Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (ABFRL) has announced a nationwide expansion plan for its innerwear and athleisure business under Van Heusen brand after a successful rollout in South India.
The expansion plan will be implemented in a phased manner starting from North India this fiscal. The company also has plans in place for Eastern and Western parts of the country where it will reach by the first half of following year.
The apparel retailer ventured into innerwear and athleisure segment in September last year. The new offerings are currently available at more than 1,700 outlets in 80 towns of South India. At present, Van Heusen’s innerwear segment offers collections under Classic, Platinum, Signature and Active themes.
“We are focusing on expansion to find brands’ niche in the innerwear and athleisure business world. Our move is aimed to give tough competition to current market leaders like Jockey in the coming 2-3 years,” reportedly stated Puneet Kumar Malik, COO, Innerwear Business, ABFRL.
ABFRL aims to make Van Heusen’s innerwear and athleisure products available at more than 7,000 MBOs (Multi Brand Outlets) and exclusively at over 30-company owned outlets in the following months. The range will also be available at 250 Van Heusen-exclusive stores, 300 Planet Fashion stores and leading departmental outlets across India.
Media reports claim that 70 per cent of the upcoming stores will be franchise-led and the remaining will be company-owned. These stores will be set up in metros and Tier I and II cities with an investment of around Rs. 20 lakhs, including capital and stock.
