Finlay's plans expansion via franchisees

To launch new brand of bed sheets and towels

The Finlay's chain of garment showrooms, run by the National Textile Corporation (NTC), a government of India undertaking, will expand in other cities of Gujarat using the franchisee model.

It has been a year since the first exclusive Finlay's showroom has been opened in Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

The company has seven exclusive showrooms in various parts of the country, including Chennai and Mumbai. Finlay's will open two more exclusive showrooms in Kolkata and Kanpur in this fiscal year.

In addition, it plans to expand beyond Ahmedabad to other major cities of Gujarat, by adopting the franchisee model.

"In one year of our operations in Ahmedabad, Finlay's has had sales of about Rs 36 lakh. Finlay's intends to more than double the sales figure by the end of this year," said Rajendra Gupta, general manager, marketing, NTC (Gujarat) Ltd.

He said Finlay's products will be sold from other major cities of Gujarat also as NTC is looking to adopt the franchisee model to expand its reach in Gujarat.

After earning a reputation for its 100 per cent cotton lightweight fabrics, Finlay's till now had a speciality in kurtas, dhotis and other traditional wear.

Finlay's has now branched out into the ready-made segment, targeting the younger generation.

"We have introduced trousers and tops for boys and girls and printed and other shirts for executives. Besides our main assets which remain to be dhotis and kurtas, we now have a complete range of ready-made as well as clothing-for-all sections," said Adarshlata Pancholi, in-charge of the Finlay's showrooms at Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

On Monday, Finlay's will launch its premier brand of bed sheets and towels across the country.

Adding to its existing range of bedsheets and towels, the new range of bedsheets, which will have the Finlay's logo embossed, will be priced between Rs 800 and Rs 1,100, while the towels will be priced at Rs 300.

"Finlay's white shirt made of pure cotton weighs just 95 grams and is priced between Rs 700 and Rs 800. But I do not think that there is any other garment chain or company that will provide such a light shirt at such prices," Gupta said.

All the dress material is sourced from the Mumbai-based Finlay's Mills, which the NTC took over in 1982 and continues to be a profit-making unit.

NTC has a turnover of around Rs 25 crore.

Commenting on the franchisee model that Finlay's will adopt in Gujarat, Gupta said stores which sell leading garment brands will also sell Finlay's brands in the state.

"We will supply them the garments from our Ahmedabad exclusive showroom and Finlay's garments will be available in all major cities of Gujarat by the next few months," Gupta said.

In 1907, James Finlay started the Finlay's Mills in Mumbai and Finlay's came to be known to produce quality cotton material.

The Finlay's Mills has since been taken over by the NTC (south Maharashtra) Ltd. Finlay's Hyderabad showroom boasts of sales of over Rs five lakh a month, while the Mumbai showroom's sales are over Rs 12 lakh a month.