Biyani plans smaller fashion stores for youth

In a bid to boost his fashion business, Kishore

Biyani is all set to unveil a small sized fashion store format aimed at lower-end consumers, titled ‘I Am In’. It will specialise in fashion for the youth. The company will open at least three stores over the next two months.

The new format will be the fifth set-up from the demerged fashion business Future Lifestyle Fashions (FLF), which is scheduled to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange by next quarter. Pantaloons, the country’s largest retailer controlled by Biyani, in November 2012 demerged its fashion business and set up the new company, FLF, which will have a portfolio of over two dozen fashion and lifestyle brands.

At present, FLF delivers Rs 3,200 crores revenue from its four formats — Central, Brand Factory, aLL, and Planet Sports. Future Group’s current fashion portfolio includes brands like John Miller, Scullers, Indigo Nation, Urbana and Jealous 21, which it acquired in 2005. The first three are said to be contributing more than Rs 200 crores each to the fashion vertical’s current topline revenue of Rs 2,800 crores annually. Indus-League and fashion brands will move from Future Ventures to Future Lifestyle & fashion after the restructuring.