Koutons to foray into West Asia by year-end

Apparel manufacturer Koutons Retail India plans to enter the West Asia market by the end of this year, said a top company official.

"We are exploring the markets in the West Asia and also China for our overseas expansion. We are presently assessing these markets," Koutons Retail India Chairman D P S Kohli told PTI.

However, he did not divulge any further details about the company's proposed West Asia foray and said, "We are still fine-tuning our plans and I cannot reveal any details presently," he said.

On the company's recently-concluded initial public offering (IPO) through which it raised Rs 100 crore, Kohli said around Rs 45 crore would be utilised for rolling out 100 of its flagship stores in 30 cities.

"Presently we have around 650 stores. Our aim is to have around 1,000 mens stores and 2,000 'Charlie Outlook' stores for the youngsters by 2010," he said.

Around Rs 55 crore of the IPO proceeds would be utilised for setting up a new plant including buying land, while Rs 10 crore would be utilised for capital goods and machinery.

"Around Rs 5.5 crore will be used for implementation and upgradation of IT," said Kohli.

The company plans to consolidate around nine of its small units and have a bigger plant.

"The Haryana Government has given us around 3.25 acres of land at a subsidised rate and we are planning to have a bigger plant and consolidate around nine small units," he said.

Currently, the company's manufacturing units are being operated from leased land and rents have to be paid for it.

"We will be saving on rentals. Besides, it will be more convenient to work from a bigger place, so we thought of setting up the new plant," he said.

Presently, Koutons manufactures around 16.5 million pieces a year but with the new plant in operation, the capacity would get expanded to around 25 million pieces, he added.

The company, as a part of its growth strategy, would consider both organic and inorganic options, as and when the opportunity arises, he said.