Refurbished s. Oliver eyes growth

Low entry price on apparels, resized stores and shorter fashion lines are working well

for German apparel brand s.Oliver. The company is now looking to adopt a multi-channel sales strategy, including online retail and mobile phones, to boost revenues and position the brand as a casual fashion destination.

The company has reworked store sizes from 5,000 square feet to nearly 1,200-2,300 square feet and it has given them good results in the rent-to-revenue ratio. It also closed down non-performing stores, while during this year, it plans to add 30 points of sales, which will be both mono-brand stores and shop-in shops.

The global brand, which competes with Tommy Hilfiger, Benetton and Zara in India, entered the country in 2007, initially through a license agreement. It later formed a joint venture with export house Orient Craft Brands. Last year, Orient Crafts sold its 49 percent stake to Design Pod for an undisclosed amount. The brand's Indian arm was reportedly running into losses. Design Pod, is the special purpose vehicle created to form a joint venture with s.Oliver.

The brand has also introduced a new range at lower price points starting at Rs 699, which has given a significant push to sales apart from shortening the fashion lines. The company would now be directly sourcing from various vendors. It has set up a distribution centre in Gurgaon, which will procure finished goods from various domestic and international locations. Currently, the company imports 80 percent of the products while 20 percent of it sourced from the domestic market.