In summer ’14 Celio will scale up denim range

French men’s brand Celio that entered in India in 2008, has raised its stake to 65 percent in its joint venture (JV) with Kishore Biyani's Future Group. However, refuting media reports that the company is looking at acquiring 100 percent

stake and going solo in the country, Rajiv Nair, CEO, Celio says, “The questions about equity stake should be avoided for the moment as it is still a joint venture and will continue like that until the partners decide otherwise. There is no truth in the stories appearing in the media, except that Celio now owns 65 percent stake in the JV. There are no immediate plans for dilution from Future Group.”

For now, the company is ready to spread its wings and reach out to more cities in India, while introducing new products.

Denim to get a

big push

The brand company believes that Sotalia (stretch Chinos), C15 and C25 denims (straight and slim), Sudock and Subiker (jackets), Geganer (solid pullovers) and Lecolrayeb (stretch polos) will be among other fastest selling styles this season. Talking about its products range, Nair says, “Celio being a European brand understands seasonality well. Jackets are an integral part of the winter offering of the brand. This year, we focused on light weight biker jackets, which have universal appeal across India. Padded jackets and Gilet are also in trend globally. Bright coloured Gilets are a highlight of this season’s line. The Detroit industrial look, the military look (camouflage) and bikers are pre-dominant influences in jackets.” Celio’s strength is in casual wear with a dominant play in linens, polos, cargoes, bermudas and jeans. It will continue to play on these strengths in the future.

Commenting on their future product plans Nair says, “Denim will see a huge surge in Celio next summer. We have tied up with one of the best denim manufacturing units in Bangalore and will launch exciting washes and fits in denim. We see a higher mix of bottom wear, whereas Celio was largely selling top wear earlier. This is a good sign as it helps us build volumes and value.”

Establishing MBO presence

At present, brand Celio is available at 38 standalone exclusive stores and 120 large formats. “We do not have an MBO presence, which we seek to build by summer 2014. The online space will also start growing bigger with our tie up with Jabong.com and Shoppersstop.com. We believe in the online medium and you will soon see us become more aggressive in this space. We are working on building a network of 52 stores by the end of 2014,” avers Nair, elaborating on the company’s retail plans.

Exclusive stores contribute around 45 percent of Celio’s business. The company is trying to build its business in Tier II cities, where the rent to revenue ratio is more favorable. It already has stores in Kochi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Mysore and Dehradun.

Started in 1985 by Marc and Laurent Grosman, Celio is a household name in Italy, France and Spain. It has presence in over 65 countries with over 1,000 stores and is a 1.1 billion euros (over Rs 9,000 crores) company. Celio’s aim is to grow businesses in newer markets like Eastern Europe, Russia, India and the Far East.