Cantabil to open 100 Lafanso stores across India

Apparel company Cantabil International is planning to roll out 100 outlets of its Lafanso brands across the country by 2011. These stores are to come up in the metros and Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Each store would be of 600-700 sq. ft. in area. The company says it plans to focus

more on the franchise model for expansion.

In fact, Cantabil has drawn out major plans for Lafanso; the Italian brand of casual men’s wear that was launched in India last year. “The first 50 stores will be in North India then we will be looking at the west and south India,” says Vijay Bansal, Chairman, Cantabil International. Of the 100 new stores being planned, 20 will be company-owned and the rest will be franchisees, where the investments will be made by the franchise partners. “We are planning to invest Rs 10 crore on the 20 company-owned stores,” says Bansal. Currently, the brand has 30 exclusive Lafanso stores in New Delhi; 10 of these are company-owned and the other 20 are franchisees. Apart from New Delhi, they also have 130 franchisee Lafanso stores in other cities. The investment per store is approximately Rs 20 lakh.

Primarily a casual wear brand, Bansal plans to take Lafanso especially to the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. “In India, casual wear dominates the market with 60 per cent market share. We wish to be present in all Tier 2 cities where the sale of casual wear is much more,” explains Bansal. Currently, the brand’s plans are to stick to menswear and not branch into other categories. Bansal says in 2009-10 Lafanso had a turnover of around Rs 60 crore. “We are aiming for a 50 per cent growth in 2010-11, and should touch Rs 90 crore.”