The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) opened its retail outlet in the Visakhapatnam airport here on Friday.
KVIC honorary chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said it was the first time the commission was opening a retail outlet in an airport in the country and "we will follow it up with another outlet in Hyderabad airport and later on in six more airports. In Visakhapatnam city, we are planning to open another outlet also.”
He said it would be of great help to the weavers, artisans and village craftsmen, "if the visibility of these products is improved with their display in airports even though there may be no significant addition to the sales volume."
He said the eminent designer, Ritu Beri, had been appointed as KVIC adviser to bring in contemporary designs to attract the youth. He said there were 7,036 outlets across the country and during the current financial year Rs 50 crore would be spent on renovation of the 1,000 old outlets.
He said 14 franchisees had been appointed in the country. During 2015-16, the turnover of KVIC had crossed Rs 1,500 crore and a 50 per cent hike was the target for the current financial year. He said the KVIC also sought to tap the potential of e-commerce to expand its reach.