Stori: Aggressive retail, product expansion on cards

Stori Fashions formerly known as Chaya Garments is embarking upon aggressive retail and product expansion drive. It plans to achieve a growth target of Rs 100 crores in the next two years. Elaborating on the company’s plans, Manoj

Kumar Bhaiya, Director, Stori Fashions says, “To shore up revenues we are looking at opening EBOs for Stori and our other brand Red Flame across the country in the next few years. These will churn out a substantial percentage of our revenues. Tying up with one or more of the large format retailers in the short to medium term shall help us drive volumes and give the brand more visibility.”

To cater to the elite Indian consumer the company plans to diversify its product portfolio for both brands. “We plan to introduce men’s suits and accessories like ties, formal shoes etc for Stori. In Red Flame we are looking at introducing a line of T-shirts and jackets apart from accessories including belts, jackets et al,” Bhaiya adds.

Stori was founded in 1987 by Om Prakash Bhaiya by the name Chaya Garments. It started off as a fabric trading house and slowly graduated into making garments, and branched off into its own men’s fashion brand with Stori. The brand includes formal shirts and formal trousers. Stori Fashions has since expanded its portfolio to include a new brand 'Red Flame' that exclusively caters to the casual wear market with its range of casual shirts and fine denim.

From its inception, products from Stori have found a niche market and is retailed in popular malls and branded stores across the country. The Stori collection is at 1,150 MBOs across India. “This year, we have a target of 1,500 MBOs. These are in the Northeast, Hyderabad, Kerala etc. We have three exclusive brand outlets which are at Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore. One more is ready. During the year we will add about three more. These will be in Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad or Cochin,” Bhaiya explains.

The Stori product range includes formal shirts and trousers. Under Red Flame, the collection includes casual shirts, denims, cargo shorts, trousers and cargo pants. “This season we are planning to add formal trousers and shorts apart from putting up a factory which will have a capacity of 1,000 pieces a day,” Bhaiya sums up.