Desigual has India in its radar

Spanish apparel giant Desigual may begin its hunt for a strong partner in India

in the near future. At present, the company has chalked out an aggressive expansion plans for other regions. It would step into the Asian market with Singapore this year. The strategy in Asia would be similar to that of tried and tested methods used in the Europe and the US. After thorough research on all the Asian markets in terms of capex (capital expenditure), investment required and their ability to grow fast, it would create a road-map to spread the retail network.

The company currently has over 1,000 points of sales and seven own stores in different regions in the US with plans to add a few more. It’s also eying to capture a market pie in the East Coast, West Coast, Canada and Florida. Currently, five to six per cent of the company’s turnover comes from the US and which it expects to grow to 10-15 per cent.

In 1984, Thomas Meyer, a Swiss man in his early 20s cut many pairs of second-hand jeans and stitched a jacket out of them. He would not have imagined then that his creativity would turn into a full-fledged company known as Desigual. Headquartered in Barcelona, the company’s designs got such a good response that under the new CEO, Manel Adell it began retailing the products. And gradually a mere €8 million Spanish apparel company went on to become a €300-million global brand. In 2010, it registered revenues of around €435 million, almost 44 per cent higher than its 2009 revenues. The brand’s unique appeal and identity has connected well with its target audiences across markets. And despite being a designer brand, the affordability factor is what lures people.