Premium menswear brand Blackberrys, owned by Mohan Clothing Co., is on a major expansion drive and on course to adding 100 more exclusive stores by March 2019.

As part of the ongoing expansion, which comes after a rebranding exercise that also saw the addition of Urban Blackeberrys and Blackeberrys Casuale to the product portfolio, the company is also mulling addition of womenswear under the Casuale range. The plan for womenswear is driven by the huge demand that the segment is witnessing.

Launch of stores

Nitin Mohan, Founder and Director, Blackberrys Menswear and Ramesh Kaushik, Vice-President, Brand Experience, Blackberrys said that the company had closed last fiscal with 250 exclusive stores, both company-owned and franchisee formats. It is on course to close this financial year with another 100 stores, of which 60 have already become operational.

Interacting with BusinessLine here after the launch of a new store at Sharath City Mall in the IT Hub of Hyderabad, Mohan said another store will open at Rajahmundry shortly.

“We have been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 25 per cent per annum and expect to sustain this growth momentum as we expand our footprint through a combination of exclusive stores and store-in-store formats. Last fiscal, we closed with a turnover of ₹900 crore and we expect to cross ₹1,000 crore this financial year,” said Mohan.

Another factory planned

While half of the company’s merchandise and products are made in factories in the NCR region, the rest is sourced through local and international partners. The company is looking at adding another factory either directly or through a strategic partner, said Mohan.

“Blackberrys started the journey with an exclusive suit range for men and gradually expanded to other formal categories and later into casuals. With the disposable income of people going up along with aspirations, we see immense scope for the company to expand its presence beyond the 320 centres and over 1,000 outlets,” he said.

“While the company’s need for funds for growth is met through internal accruals, we may consider an initial public offer in the near to medium term, though no decision has been taken on this as yet,” he added.

Published on November 23, 2018