Watch IT! Incorporated recently opened its first store in Mumbai, India. Watch IT! Inc. entered into a master franchise agreement with the retail subsidiary, Solo Commodities Pvt. Ltd. of the prestigious Lokhandwala Infrastructure Group -- one of Mumbai's premier real estate developers.
The agreement calls for the opening of 10 new retail stores across India with the first store now open in Mumbai's new first-class shopping center the Mega Mall in Andheri with the second location opening next week.
"Opening in India along with Lokhandwala Infrastructure is very exciting for the entire company. This is a key step in our planned international expansion and we are fortunate to have great local partners, a great team of staff and we feel confident that our boutique and unique product mix will be well received in the Indian market." Says Darren Bondar, President & founder of Watch IT!
"Watch IT! is a dynamic company with product offerings, vitality and creativity that rubs off on our customers which will allow us to continue to expand our company through a combination of corporate and master franchise openings worldwide."
Rishi Somaiya, Executive Director: "We identified a need in India for quality watch and sunglass retailing. After searching worldwide for a concept, we found Watch IT! and our due diligence and likeminded company philosophies concluded that the Watch IT! format will significantly improve the retail experience for watch consumers in the market."
About Watch It Incorporated
Founded in 1999, Watch IT! is a retail company that is expanding worldwide through a combination of corporate and master license agreements. Watch IT! aims to capitalize on the gap in the international marketplace by issuing master franchise licenses to qualified partners.
Watch IT! carries a huge selection of the biggest names in fashion watches and sunglasses, including brands such as Fossil, Diesel, Swatch, Nixon, Citizen, Seiko, Guess, Oakley, Spy, D&G, and more. Each boutique carries hundreds of unique and innovative brand name styles of watches, sunglasses, jewelry and accessories that are cutting edge and lead the worldwide industry in both technological innovation and fashion design. Watch IT! customers take pride in their individuality, their sense of style, and their appreciation for quality.
About Solo Commodities PVT. Ltd.
Solo Commodities PVT. Ltd. is a newly formed retail division of The Lokhandwala Group. Founded in the year 1966, the group is diversified beyond its main line of business which is Real Estate and Property Development, are has activities such as exports, high tensile steel wires, plastics, outdoor advertising and event management.
This Blog has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based At Bangalore, India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.If you want to know the finest master franchisees available for India Call us for our customized master franchise match making services.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.
Showing posts with label International Franchise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International Franchise. Show all posts
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Spanish Franchisor and Clothing Retailer Zara Opens Up Its First Store In India, Delhi.
The Inditex Group has opened its first Zara store in Delhi, India. The Indian market shows great growth potential and will make a considerable contribution to total sales in the long term. However, several challenges remain in the form of a 51% limit on FDI and significant cultural differences. Nevertheless, Inditex's unique distribution strategy should allow it to gradually adapt to the market.
Inditex opened its first Zara store in India on May 29, 2010 in the Saket region of Delhi, having announced its plan to do so in September 2007. In accordance with Indian regulations on foreign direct investment (FDI), the Spanish fast-fashion retailer partnered with the Tata Group, India, to form a joint venture in February 2009. Inditex owns 51% of this partnership while Tata's subsidiary Trent Limited holds 49%. Due to various challenges the company faces, store expansion will remain slow, with only one further store opening planned for 2010.
Inditex has relied heavily on global expansion to maintain its sales momentum due to the heavy impact of the downturn in its domestic market. Indeed in 2009, 98% of new stores opened outside of Spain. Asian markets are a particularly strong source of growth for Inditex. It already operates stores in South Korea, China and Japan, where it opened a combined 63 stores in 2009. Similarly to China, India presents lucrative potential in the form of a rapidly growing middle class. Moreover, its clothing retail expenditure is forecast to grow at a faster rate than neighboring China with a CAGR of 6.7% in the period 2009-13, compared to China's 5.3%, according to Verdict's Global Retail Database.
However, the company faces several hurdles. Current regulations on FDI in India stipulate that foreign single-brand retailers must pass a 49% stake to a local partner. This involves the retailer sharing company details and data it would not normally divulge. Furthermore, franchising stores means that the retailer loses some control over how these are operated, which many companies fear may damage their brand. Consequently, single-brand retailers are often wary of entering the Indian market. For a clothing retailer like Zara, additional concerns include the relative lack of seasonal variation and the distinct, consolidated style of dress among Indian women which differs greatly to Zara's existing ranges.
Despite these challenges, Inditex has been the first of its main rivals, H&M and Gap, to take the leap. Zara has the advantage of having a much shorter range turnover cycle, at two weeks, and is able to respond quickly when specific categories and designs fail to sell. As such, Zara is well equipped to deal with a new and unexplored market and will benefit from capitalizing on growing demand within the retail sector.
Tags:Zara Store, Inditex, Spanish Franchisor, Franchising Stores,Clothing Retailer,GAP, HandM,international retail stores, International Franchise
Inditex opened its first Zara store in India on May 29, 2010 in the Saket region of Delhi, having announced its plan to do so in September 2007. In accordance with Indian regulations on foreign direct investment (FDI), the Spanish fast-fashion retailer partnered with the Tata Group, India, to form a joint venture in February 2009. Inditex owns 51% of this partnership while Tata's subsidiary Trent Limited holds 49%. Due to various challenges the company faces, store expansion will remain slow, with only one further store opening planned for 2010.
Inditex has relied heavily on global expansion to maintain its sales momentum due to the heavy impact of the downturn in its domestic market. Indeed in 2009, 98% of new stores opened outside of Spain. Asian markets are a particularly strong source of growth for Inditex. It already operates stores in South Korea, China and Japan, where it opened a combined 63 stores in 2009. Similarly to China, India presents lucrative potential in the form of a rapidly growing middle class. Moreover, its clothing retail expenditure is forecast to grow at a faster rate than neighboring China with a CAGR of 6.7% in the period 2009-13, compared to China's 5.3%, according to Verdict's Global Retail Database.
However, the company faces several hurdles. Current regulations on FDI in India stipulate that foreign single-brand retailers must pass a 49% stake to a local partner. This involves the retailer sharing company details and data it would not normally divulge. Furthermore, franchising stores means that the retailer loses some control over how these are operated, which many companies fear may damage their brand. Consequently, single-brand retailers are often wary of entering the Indian market. For a clothing retailer like Zara, additional concerns include the relative lack of seasonal variation and the distinct, consolidated style of dress among Indian women which differs greatly to Zara's existing ranges.
Despite these challenges, Inditex has been the first of its main rivals, H&M and Gap, to take the leap. Zara has the advantage of having a much shorter range turnover cycle, at two weeks, and is able to respond quickly when specific categories and designs fail to sell. As such, Zara is well equipped to deal with a new and unexplored market and will benefit from capitalizing on growing demand within the retail sector.
Tags:Zara Store, Inditex, Spanish Franchisor, Franchising Stores,Clothing Retailer,GAP, HandM,international retail stores, International Franchise
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Worlds Largest Eyewear Retail Chain Sunglass Hut Plans 30 Outlets In 3 Yrs
Sunglass Hut plans India expansion in three years
NEW DELHI: World’s largest eyewear retail chain Sunglass Hut on Wednesday said that it plans to have a total of 30 outlets across the country in the next three years, spreading pan-India to tap into the growing demand for fashion accessories in the market .
“Sunglass Hut has got a great response in India during the last year-and-a-half of our presence here. In the next three years, we plan to create a chain of 30 outlets across key markets, including metros, mini-metros and major Tier II cities,” Sunglass Hut brand manager Mr Pradeep Bhanot said.
It currently has five exclusive outlets in India, spread across Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. “Just early this week, we ventured into Mumbai, the fashion capital of India, with the first store coming up in the city. Fashion eyewear is a growing concept in the country, and we want to capitalise on it,” Mr Bhanot said.
Sunglass Hut is focusing on cities such as Kolkata, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai for future growth, he added.
Sunglass Hut, owned by Italian firm Luxottica, is present in India under a franchise agreement with DLF Brands, realty major DLF’s retail management arm.
The chain offers over two dozen premium international brands, including Versace, Bulgari, Burberry, Prada, Tiffany, Persol, Revo and Salvatore Ferragamo.
Mr Bhanot said that Sunglass Hut launched a few other international brands, including Paul Smith and Oliver, this week, and plans to further strengthen its portfolio in the months to come.
Sunglass Hut has over 2,000 outlets across various markets, including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle- East and South Africa.
Tags: eyewear franchise,optical franchise,retail franchise, accessory franchise, International Franchise, sunglass hut, sun glass hut,fashion franchise,luxottica, draft franchise agreement, dlf brands,
Source:- PTI, Hindu Business Line, May 12, 2010.
NEW DELHI: World’s largest eyewear retail chain Sunglass Hut on Wednesday said that it plans to have a total of 30 outlets across the country in the next three years, spreading pan-India to tap into the growing demand for fashion accessories in the market .
“Sunglass Hut has got a great response in India during the last year-and-a-half of our presence here. In the next three years, we plan to create a chain of 30 outlets across key markets, including metros, mini-metros and major Tier II cities,” Sunglass Hut brand manager Mr Pradeep Bhanot said.
It currently has five exclusive outlets in India, spread across Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. “Just early this week, we ventured into Mumbai, the fashion capital of India, with the first store coming up in the city. Fashion eyewear is a growing concept in the country, and we want to capitalise on it,” Mr Bhanot said.
Sunglass Hut is focusing on cities such as Kolkata, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai for future growth, he added.
Sunglass Hut, owned by Italian firm Luxottica, is present in India under a franchise agreement with DLF Brands, realty major DLF’s retail management arm.
The chain offers over two dozen premium international brands, including Versace, Bulgari, Burberry, Prada, Tiffany, Persol, Revo and Salvatore Ferragamo.
Mr Bhanot said that Sunglass Hut launched a few other international brands, including Paul Smith and Oliver, this week, and plans to further strengthen its portfolio in the months to come.
Sunglass Hut has over 2,000 outlets across various markets, including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle- East and South Africa.
Tags: eyewear franchise,optical franchise,retail franchise, accessory franchise, International Franchise, sunglass hut, sun glass hut,fashion franchise,luxottica, draft franchise agreement, dlf brands,
Source:- PTI, Hindu Business Line, May 12, 2010.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Just Dial To Spread Across The Globe Eyeing International Franchise
The owner of an all-India virtual directory service plans to expand to every major English-speaking country in two years
In March this year, a Tamilian from Kolkata, who claims he grew up in an India that was “anti-capitalist and anti-growth”, expanded his Rs 500 crore-plus search engine business, Just Dial, to the world’s capitalist heartland, the US.
He’s not planning to merely leverage low-cost India to maximise revenues from a standard offshore back-office model. For now, Just Dial’s US operations will be handled out of India, where the company employs about 4,000 people. “We soon plan to hire up to 1,000 people in the US, mostly in under-employed, rural areas,” says 42 year-old Venkatachalam Sthanu Subra Mani.
The days to come will see Just Dial expanding to Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong to fulfil Mani’s target of being present in all major English-speaking countries in the next two years. The company also intends to leverage the brand and know-how for an international franchise.
Fourteen-year-old Just Dial is a directory service that provides information on basically any entity that has a telephone existence — restaurants, plumbing services, shopping malls, colleges and so on.
In India, Just Dial receives over 240,000 calls everyday and hosts over 200,000 visitors to its website. It caters to over 2 million users across 240 cities in the country. Its revenue model involves a nominal fee to those who list but is free to consumers.
Users need to dial a helpline number and explain to an operator what service they are looking for (this service is free in the US but customers in India need to pay for outgoing calls). Text and email alerts are then sent to users listing the four best options.
In some cases, the Just Dial executive patches through an instant call between the user and the service provider. Although this service is common to both the US and India markets, the US features have been tweaked. Americans can avail of unlimited free call connect to businesses and instant search on movies and events anywhere in America.
“The American service also has a facility that allows establishments to bid and compete with each other to offer the user the best deal. This is our way of ensuring that the customer is king,” says Mani.
Unlike in India, the US already has multiple ways of accessing business listings. So why is he entering such a competitive market? “The market in the US is more evolved and mature. In India, you may need a large sales force on the ground to get local businesses and services providers to sign up and get listed. In developed economies it is easier to accomplish this because there are middle-level players who act as aggregators,” he says.
He has also drawn up new services such as Just Dial Genie, a personal assistant that will enable consumers round-the-clock service for a monthly or annual fee. Genie will allow instant call connect to any business establishment, reminder services and the like.
The company is currently fighting a case in the Delhi High Court against Infomedia 18 Ltd, which allegedly copied and hosted Just Dial’s database, its single biggest asset. The high court has put an injunction against the site, but with the final verdict awaited, neither Mani nor his team want to comment on this dispute.
When Mani started his career in Delhi as a salesman with city-based United Database — a business directory service — he would watch people leafing through heavy books and lots of fine print to get at that one small but important piece of information. Why not offer a similar service on the phone, he thought.
“In 1994, a telephone connection costed Rs 15,000 so I could afford only three lines. I waited for a year to start the company, dreaming of numbers and millions of people using my service,” Mani recalls.
In 1996, he heard that the Kandivali Exchange in Mumbai was coming out with its 888 series. “I presented my business plan to the general manager, he liked it and the dream number of 888-8888 was mine.”
The business, which has now attracted venture capital from Hong Kong’s SAIF Partners, US-based Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, started with borrowed furniture, rented computers and a small office where employees had to play musical chairs.
Today, Just Dial’s headquarters in Mumbai measures 20,000 square feet, and the company owns 1,25,000 square feet across India. How did he grow so quickly? By following this business philosophy: “Stay put, never give up and maintain fiscal discipline”.
Considering his early ventures involved selling a wrist watch to a relative for Rs 10 and organising a movie show with a colour television and a rented video (there were more people than tickets), Mani’s certainly proved his self-made entrepreneurial adage right.
Source:Business Standard,Pravda Godbole / Pune April 14, 2010, 0:16 IST
In March this year, a Tamilian from Kolkata, who claims he grew up in an India that was “anti-capitalist and anti-growth”, expanded his Rs 500 crore-plus search engine business, Just Dial, to the world’s capitalist heartland, the US.
He’s not planning to merely leverage low-cost India to maximise revenues from a standard offshore back-office model. For now, Just Dial’s US operations will be handled out of India, where the company employs about 4,000 people. “We soon plan to hire up to 1,000 people in the US, mostly in under-employed, rural areas,” says 42 year-old Venkatachalam Sthanu Subra Mani.
The days to come will see Just Dial expanding to Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong to fulfil Mani’s target of being present in all major English-speaking countries in the next two years. The company also intends to leverage the brand and know-how for an international franchise.
Fourteen-year-old Just Dial is a directory service that provides information on basically any entity that has a telephone existence — restaurants, plumbing services, shopping malls, colleges and so on.
In India, Just Dial receives over 240,000 calls everyday and hosts over 200,000 visitors to its website. It caters to over 2 million users across 240 cities in the country. Its revenue model involves a nominal fee to those who list but is free to consumers.
Users need to dial a helpline number and explain to an operator what service they are looking for (this service is free in the US but customers in India need to pay for outgoing calls). Text and email alerts are then sent to users listing the four best options.
In some cases, the Just Dial executive patches through an instant call between the user and the service provider. Although this service is common to both the US and India markets, the US features have been tweaked. Americans can avail of unlimited free call connect to businesses and instant search on movies and events anywhere in America.
“The American service also has a facility that allows establishments to bid and compete with each other to offer the user the best deal. This is our way of ensuring that the customer is king,” says Mani.
Unlike in India, the US already has multiple ways of accessing business listings. So why is he entering such a competitive market? “The market in the US is more evolved and mature. In India, you may need a large sales force on the ground to get local businesses and services providers to sign up and get listed. In developed economies it is easier to accomplish this because there are middle-level players who act as aggregators,” he says.
He has also drawn up new services such as Just Dial Genie, a personal assistant that will enable consumers round-the-clock service for a monthly or annual fee. Genie will allow instant call connect to any business establishment, reminder services and the like.
The company is currently fighting a case in the Delhi High Court against Infomedia 18 Ltd, which allegedly copied and hosted Just Dial’s database, its single biggest asset. The high court has put an injunction against the site, but with the final verdict awaited, neither Mani nor his team want to comment on this dispute.
When Mani started his career in Delhi as a salesman with city-based United Database — a business directory service — he would watch people leafing through heavy books and lots of fine print to get at that one small but important piece of information. Why not offer a similar service on the phone, he thought.
“In 1994, a telephone connection costed Rs 15,000 so I could afford only three lines. I waited for a year to start the company, dreaming of numbers and millions of people using my service,” Mani recalls.
In 1996, he heard that the Kandivali Exchange in Mumbai was coming out with its 888 series. “I presented my business plan to the general manager, he liked it and the dream number of 888-8888 was mine.”
The business, which has now attracted venture capital from Hong Kong’s SAIF Partners, US-based Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, started with borrowed furniture, rented computers and a small office where employees had to play musical chairs.
Today, Just Dial’s headquarters in Mumbai measures 20,000 square feet, and the company owns 1,25,000 square feet across India. How did he grow so quickly? By following this business philosophy: “Stay put, never give up and maintain fiscal discipline”.
Considering his early ventures involved selling a wrist watch to a relative for Rs 10 and organising a movie show with a colour television and a rented video (there were more people than tickets), Mani’s certainly proved his self-made entrepreneurial adage right.
Source:Business Standard,Pravda Godbole / Pune April 14, 2010, 0:16 IST
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