Lifestyle plans 42 new outlets

Lifestyle International, a part of the Dubai-based $500-million retail major Landmark Group, has chalked out plans to open 32 stores and 10 'home centres' throughout the country in the next three years with an estimated investment of Rs 450 crore.

Lifestyle Executive Director Kabir Lumba said, "Each store requires an investment of Rs 10-12 crore and will be spread over 20,000-40,000 sq ft. We plan to open four Lifestyle stores this year and are also looking at expanding our network of home improvement stores by setting up 10 'home centres' in the next three years." Each 'home centre' requires an investment of Rs 6-8 crore, he added.

It plans to open stores in Puna, Jaipur and Noida, besides opening its fourth outlet in Mumbai, as part of its pan-India chain. Lumba further said, "We will establish our presence in cities like Cochin, Coimbatore, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Kanpur and Calcutta in three years."

The company is also in the process of setting up a store in Surat. "We are exploring the options and the Lifestyle store might come up in a mall rather than a standalone one," Lumba said.

Conceptualised by Italian designers, Lifestyle stores offer customers the option of shopping in four categories under a single roof "� apparel, footwear and travel accessories, infant wear, and cosmetics and perfumes.

Some of the brands available at Lifestyle include Louis Phillipe, Allen Solly, Nike, Adidas, Indian Terrain, Benetton, Ginger and Zinc.

The domestic retail sector is already worth $180-200 billion, and is growing at 30 per cent a year, Lumba said, adding that currently only 3 per cent of the sector is organised, and there is a dire need to organise it further.

Having begun operations in 1998, Lifestyle already has ten stores spread over six cities "� Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Gurgaon.

The company had a turnover of Rs 340 crore last year and plans to increase it to Rs 580-600 crore this year, Lumba said.