Raymond plans 10 Zapp! stores

Raymond Apparel, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Raymond, plans to launch 10 Zapp! stores across key metros by March 2007.

The Zapp! collection features a wide range of apparel from party wear to casual wear and accessories targeting kids between the age group of four to 12 years.

Talking to Business Standard, Shreyas Joshi, president, Raymond Apparel, said, "The store will provide in-house designed clothing range through the 'Basics', 'Denim' and other lead collections. Price will range from Rs 200 and Rs 750."

The company opened its first store in the city last Friday as it feels Ahmedabad will be an emerging city with a huge population of NRIs.

Zapp! has also tied up with Warner Brothers to make available the complete range of 'Superman' merchandise in the country.

"Zapp! is the only brand in the country to tie-up with Warner Brothers for 'Superman' outfits," said Joshi.

Talking about the company's expansion plans, Joshi said, "After Ahmedabad, we have plan to open stores in all four metros, including Pune and Bangalore." He added that each store will cost around Rs 50 lakh.

Raymond Apparel is also planning to launch its other brand including Parx, Manzoni and Colourplus. "Within three months we will open Parx storeS in Ahmedabad. Other brands will enter the city in the near future," said Joshi.

He said the kidswear segment has huge potential in the Indian market. "The organised and unorganised kidswear market must be worth over Rs 27,000 crore. We are the first to have exclusive kids stores in the country," he said.

"Very soon we will dominate the branded kidswear market in the country," Joshi added.

Talking about the store which is spread over 2,000 square feet, Joshi said, "Apart from the apparel and accessories range, we will also connect kids through a series of unique CRM activities. We have launched a website and the Zapp! club to make kids a part of the exciting events."

Taking the initiative ahead each kid visiting the store will be assigned an email address.