Apparel and fabric maker Raymond is eyeing entry into smaller towns, particularly tier-IV and tier-V towns, through mini stores.

Although branded as “The Raymond Shop”, these franchisee-run shops are of a smaller size with a set of “curated offerings” suited for the local demand.

These mini-stores will be of about 800 sq ft, unlike The Raymond Shops of 2,500 sq ft. Investments will also be lower.

According to Mohit Dhanjal, Director - Retail Raymond Ltd, the company’s reach is saturated in tier-I and tier-II towns.

The focus is on towns with a population of 50,000 and above. As per the 2011 census, there are over 1,200 such urban towns which Raymond found can support an exclusive brand store.

“We worked on a new business plan where it will be profitable for these smaller stores to break even,” he told BusinessLine . Smaller stores are slated to break even in two years butsome are breaking even within a year,” Dhanjal added. Over the last 18 months, the company has added 200 such “Mini Raymond Shops”. While the first such store came up in Bitha (in Bihar) in March 2017, the 200th store came up at Hoskote (Karnataka) earlier this month.

Another 100-odd Mini Raymond Shops will be added over the next six months.

“We see a potential to add around 100 such small format shops every year for the coming three years,” he added.

Fabrics continue to find increased demand despite custom tailoring being an issue, said Dhanjal. Nearly 70 per cent business in ‘Raymond’ branded stores comes from the fabric, while the remaining 30 per cent is from ready-made apparels.

“In smaller towns, finding a tailor is not the problem. However, custom tailoring is available in all our stores,” he said.

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