BackKoutons Retail to enter Middle East by year end
Koutons Retail to enter Middle East by year end
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PTI
New Delhi: Koutons Retail, which operates a chain of apparel stores under different brand names in the country, will foray into the Middle East by the end of this year by opening exclusive outlets.
“We are exploring all options to enter Middle East. By the end of this year, we expect to start operations by opening around 30 stores including brands - Koutons and Charlie Outlaw outlets," Koutons Retail India Chairman DPS Kohli told PTI.
He said there was a lot of scope for the two brands because of the demand coming from Asian population residing there.
The company was earlier exporting Kouton and Charlie brand apparrel to the Middle East, which was stopped in 2004 as a part of its strategy to focus on the domestic market.
“As a manufacturer, we were exporting to Middle East earlier, but after we opened our first Koutons store in 2002 in India and started expanding in the country, subsequently exports were stopped in the following year. Now we intend to open exclusive outlets for selling Koutons and Charlie Outlaw brand apparel and accessories in Middle East," Kohli said.
On the investment front he said the company was still working on the modalities, and it would depend on which model was adopted.
The company is also looking at expanding the product portfolio by adding categories like accessories and handbags for women along with casual shoes for men within this year.
At present, Koutons Retail operates around 1,200 stores of its brands - Koutons and Charlie Outlaw across India.
In the last financial year Koutons Retail has extended its brand with the introduction of Les Femme (women wear) and Koutons Junior (kids wear) which are slated to provide further boost the company’s growth in the current year.
“Going ahead, in this year, the plan is to have total 1,800 outlets and eventually have 1,000 Koutons outlets and 2,000 Charlie Outlaw outlets in next 3-4 years," Kohli added.
The company is also looking at increasing he number of flagship stores housing all the brands from 18 now to 120 in the next 1-2 years.
Koutons Retail India had reported net profit of around Rs36 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2008, while net sales stood at Rs371.30 crore.
However, result of the last quarter of 2007-08 financial year is not comparable with that of the corresponding quarter in the earlier fiscal as the company was not listed at that time.
The company’s PAT for the year ended March 2008 rose by 100% to Rs69.08 crore, against Rs34.49 crore posted in the same period of last fiscal. While the net sales for the year grew by 97% to Rs793.50 crore as compared to Rs402.40 crore in the previous fiscal.
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