Arvind Brands forays into kidswear retail

Bengaluru: Arvind Lifestyle Brands, a subsidiary of textiles major Arvind Ltd, is foraying into the children’s wear retail segment by bringing US-based The Children’s Place to India, through a franchisee agreement. The $1.8-billion Children’s Place is among the largest pure-play children’s specialty apparel retailers in North America. It is also present across Latin America and West Asia.

Arvind has indicated the venture plans to open 50 stores in India through five years, beginning 2015. It is planned operations will initially be launched through stores in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Stores in Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune will follow. Subsequently, the venture will also explore tier-II cities.

Arvind, which partners 26 global and Indian brands through franchisee and joint venture agreements, will seek to leverage the highly unorganised nature of the children’s wear market in India, estimated at Rs 50,000 crore and growing at 12-15 per cent annually.

“The organised segment accounts for hardly Rs 2,000 crore; there is massive space to bring about a clear distinguishing element, especially in the value segment. We are looking to invest about Rs 150 crore in this business and we intend to double the share of revenue from the kids wear segment to 15 per cent through the next three years. By then, we expect our top line to double to Rs 5,000 crore,” J Suresh, managing director and chief executive of Arvind Lifestyle Brands, told Business Standard.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.