Fabindia to open 51 new stores across India

As part of its third Vision Plan, Fabindia, a garments and home furnishings brand, is targeting opening 51 more stores in the country, in the next two years, taking the total number of stores to 100. The project is expected to cost around Rs 80 crore.

To mark the beginning of the retail network expansion across the country and to achieve that target, Fabindia has already opened outlets in Amritsar and Dehradun.

Also, it is targeting expanding the organic (food) product portfolio by introducing organic snack foods in the domestic market. This was stated by Fabindia Overseas Private Ltd Managing Director William Bissell, who was in the city.

Bissell said: "We are expanding our retail outlet chain. In the northern region the main focus will be on Jammu, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. The company will be employing over 80,000 rural artists in the next three years." Fabindia also plans on starting its own manufacturing unit for garments and handicrafts.

"Also as part of its third Vision Plan, Fabindia is planning to promote handicraftsmen and to prepare a chain, which can take these products to each and every class of society. Fabindia is planning on developing its newly introduced organic food range and planning to enter into organic snack food market. For this we have collaborated directly with farmers in Uttranchal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka and they have even got international certification. We have also launched a special programme for organic farming in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and have plans to include 300 districts across India in the next three years. We are also in the process of developing our new organic food range, specially for children," Bissel said.

Last year the turnover of the firm was Rs 135 crore and this year it is targeting Rs 200 crore. "We are committed to providing quality products to our customers and Fabindia's 50 per cent growth in the last financial year shows that our customers trust us on that," added Bissell.

Fabindia was started in 1960 by John Bissell as a vehicle to market the vast and diverse craft traditions of India and thereby help provide rural employment.

At that time, it focused on the export of handloom textiles (mainly home furnishings) from India. Sixteen years later, the first Fabindia store opened in Greater Kailash, New Delhi. By the end of the next few decades, the company's focus shifted to retail, with a steady expansion in the number of stores, as well as the product range

Fabindia's products are sourced largely from villages all over India while working closely with artisans by providing various inputs including design, quality control, access to raw materials and production coordination.