Chinese retail major Yishion on Tuesday said it has entered the Indian market and plans to have at least 125 points of sales, including exclusive stores and multi-brand outlets, across the country by 2012.
The $ 12 billion company, which specialises in apparels and accessories, said it has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Delhi-based marketing and distribution firm Upmarket Group. It will open its first exclusive store in the national capital by September.
“We have formalised the JV and our first exclusive store will come up in Delhi by September. Our target is to have 25 exclusive outlets, besides being present in at least another 100 multi-brand stores points of sale by 2012,” Yishion Group Vice President Zhou Juntao told PTI.
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He said final investment plans are still being worked out between the two JV partners while the company awaits approval of Yishion’s global registration from the Indian Government.
Mr. Juntao said the JV company — Hongluan Trade India Pvt Ltd — will initially offer men’s wear and women’s wear and later come up with its entire range of products including kids’ wear, footwear, accessories and handbags in the country.
Yishion has already started selling its products through select outlets of lifestyle family chain Rituwear’s.
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Mr. Juntao said Yishion’s ranges will be available at a price range of Rs 800-Rs 3,300 and the company is aiming to tap the mass market. The ranges will be imported from Yishion’s facility in Shenzhen.
“Before formalising our India plans, we studied the market here for two years. We found that lot of similarities between the two markets, including a huge youth customer segment and demand for price competitive products,” he said.
Talking about the revenue targets from the India operations, Mr. Juntao said: “In three years, we expect at least Rs 10 crore. We want to be modest in our expectations.”
Upmarket Group Chairman Ajay Sharma said talks are on with large departmental chains like Central, Lifestyle and Pantaloons for selling Yishion’s range through their outlets.
“The first year we are looking at around 10 exclusive outlets. Besides Delhi, other major cities on our radar are Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore,” he said, adding that the Yishion outlets would have an average size of 2,500 sq ft.
Yishion is currently present in over 25 countries across Asia and Europe and operates 3,000 outlets.