The Hindu Business Line : Ebony to invest another Rs 100 cr on expansion

The company, which at present has eight outlets, plans to invest up to Rs 100 crore to put up another 12-15 stores across the country over the next four years. And turnover growth it is targeting is commensurate with its investment plans - Rs 500 crore from the current Rs 90 crore over this period.

The CEO & Director, Mr H.S. Kohli, said, "We will use the cluster regional approach for growth. So, with plans to invest Rs 100 crore over the next four years, Ebony will first consolidate its presence in the North. Outlets will come up in Lucknow, Punjab, several parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region."

According to him, taking into account the boom expected in malls shortly, the retail chain has decided to put up new outlets inside malls and not establish any more stand-alone stores.

On whether Ebony has also introduced private clothing labels across its stores to counter competition from established brands, Mr Kohli said that 20 per cent of Ebony's apparel sales come from its private label. He said Ebony has also tried its hand at introducing a private label in men's accessories and may extend this concept to some other products.

Speaking on the retail scenario in general, Mr Kohli said several difficult issues that were plaguing this industry earlier have been sorted out. These include real estate costs, lack of qualified retail professionals and very low average retail margins. "Retail is a highly capital intensive business. Even six years ago, real estate costs vis-à-vis overall margins was prohibitive, but things have begun to settle down now. The number of upcoming malls has helped us earn better margins," he said.