a global perspective," said Mr Gordon, while discussing plans for India.

In the UK, all 240 outlets are company-owned - present in the high street, in malls and even as large-format stores out of town - but worldwide they are completely franchised.

Most of the apparel and maternity essentials (innerwear and accessories) are branded Mothercare but the maternity wear is a brand called Moda as women wouldn't really like to think they are wearing maternity wear, according to Mr Gordon.

Apart from apparel and accessories such as socks and mittens, the store sells baby cots, prams, car seats, toys, and feeding, bathing and toilet training products.

Pricing across categories spans a wide range from entry level to sophisticated, said Mr Rajiv Nair, Business Head, Mothercare.

In apparel, for instance,T-shirts cost between Rs 195 and Rs 595 and go on to Rs 2,400 for party wear, he said.

As of now, the Indian business has been seeing 65 per cent of sales coming in from apparel, he said, adding that the ratio may even be 50:50 next year. Apparel for children up to eight years is sold in these stores.

On marketing plans, Mr Nagesh said that Mothercare aims to reach consumers at all touchpoints - through print, direct marketing, Shoppers' Stop outlets and loyalty programmes, gynaecologists' offices, in-store and through celebrity parents. Shoppers' Stop has signed an agreement to locate Mothercare in 49 of its outlets, he added.

On investments, he said that Shoppers' Stop has invested Rs 1 crore in the 5,100 sq ft Chennai store, which shares space with Crossword, the bookstore chain in which Shoppers' Stop now has a majority stake, and Brio, a café brand Shoppers' Stop owns.

Mothercare has been sourcing from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu for nearly eight years, Mr Gordon said. Now it sources from Delhi too. It has set up a sourcing office as well.

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