Louis Philippe to become Rs 450 crore brand

Madura Garments plans to make Louis Philippe a Rs 450 crore brand within five years following the launch of a 4,500 square metres retail showroom in Mumbai, its largest in the country. The outlet, located at Linking road, involves an investment of Rs 5 crore.

The company now has 23 exclusive showrooms across the country. "We will add another 15 to 20 outlets of minimum 3,000 square feet within three years," group executive president Vikram Rao said.

"In the second stage of our plans, we plan to make Louis Philippe a Rs 900 crore brand," Madura Garments president Hemachandra Javeri said.

Currently, Louis Philippe has a 15 per cent market share among all the brands. Fuelled by the launch, the company expects to close the fiscal at a turnover of Rs 225 crore, up from Rs 175 crore from last year. "We are growing at 21 per cent," Javeri said.

Refuting media reports on the AV Birla group looking for 'suitors' to sell its Graviera suiting brand, Rao said, "As far as the brand is concerned, Graviera will have the Grasim umbrella." He 'strongly denied' reports on getting proposals to buy out Graviera.

Madura Garments now has 2,000 points of sale in the country, with the Peter England brand taking up almost 1,800 of these stand-alone outlets.

Moreover, it has 85 outlets of Planet Fashion, where all the brands are sold under one roof. As part of the new outlet launch, Madura Garments, inspired by the jazz of 60s and 70s, also unveiled its Winter 2005 collection, Blue Notes.