109°F to add more stores to fastrack growth

Popular women’s wear brand 109°F from Creative Lifestyles has set a target of Rs 140 crores turnover this fiscal and Rs 175 crores by March 2014. And to achieve this, the brand is on a retail expansion spree. Elaborating on their plans Rahul Mehta,

Managing Director, Creative Lifestyles says, “When we launched 109°F there was a void in the market for organized women’s western wear brands and we were able to make our mark. At present we have 18 EBOs (including one in Nepal) and are present in 225 large formats and 200 MBOs. We are expanding our EBO base through company and franchise run stores and hope to multiply this number in the next 2-3 years.”

The brand is also exported to countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Iraq and Nepal. “We are expanding our export network and hope to start business in some more countries. We are also available online with portals like Myntra, Jabong, Flipkart, Fashionara, Miraistore, Koovs among others. We see tremendous potential in this sphere as business has grown manifold through this medium,” Mehta explains.

Elaborating about the brand’s journey since its inception, Mehta says, “We have been designing and exporting women’s wear to top brands in Europe for the last few decades. When we launched 109°F we had to adept to the tastes and needs of the domestic market which was very different. Within the country too, there were different patterns of preferences. Understanding and adapting the different tastes in our design was a challenge that we faced.”

But he finds women’s wear as one of the fastest growing categories, with women’s western wear leading the race. “With FDI, we hope to see more international brands coming in and that this will enhance exposure and consumption in our segment,” he says.

For S/S 2013 the brand collection boasts of floral prints, solid coloured garments in bright shades like emerald, peach, coral and yellow. Jumpsuits and coloured pants too are in vogue. Brand’s current product portfolio consists of tops, tunics, dresses, kurtis, T-shirts, jackets, sweaters, jeans, capris, shorts, hot pants, leggings and jeggings. “We hope to add formal wear and a wide range of bottom wear to our range,” Mehta sums up.