Brand Factory, Central to grow

This season Future Group is planning something big. Besides increasing the number of stores of

their upmarket Central chain the group is looking to set up new stores of bigger size and venturing into interior India. Meanwhile, their chain Brand Factory has also lined up expansion plans. Moreover, Brand Factory’s interiors are set to become almost similar to that of the Central. The emphasis for the brand is on bigger stores now. The latest Central, coming up in Bangalore to be operational by Diwali, is going to occupy 3 lakh sq. ft., the biggest ever. Seven such stores are planned for this year in smaller cities, including Raipur and Jaipur. Central is going to be for the brand-conscious people and will also aim to be a neighborhood celebration centre, with all festivals being celebrated there with full fanfare. This integration with the neighborhood is a new venture of Central and will be a feature across all its stores from this year as it expands into smaller cities with bigger brands.

Brand Factory is also expanding by 20 stores and expects a turnover of Rs 300 crores this year, which is double of last year. The number of brands in the store is going to go up to 250 this year, including 30 in-house discount brands. Usually, the prices in this chain are lower by around 20 to 50 per cent depending on the season. Brand Factory’s expansion will be more in existing cities. For example, Bangalore has four of them.