s.Oliver to invest 20 million euros in India, to open 30 stores in 2013

s.Oliver, the German fashion and lifestyle brand announced that it will be investing 20 million euros towards its goal of 200 point of sales by 2016, of which 2 million euros will be invested into the 30 point of sales that are slated to be open by the end of 2013 in India.  The brand also plans to introduce the s.Oliver Junior line in October 2013, as part of the expansion plans that will enhance its product portfolio and position it as a brand for the whole family. On this note Thomas Steinhart, CFO of s.Oliver Bernd Freier GmbH & Co.KG, avers, "s.Oliver has a global sales volume of 1.3 billion euros worldwide. India is a challenging market with a lot of potential and it gains a significant importance for our global portfolio and will be in focus of our expansion plans in the next years.”

As part of the expansion strategy, s.Oliver India will focus on Northern India targeting cities such as Delhi NCR, the major cities of Punjab, as well as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. New point of sales will be opened both in premium malls, as well as high-street locations while additionally, the fashion and lifestyle brand has also planned to start new partnerships in the wholesale business, as well as, push online availability of the brand. Besides this, the brand has decided to launch their kids wear range with Kapsons through 8 shop-in-shops, situated across Amritsar, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar and Jammu.

Speaking about the new strategy, Managing Director of s.Oliver India, Rajive Ranjan said, "Proceeding in Giant Steps' is the new motto for s.Oliver India. The year 2013 will be the first step towards a successful and enduring growth of the brand in the country. We want to triple our market presence from the current 10 to over 30 points of sales during the next months. With our new strategy we are confident that s.Oliver will beat up to 200 point of sales by 2016”.