Woodland fastracks growths with new stores, products

Woodland, is venturing into personal care segment with products such as sunscreens and anti-bacterial lotions, which would be sourced from a German company, BNS. The brand plans to use the distribution strength of its own stores for selling

it across retailers. The company would unveil the products through its brand stores. The line-up doesn’t fall under beauty space, but is more about protecting the skin while outdoor and will be herbal and eco-friendly.

Meanwhile, for Spring/Summer’13, Woodland has introduced new styles for men and women in T-shirts, shorts, cargo pants in vibrant colours and silhouettes. The USP of the new offering is its innovative 'Woodland Wet Wick Collection'. Elaborating on this innovation, Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Aero Group, says, “The ‘Woodland Wet Wick Collection’ will stand out because of a number of unique properties that include its capacity to control odor. Outdoor physical activities lead to perspiration due to increase in body temperature. This moisture becomes a source of fungal growth, causing discoloration and uncomfortable clothing.”

Apart from the new launch, the brand is aggressively expanding its retail network and product offerings in the country. Commenting on their plans Singh says, Woodland has been growing at 20-25 percent a year. “Retail has been in completely different phase in India for some time. It has been growing extremely fast. Of course, the slowdown came in between but that phase is over. In fact, the slowdown made us to look at the potential of Tier II, III cities. We have a good presence in these cities which have been doing well. A lot of our plans are focused on expanding business in these cities. Woodland has allocated Rs 50-60 crores on product developments and technology enrichment for its manufacturing facilities.”

The brand is sold through both its own outlets and big multi-brand retailers such as Shoppers Stop, Reliance, Lifestyle among others. “We have operations across the globe including countries like Mauritius, Nepal, Bangladesh, Singapore, Middle East and Far East. Woodland has 400 plus company-owned-operated stores, and presence through over 4,000 plus MBOs globally.” he adds.

The brands expansion plans also includes adding two more units in Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. These would produce one million pairs of shoes. The investment for the expansion is estimated to be Rs 70 crores. As of now the company's manufacturing operations are spread across 15 units which produce 4.5 million pairs every year. Meanwhile it also plans to hive off its formal wear brand Woods into a separate entity. The sub-brand will have 50 exclusive retail outlets in two years. Woodland will also introduce apparels under this label soon. Woods, launched six to seven years ago, has a range of products, including formal shoes, women’s footwear, bags and accessories. Apparels, mainly high-end fashion wear and party wear, will be soon launched under the brand. Also on the cards is having a presence in 100 retail outlets in Hong Kong and China alone by FY14. It already has a marketing office in Hong Kong. Once the brand gets a strong foothold in these markets, it plans to open own stores to increase presence internationally. As of now, 20 per cent of the company's total revenue comes from the exports. The youth-oriented brand is also eyeing to enter new destinations such as Australia, Europe and South-East Asia

Taking cue from the increasing rush on e-commerce platforms for shopping, Woodland has joined the list of other brands by launching an e-shopping website. On a conclusive note, Singh says, “The Woodland team is currently working on expanding the portfolio. The brand will venture into adventure gear – from clothes to shoes and more. Going forward, the brand will also make tents, sleeping bags and all that one can associate with adventure travels and sports. Our upcoming range for the season 2014-’15 will see successful integration of these functionalities across the product portfolio of Woodland.”