Da Milano building a stronger foothold in India

Premium leather goods brand Da Milano plans to increase

its store count in the country to more than 50 by the end of this fiscal year. In April, it had opened three stores one each at Chandigarh, Amritsar and Kolkata airports. Plans are also afoot to take the brand abroad, by opening about 20 stores in the Middle East and five stores in Singapore over the next five years. It will also foray into Europe, starting with London. The firm would open 30 standalone stores of its footwear brand, Rosso Brunello, in the next five years.

The brand has been able to establish a strong footprint in India despite tough competition. For instance, the Da Milano store in the high-end Select Citywalk mall in New Delhi clocks monthly revenue of around Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Starting its journey just as a leather goods exporter, Da Milano started its retail business in 2000 when young and fresh mind of Sahil Malik joined his father's business straight after a fashion design course from the National Institute of Fashion Technology. Today, Da Milano is considered among the country’s most successful mid-level retail brands. The brand is known for offering something new every week at affordable price points in the premium segment. While ladies bags are priced between Rs 6,000 and Rs 15,000, men’s computer bags and luggage are between Rs 8,000 and Rs 14,000.

When it started as an exporter in 2000, almost 80 percent of the company’s Rs 25-crores revenues came from exports but in 2012 in the last fiscal, 80 percent of its Rs 135 crores revenues came from retailing in the domestic market. This is very close to rival Hidesign's revenues of Rs 150 crores with almost double the number of stores. Da Milano operates 38 stores selling handbags, wallets, luggage and accessories across the country.