The Hindu Business Line : Koutons Retail India to launch footwear collection in October

Hyderabad, Aug. 30 Gurgaon (Haryana)-based apparel maker Koutons Retail India Ltd is set to launch its footwear collection across the country from October under the brand name Koutons.

“As per the initial plan, the footwear collection will be launched at all the family stores of the company across the country. We have tied up with a manufacturing company in Uttarakhand and will also be depending on some imports from China,” Mr Balvinder Singh Ahluwalia, President, Koutons Retail India Ltd, told reporters after the launch of the company’s first family store in Hyderabad. The company intends to invest around Rs 50 crore in its footwear division during the current financial year.

Mr Ahluwalia also said that the company plans to launch its innerwear brand next month. “The idea behind the diversification into various segments is to give a family all their requirements under one roof at the family stores,” he added.

The company, which has 1,350 outlets including 89 family stores, intends to have 1,800 stores by the end of this financial year, including 100 family stores.

Mr Ahluwalia said that the company has assigned Rs 100 crore for the financial year to store expansions and the investment would be raised from internal accruals.

Koutons Retail India, which has 18 units in and around Gurgaon, expects its garment sales to be around 1.5 crore pieces this year as against one crore sold last year. The company meets around 65 per cent of its requirement from its units.

According to Mr Ahluwalia, the company expects revenues to be between Rs 1,100 crore and Rs 1,200 crore by the end of this fiscal, as against Rs 800 crore achieved for the financial year ended March 31, 2008.