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American lifestyle and personal care brand Bath & Body Works has made its debut in India through a franchising agreement with Major Brands.
The first two stores are opening this week in New Delhi.
Talking about the expansion plans for the brand, Tushar Ved, President, Major Brands India, said: “We will follow a cluster approach for retail expansion for the brand and focus on metros and other big cities. We will have four stores in New Delhi and a store in Mumbai by the end of this year. We will next look at cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Chandigarh and Lucknow.”
“Bath & Body Works offers wide range of products in the personal care and lifestyle segments. We expect to have about 50 stores in the next five years,” Ved added.
Major Brands will initially focus on establishing the retail footprint of the brand in the country and in the next phase will look at making the products available online.
The American specialty retailer is known for its fragrances for body and home and for its collections for body lotions, body creams, body wash, hand soap and fragrance mists.
Tony Garrison, Senior Vice-President, Bath & Body Works International, said: “I think the Indian culture is changing as the consumers are evolving with growing disposable incomes. We hope to learn from the Indian consumers’ feedback over the next few months and grow with them.”
The brand is known for its focus on launching collections targeted at festival gifting and will have a similar strategy in India.
Nearly 20 per cent of the product range offered in the brand’s stores in India will be adapted and tweaked to suit the Indian consumers’ preferences based on feedback over the next few months.
“We started international expansion for the brand only about seven years ago and this will be the 34th country that we are entering. I believe India has the potential to become one of our fastest growing markets in the long-term,” he added.
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