 Marketing khadi
Khadder, a leading khadi
fashion brand of Tropical Clothing Company Pte Ltd, is on a massive expansion
mode. With five stores across India for the brand Khadder in cities like
Bangalore, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Pondicherry and Lucknow, Tropical Clothing
Company is planning to launch a chain of India Lifestyle Stores across India.
Speaking on the plans, Amp
Datta, co-founder, Tropical Clothing Company Pte. Ltd., says, "The success
of making 'Khadi', the humble Gandhian yarn, commercially viable to a retail
consumer, has given us the impetus to expand and launch a chain of CC India
Lifestyle Stores. These stores are a consequence of our experience and belief
that 'India' can be sold to 'Indians'. There is a need to unleash the latent
potential of Indian products and prove that they can be made commercially
successful. We have done that with Khadder.
"India Lifestyle Store, in
essence, is a line progression. These stores will now house a variety of
products that are Indian in their form and essence. What is also unique is that
these products would be sourced from rural and semi-urban artisans, who have
invested generations in honing their skills to perfect these products. In fact,
we are using the same sourcing process for our current business."
Adding further to the plans,
Rahul Upadhyay, co-founder of the company, says, "The total investment to
launch the India Lifestyle Store chain will be approximately Rs 18 crore, which
Tropical Clothing Company would raise through angel investors, institutional
investors, VCs and others. We are talking to some investors already and are
likely to launch the first store by the end of this year."
In the first phase, the India
Lifestyle Stores will be launched in 6 major cities including metros. The store
will house products from various categories like home furnishings, wood
products, alternative handmade products, organic food products amongst a host of
other indigenous products across categories, all under different brand names.
The USP of the store would be
that the products would be sourced from the rural areas across the country and
will be a showcase to Tropical Clothing Company's belief that Indian products
can be made commercially viable.
With the current turnover of
around Rs 2 crore, Tropical Clothing Company also plans to open six more Khadder
stores across India by the end of this year starting with Hyderabad and Chennai.
The turnover of Khadder brand alone is projected to grow by 150 per cent to
around Rs 5 crore in the coming financial year.
Founded in 2001 by a couple of
young, like-minded friends, Tropical Clothing Company Pte. Ltd today is India's
first-ever organised, retail-driven Khadi Company based on the backbone of a
sound business plan and the lebensraum provided by the absence of any major
national player in this business.
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