Wills Lifestyle eyes mall boom

Wills Lifestyle, the apparel brand from the stable of tobacco major ITC Ltd, is looking at new retail format to expand its presence in the country.

Chittaranjan Dar, chief executive officer of Will Lifestyle said shopping plaza and retail malls have thrown open new possibilities and the company was looking at the opportunities offered by malls.

Wills Lifestyle has 48 exclusive outlets in the country with six in Delhi alone. It was also present in almost 75 multi brand outlets.

Apart from making all the Wills garments and accessories available through exclusive Lifestyle stores, it was also offering the budget apparel brand John Players through same outlets in some of the smaller towns, Dar pointed out. The company also plans to take the apparel brand abroad.

Going forward the company will focus on women western wear.

"We believe the opportunity is huge but untapped. There is hardly any serious player or brand as such. Women still go to tailoring shops for western wear. We see a great market there," Dar noted.

He was speaking at the sidelines of the seminar on 'Role of service and allied sectors in the resurgence if the east', organised by Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Asked whether the Lifestyle division has broke even, Dar refused to comment.