Our aim is to have 30-40 operational stores in a span on next 3-4 years: Sandeep Goenka, CEO, Planet Retail Holdings

What was the rationale behind bringing Cath Kidston to Planet Retail Holdings' portfolio considering the Indian premium market is already crowded?

 

Planet retail holding pvt.Ltd.has a fair amount of knowledge and experience in the accessory market. Banking upon the same we believe CathKidston is perfect addition to our portfolio. Cath kidston is an aspirational brand and global leaders in their category. They bring a newness to the market with their distinct designs and products. India is a growing economy and an important part of the overseas market. Various international brands in similar categories have been doing well in India. CathKidston today is fast growing lifestyle brand with a successful presence internationally and in UK. India was the next and the most logical step for the overseas expansion plan.  Cath Kidston does a lot of homework before entering a new market; they already know from the online sale that people in India like their product. From this, we think that India could potentially become a very successful and important market.

 

 

Cath Kidston is already an establish brand with extensive network wordwide, what are your initial projections from the brand considering Indian market?

 

The new store opening in India marks an important step in the overseas expansion of Cath Kidston. India is a very important market. Customers in India have been able to buy their clothing, accessories and homeware online for some time now and we are really pleased that we are able to now provide the actual stores for them to visit.

 

 

   What portfolio is introduced to Indian market with what price ticket? Is Indian portfolio is alike to other international  markets? Pls also mention the total SKUs introduced in Gurugram store?

 

We have a wide range of products in India ranging from bags, wallets, Home, China products, Kids, Baby, Stationary, gadgets, Bathroom accessories to travel & luggage.

 

Price points. The CathKidston ranges starts from:

 

• Bags, wallets & Travel: Rs.1395 – 13845

• Kids & Baby: Rs.145 – 10945

• Home & China: Rs.595 – 5195

• Stationery: Rs.245 – 1745

• Bathroom accessories: Rs.945 - 2895

 

• Overall: Rs.145 – 13845

 

Cathkidston maintains uniformity in the availability of the products throughout the markets. India being a strong international market with global fashion standards is always up to date with collection releases.

 

 

Who do you see as your competition? What specifications have been made in product offerings considering Indian audience? 

 

We do not have a direct competitor in the high street market. We launched Cath Kidston in India right in the middle of our very exciting collaboration with Disney. This is the biggest collaboration we’ve ever launched as a brand and it’s seen phenomenal success both in the UK and internationally. The debut Winnie the Pooh collection launched in September before we opened our first store in India. The second collection features the iconic characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and launched in India on 6th December. This collaboration is a two year partnership, with a number of collections (and characters) in the pipeline, so our Indian customers can look forward to more Disney X CathKidston products across our first couple of years in the market

 

How you are looking to expand the footprint of the brand as luxury malls are numbered in India? Which are the other preminum malls where the brand is planning to be present? Will CathKidston in times will open its own high street stand alone stores too?

 

Cath Kidston is present at Ambience Mall, Gurugram ;Select Citywalk, Saket, New Delhi; High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel, Mumbai. We are aiming at presence in A grade premium mall across metropolitan cities.We shall also be looking at opening High street stores in major cities.

 

Kindly highlight your growth plans? How many more stores you are looking to open in next one year? Any comment on tier II expansion?

 

Our aim is to have 30-40 operational stores in a span on next 3-4 years. Tier II cities is a part of the phase 2 of our business expansion plan.

 

Apart from brick and mortar store what are the other channels of retail will be utilised to expand the brand reach? 

 

Cath Kidston retails online through Myntra.com. We shall be retailing through other e-commerce portals like Jabong, Amazon, etc soon.