Madura to foray into Sri Lanka

Madura Garments, textile and apparel division of Aditya Birla Nuvo, is foraying into retail in Sri Lanka.

The company has opened an outlet in the upmarket Crescat Boulevard in Colombo to retail its fashion brand "" SF Jeans. It plans to have four SF Jeans outlets in association with a local partner. SF Jeans is the first fashion brand under Madura Garments umbrella to have set up its own single brand retail store beyond Indian boundaries.

Though the firm operates Planet Fashion stores (which sells all brands of Madura Garments) in West Asia, the entry into Sri Lanka marks the beginning of retail sales of individual brands in foreign soil, company executives said.

"Sri Lanka has always been more than ready for a brand like SF Jeans. There is a substantial fashion-conscious population and our merchandise has been placed in the premium segment. SF Jeans is the only Indian apparel brand sold in Crescat Boulevard, which has the best of international brands," said Madura Garments President Hemchandra Javeri.

According to him, the firm will target international tourists and cosmopolitan crowd of Colombo. "Crescat Boulevard is frequented by international tourists. Already, leading film stars of Sri Lanka have visited our outlet several times," he pointed out.

The products range from basic apparel, handcrafted jeans and cargos to accessories like belts, chains, caps and wallets.

Javeri said the firm was also exploring other continents to push retail sales of SF Jeans. "Some retail firms have evinced interest in partnering with us for SF Jeans. We are evaluating the proposals," he added.

Launched in 2002, SF Jeans is available in 15 exclusive outlets in most of the metropolitan cities in India.

It is also sold through 100 multi-brand outlets and stores like Central, Pyramid and Ebony. "We plan to expand this retail network gradually over the next three years. We will be opening one store every month in the metros," said SF Jeans Brand Head Sooraj Bhat.

Last fiscal, the brand recorded retails sales of Rs 25 crore. "The intention is to scale up the business by reaching out to new geographies over the next three years," Bhat noted.