The Hindu Business Line : Aditya Birla Group unveils Peter England People retail arm

Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya BirlaGroup (right), with Mr Vikram Rao, Director (Textiles &Branded Apparel Business) at the launch of the retailstore in Mumbai on Friday. - Paul Noronha

Our Bureau

Mumbai, May 16 The Aditya Birla Group took another step forward to transform Madura Garments, its branded apparel business, from a wholesale shirt brand player to a retail-led company by launching its second retail arm, Peter England People, in Mumbai on Friday.

The Peter England People (PEP) brand will be marketed through Peter England Fashions and Retail, a division of Aditya Birla Nuvo.

The PEP brand, which will be distinctly different from its More retail brand, will be rolled out through 80 stores spread over 34 cities across India in the next three to five years. After Mumbai, the next stop for launching the new retail brand will be Bangalore, which will be immediately followed by Hyderabad and Delhi by early June. And by the end of the fiscal, the company expects to have 10 such stores across different cities. Each store will be spread over 10,000 to 15,000 sq ft.

Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, said for the PEP brand roll-out, growth plans have been chalked out involving investments of over Rs 400 crore in the next five years. “We are targeting revenues (from this brand) of Rs 1,300 crore by that period,” he told press persons after launching the first store under the PEP brand at a Mumbai suburb.

PEP’s hallmark will be the concept of a family store, where Peter England brands of men’s, women’s and kid’s wear will be on the shelves.

All this is part of the exercise to convert Madura Garments from a wholesale garment company to a wardrobe brand and now to a lifestyle brand retail-led player. “Our aim is to make the apparel business about 80 to 90 per cent retail and 10 per cent wholesale. Our goal is to reach revenues of $1.5 billion in the next five years, encompassing the mass, premium and super-premium/ luxury segments,” Mr Birla said. He added, “Our foray into the mass segment began with Peter England brand. To capitalise on the opportunity to cater to the mid-priced segment for clothing, we decided to launch a retail play under the Peter England umbrella.”

Madura Garments also has under its umbrella brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen and Allen Solly. The market for the apparel segment for organised players is estimated at Rs 49,000 crore, which is expected to grow to Rs 1.3 lakh crore in the next five years.

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