BackMajor Brands to open Bath and Body Works stores in Lucknow and Pune
The development comes after the company announced last year that it will invest ₹260 cr in India, to expand existing brands in its portfolio and introduce new ones Opening stores in tier-2 cities has become possible due to property development, increasing mall culture and cheaper rents
PremiumMumbai: Major Brands (India) Pvt. Ltd, which launched Aldo, Charles and Keith, and Inglot, among other international brands, is set to introduce Bath and Body Works in Lucknow, Pune and Hyderabad, a senior executive told Mint in an interaction.
The US-based brand is a "fragrance store" selling body lotions, body washes, scrubs and candles. Currently, there are about seven Bath and Body Works stores across India in Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.
The development comes after the company announced last year that it will invest ₹260 crore in India, to expand existing brands in its portfolio and introduce new ones.
The launch of the brand in Lucknow and Pune is in line with the company’s plans to increase penetration in tier-2 and -3 cities.
“We realized that Lucknow is a growing market and has a good demand for personal care and beauty brands. We are looking at reaching out to maximum cities to increase brand reach," said Tushar Ved, president, Major Brands (India) Pvt. Ltd.
“As a brand we are very cautious before opening a store. We need a very good store space and that is why we only open in top malls. The quality of real estate is the key before opening a store," he added.
A Bath and Body Works store, among the company’s other brands, will be opened in Lucknow’s Pheonix Market City Mall, which is currently under construction. The American bath and fragrance brand will enter Pune’s Pheonix Market City by September end. Bath and Body Works’ first store was opened in New Delhi’s Select City Mall last year.
Opening stores in tier-2 cities has become possible due to property development, increasing mall culture among shoppers, and cheaper rents. Japanese lifestyle brands including Miniso and Ximivogue have retail stores across India in cities including Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Kanpur due to these factors among others.
Major Brands (India) Pvt. Ltd will invest about ₹80 crore, in marketing and store expansion of Bath and Body Works. The company claims to have invested about ₹8 crore, in opening and marketing outlets for the American personal care brand, out of the total ₹80 crore.
Major Brands, whose portfolio includes the US-based L Brands’ lingerie subsidy La Senza, is also in talks to launch Victoria’s Secret in India. Ved did not divulge details as the talks are confidential.
Major Brands has been adding a new brand almost every year to its portfolio. Three years ago, the company launched shoes and accessories brand Call it Spring, while two years ago it had launched sports shoes and apparel brand New Balance.
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