By: Rita G Chauhan
Last updated : November 09, 2017 11:26 am
Comoculture has joined hands with Retail One Solutions and Services Pvt Ltd. to enter the Indian fashion & lifestyle market segment. The brand aims to open 4-5 outlets in the first year across metro cities.
What are your plans for the Indian market?
In the first year of expansion, we are planning to open 4-5 outlets mainly across metros in India. The initial plan is to establish Comoculture as a destination of choice and inspiration and ensure we deliver the best possible value and experience for our clients in India. When we have our first five key anchor stores well positioned we will scale up our reach in India. In 2018, we are looking to enter into key metro cities via a franchise model. Firstly, we want to position the brand, and then we will scale it further.
Brief us about your brand and product line.
We are offering handpicked emerging brands in the mid- priced segment through our offline and online stores. Our mantra is to showcase new merchandise every week and be in the affordable premium positioning which is growing.
What is the profile of your target customer and how do you plan to attract them in this competitive category?
Our position in India and elsewhere is to attract the affluent middle class and above. We have a huge range of complementing brands and merchandise categories with use of visuals mixing beauty, jewelry, watches and lifestyle items including gadgets and more. However our DNA is that we are a European destination but we are also connecting with some India-developed brands across the categories that we operate in. In India, 20 per cent of our offering will be from Indian brands.
How the franchise model will work?
We aim to open stores in India through master franchise agreement with Retail One Solutions and Services Pvt Ltd. We will open stores in the size range of 800-1600 sq ft with its main product categories being design & fashion jewellery, fashion watches, beauty and lifestyle. We will also open health cafe in its larger stores.
What are your future plans for global expansion?
At present we are operational online in UAE, KSA, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and with stores in Iran and Qatar. We are also planning to enter into markets such as Turkey, Russia and China next year with offline and online stores.