Louis Philippe on retail expansion drive

After receiving an encouraging response to its denim brand LP Jeans launched last year, Louis Philippe has plans to open exclusive

stores of the label. It is looking at opening ten exclusive LP Jeans stores this year and about thirty odd stores over next three years.

Part of the Madura Fashion & Lifestyle stable, Louis Philippe contributes 30 percent to the overall turnover of the company. Now with a year-on-year growth of 25 percent, the company is looking to a turnover of Rs 1,200 crores in FY 2013-14. The brand is present in 100 cities and its retail plans also include opening stores in 100 more towns in this and next fiscal. On agenda is to add around 40-50 stores every year apart from expanding presence in the Tier II cities.

The new Louis Philippe retail stores would be a mix of company owned and operated (COO) stores and franchise owned and operated (FOO) stores. The ratio between COO and FOO would be around 30:70. The company added around 80 outlets in the last two years. It also wants to increase exports, which is around five percent of its total production now.