M & S operates its stores in India under a JV with Reliance Retail
Marks & Spencer India is bullish on the ongoing festival season and the upcoming winter season. The UK-based retailer, which recently opened its 100th store in the country, has plans to further ramp up its retail footprint in the market.
M & S operates its stores in India under a JV with Reliance Retail. It plans to expand its retail space from the current 1.1 million sq feet to 1.4 million sq feet by the end of FY 24. The brand plans to add six new stores over the next six months.
Expanding footprint
“In the last six months alone, we added six stores. So I believe we are on a good growth trajectory. We are constantly scouting for the right locations and right opportunities. We are exploring opportunities to grow our footprint based on demand trends irrespective of whether it is tier-1 or tier-2 city,” said Ritesh Mishra, Managing Director, Marks & Spencer Reliance India Pvt Ltd.
The brand currently has 60 stores in the tier-1 markets and the balance 40 stores are in tier-2 markets.
“We are quite buoyant about the festival and wedding season which coincides with the winter season. I think this gives us a distinct advantage as we will get double the benefit of the festival season and the winter period. We have a strong dominating position in the winter-wear category and expect to see good sales momentum in the December quarter. Over the past few years, we have seen consumers also opting for western wear and not just ethnic wear for Diwali and wedding season,” he added. The retailer saw sales growth of nearly 47 per cent in the winter wear category in FY 22 over FY 21 and expects to see similar growth momentum this year.
Nearly 23 per cent of the brand’s sales now come from the online channel. “The online channel is growing very well for us. Besides our website, we also launched our app to give more flexibility and personalisation to our consumers. I think there is a strong opportunity for growth across online and offline channels,” Mishra added.
New segment
The retailer has also been opening lingerie-focused stores in recent years. Nearly a quarter of its sales come from the lingerie segment. “Women consumers contribute nearly 60 per cent to the overall revenue. Women-wear and lingerie are both key growth areas for us,” he added.
The western-wear segment in India has seen the entry of new brands especially D2C brands in recent years intensifying competition. “Our two-pronged strategy is to drive an increase in purchases from existing customers while bringing new customers to the brand’s fold. We offer a wide range of styles to our customers across categories. We have seen 100 per cent plus growth for the Autograph collection alone,” Mishra stated.