 "Woodland to invest Rs 100 cr in new outlets this year")
The company plans to add 80-100 outlets in the current financial year, of which 40 per cent would be located in smaller cities and towns that are already witnessing the shopping mall culture, Harkirat Singh, managing director of Woodland, said on Tuesday. The funds required for the network expansion would be raised purely from internal accruals, according to him. The company has a network of 400 outlets.
While the proposed expansion of retail footprint is in line with its 25-30 per cent growth target set for the current year, the entry into smaller cities and towns is something that the company is attempting for the second time. “We did try to enter smaller cities 3-4 years back but could not succeed. With shopping malls coming up in these places, we want to be there along with other international brands like Levi’s,” Singh said.
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The proposed expansion is also coinciding with the company's penchant for products based on new technologies like cooling shirts and cooling shoes it had launched last month. The company is working on 8-10 new technologies, and products based on at least two new technologies would be launched in the next 6 months.
Woodland grew its turnover 30 per cent last year to Rs 850 crore. Of this, footwear and apparel divisions contributed 60 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. In the next 2-3 years, it expects revenue contribution from both the divisions to be 50:50 as apparel business is growing faster than the footwear, according to Singh.
The company was planning to enter new overseas markets like Australia, CIS countries and some parts of Africa, he said. At present, overseas sales contribute 20 per cent to its revenues.
In the south, it has 120 stores and it will be adding 30-40 new stores this year.