Raymond to enter Tier IV-V cities

Raymond, the premier Indian textile major, plans to launch 100 stores through franchisees in the

current fiscal.These stores will be opened in Tier IV and V cities such as Bijapur, Mandya and Bellary in Karnataka, Ahmednagar and Bhandara in Maharashtra and a few other cities. Recently, the company launched a made-to-measure store at Palladium, located at Phoenix Mills in Mumbai. The store is spread over 500 sq. ft. and mainly offers custom fit of garments. Raymond outlets stock brands like ColorPlus, Park Avenue and Parx. These brands offer apparel and accessories that are specifically tailored to the target audience. The outlets offering tailoring material covers a huge range of textures and designs, at wide price points.

The company operates through 520 stores across the nation, out of which 450 are franchise and the rest are company-owned. The company opened 76 franchise stores last year with an investment of around Rs 25 crores. This year, they are expecting revenues of around Rs 30 crores from the proposed 100 franchise outlets. The company is also aiming to open about 300 stores across the country by end-March 2011 as a part of its expansion plans.