Premium apparel and footwear brands are looking to scale up their retail footprint, especially in smaller cities and towns, to tap into robust demand trends supported by the growing aspirations of Indian consumers.

Brands such as Lacoste and ASICS said they are looking to significantly increase the number of retail stores in the country over the next few years.

Expansion plans

Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India, said, “India is among the fastest-growing markets for Lacoste globally. We have ambitious plans for growing our physical footprint. We are also renovating our current stores to reflect the latest “Le Club” concept that Lacoste has unveiled globally. We are expecting our store count to double in the next four years.” The brand is currently sold through 48 points of sales with 44 standalone Lacoste stores in the country.

This expansion also comes at a time when the premium segment has been growing at a faster clip compared to the mass segment, especially in the recently concluded festival season.

Japanese sports performance brand ASICS, which recently opened its 100th store in India, is also looking to scale up its retail footprint in the country substantially, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 markets. Rajat Khurana, Managing Director, ASICS India and South Asia, said, “We aim to double the number of stores and get to 200 stores by 2026. We are looking to grow our presence in Bharat and plan to add more stores in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets over the next few years.”

As per estimates by CBRE, overall retail leasing to the tune of about 4.7 million sq ft was recorded during the January–September period. It has projected retail leasing to touch 5.5–6 million sq ft by 2023-end, which will be the highest level seen after the 2019 peak of 6.8 million sq ft.

Manish Kapoor, MD & CEO, Pepe Jeans India, said, “Retail expansion is a key tenet of our growth plans.We are looking at adding 100-odd stores in the next three years. By the end of FY24, we will effectively add 20-odd stores. We have also renovated and upsized a lot of our existing stores. So, our focus will not just be to add new stores but also to focus on ensuring the quality of our stores.” The brand currently has 200 stores in 110 cities, and its products are also sold through a wide network of multi-brand stores.

In a recent statement, Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, “With consumer spending projected to remain robust in 2024, the momentum in retail leasing is expected to remain positive. Despite a sense of caution among retailers due to increasing rents and limited space availability, demand is likely to remain strong across the board. The momentum in supply addition, which gained traction during the second half of 2023, is expected to continue into 2024. Most leading retail developers have announced robust expansion plans not only in Tier I cities but also in Tier II cities.”

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