Turtle on a roll with new stores and products

Turtle, the leading men’s lifestyle brand has recently launched its third store in Hyderabad and also unveiled its festive range on the occasion. The brand already has a strong presence in the south with multiple exclusive outlets in Hyderabad and

Bangalore. Now it is set to expand its footprint in other Indian cities to touch the 100 stores mark.

Meanwhile, to offer innovative products to its customers, Turtle has teamed up with khadi weavers in West Bengal to create a line of Khadi shirts. The brand anticipates this section to grow 50-60 percent this festive season. Witnessing a steady growth at a CAGR of 35 percent a year, the company hopes to reach Rs 300 crores next year and Rs 500 crores in four years.

Turtle plans to launch 100 stores

Speaking on the occasion of its store launch in Hyderabad, Shitanshu Jhunjhunwalla, Director, Turtle said, “Hyderabad is the one of biggest metropolitan cities of India and so far we’ve got very good response from the youth here, who seem to have loved our products. Today's generation is open to new styles and wants to try something new, which we have always strived to offer.”

“Customers’ preference and loyalty towards Turtle has inspired us to open another exclusive outlet in the city. With plans in place to expand aggressively in this part of the country, we expect to cross the landmark of 100 exclusive stores in India very soon,” he added.

The brand collection is offered through 1,400 MBOs across India. “We are also in large formats. In Mumbai we have two stores. We open two or three stores a month. We have 72 Turtle EBOs and are opening 20 more this year. We have stores in the east, west, south and some in the north. For our other brand London Bridge, we have six stores. We have been growing at 60 to 70 percent for the last three years. This year London Bridge will close at Rs 36 crores for. The brand is sold through Reliance Trends, Megamart, Brand Factory,” elaborates Jhunjhunwalla.

The company is working on a new store design concept for London Bridge, once that is done, it would open 30 to 40 London Bridge EBOs in the east.

More products on the anvil

“We are trying to enter the lifestyle space and are working on a head to toe dressing concept. We will have shoes in two months. And will begin with shoes in 15 of our bigger stores. The shoes will be: fashion, formal and casual and three to four options in each,” explains Jhunjhunwalla.

The newly launched festive collection is based on the theme ‘Dressed to Save’, which focuses on saving the environment, while going to work, or on a holiday or even when celebrating festivals. It comprises a wide array of printed shirts with spray highlights, cut-and-sew polos and washed tees in the Sports Club (casuals) range, along with the linen and cotton shirts in crimson, burgundy, violet, sea green and neutral color palettes in the Tailor's Mark (formals) range. The 1,000 square foot store of Turtle will also feature the Soul (party wear) and the Khadi range.

Talking about the khadi shirts line, Jhunjhunwalla says, “We have a first mover advantage in the khadi brand retail space for the western wear segment. It took us three years of research to come up with a khadi line-up. For this, we have joined hands with around 250 khadi weavers. Not just in India, but overseas markets also see a huge demand for khadi.”

Doing its bit to save the environment, Turtle has been associated with turtle conservation project for almost a decade now. “We have a tie-up with Lucknow-based Turtle Survivor Alliance, which does conservation activities throughout India and we sponsor their projects,” states Jhunjhunwalla.