Alok H&A to don a new avatar

H&A the ‘Homes & Apparels’ retail venture of Alok Retail India has signed a PE deal with Asiabridge Fund LLC for its wholly-owned subsidiary, Alok H&A Ltd. Under the agreement, Asiabridge Fund, would get 33 per cent equity stake in Alok H&A over a period of three years. “Asiabridge will

provide support so that we can move our products in the market and sustain our self in the credit limit period given to the distributor. It will work on a ‘cash and carry’ model. The deal will help H&A as a brand,” says Sunil O Khandelwal, Group CFO. At the moment, H&A already has a ‘cash and carry’ model and operates through master dealers who deliver the merchandize to dealers, which supply to their 154 stores across India. It may be noted that Asiabridge currently has investments across Asia and provides growth capital for companies across multiple sectors.

The bigger stores are being lined up for the metros. H&A’s large exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) will showcase their complete range. Of the existing 154 EBOs, 40 per cent would be divided into various categories. The company aims to take the total number of EBOs to 200 by March 2010. And every year they plan to add 200 more stores. “Today, I generate about Rs 2 lakh a month from a 1,000 sq. ft. store. I am aiming to scale it up to Rs 5-6 lakh a month in the next two years,” he says. Khandelwal says by the next financial year they are pitching for an annual turnover of at Rs 70-80 crore overall.

The brand which was earlier focused on formal wear has over the years moved to casual wear. It’s planning to enlarge its casual wear range further and shift focus to a younger age group. The brand which already has a nightwear range plans to add a specialized nightwear range in the next one year. Later, they also plan to add a sportswear range. Recently, H&A added new categories to their existing range. These include accessories like sunglasses and artificial jewellery.