Tommy Hilfiger to set up 20 flagship stores

Tommy Hilfiger, the international designer brand, which is marketed in India through a licence agreement with Arvind Murjani Brands Pvt Ltd, will be setting up at least 20 flagship stores in the country by the end of 2008, along with 10 other concession stores.

Arvind Murjani Brands, a joint venture between Arvind Mills and Murjani Group which the master license for Tommy Hilfiger, will be setting up 15 of these flagship stores by the end of 2007. It recently launched its ninth store in the country at ISKCON Mega Mall in Ahmedabad. This is the first foray in Gujarat by Tommy Hilfiger.

Talking about the expansion plans, Shailesh Chaturvedi, chief executive officer of Tommy Hilfiger Apparels said, "In our first phase of expansion, we were establishing the brand in the Indian market where we were quite successful. In the second phase, we are being aggressive in setting up flagship stores as well as concession stores in departmental stores in the top 8-10 cities."

Chaturvedi explained that the company is looking to make its presence felt in metros and big cities.

"We are not looking at tier-II and tier-III cities as of now. Tommy Hilfiger being an international brand we are looking to set up in cities where we expect the crowd to be familiar with the brand and they should be looking for a premium brand of apparels and accessories," Chaturvedi said.

The company follows the franchised way of setting up its stores and retails both men's and women's wear among its merchandise. On an average, the store spans an area of around 3,000 sq ft and replicates Tommy Hilfiger's freestanding stores worldwide.