Grasim to expand footprint in tier II, III cities

Grasim, the men's lifestyle brand of the Aditya Birla Group, is targeting to scale up its presence in tier-II and -III cities to drive growth. From the current tally of 12 retail stores, the company plans to open 50 outlets by 2016.

"Almost 80 per cent of our stores would come up in smaller towns,” Grasim Bhiwani Textiles Brand Manager and Vice-President Abhijit Ganguly told Business Standard here.

While Grasim brand is about 15 years old, the company forayed into the ready-to-wear segment only three years ago; that started from northern region and later entered the eastern India market.

"Now, we are focusing on Central India, particularly Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand," he informed.

The ready-to-wear segment, which currently accounts for roughly Rs 30 crore turnover of holding company Grasim Industries, is targeted to touch Rs 100 crore in the next 3-4 years.

Besides, Grasim has an agreement with e-commerce portal Amazon to hawk an exclusive range of men's apparels, which are not available in physical retail stores.

"We want to establish Grasim as the top national level brand in the affordable and fashionable apparel space in India," Ganguly added.

The affordable segment comprises apparel range starting from Rs 700 to Rs 1,500.

The ready-to-wear space is broadly categorised under affordable, economy, value, mid-premium, premium and super premium segments. Most super premium brands available in India are of foreign origins.

Meanwhile, Grasim has unveiled its spring summer ready-to-wear collection 2015.