Pretty Secrets takes brick & mortar route, to open stores pan India

Online lingerie brand Pretty Secrets is opening brick and mortar stores. Two standalone stores company owned stores will open in Mumbai. The brand will launch an 30 stores by 2017 under the franchising model. Of these, 20 would be located in Mumbai and the rest would be pan India. The stores are expected to contribute 25 per cent to the company's revenues in the next three years and by 2020, Pretty Secrets hopes to capture three to five per cent market share.

The plan is to open 300 stores by 2019. For company owned stores, the average investment would be around Rs 50 lakh. However, the investment for franchise stores would range between Rs 35 to Rs 60 lakh, depending on the size and location of the stores. The India’s lingerie market, including nightwear segment, is worth Rs 20,000 crores and is growing at 20 per cent CAGR over the past five years. It is expected to reach around Rs 30,000 crores by 2020.

The success of lingerie business in India depends on three factors: manufacturing, supply chain and inventory. Since a particular product like a bra can have as many as 16 to 24 different sizes, and a shirt can be found in three or four sizes, inventory control is very crucial.