Relaxo targets 10 franchise stores by 2016

Relaxo Footwears Ltd (RFL), incorporated in 1984, manufactures footwear which is a fine blend of comfort, style, and workmanship. The brand is embarking upon appreciable growth plans for the future. The company offers a wide collection of fashionable and comfortable products for women, men, and children. Today, the company has eight manufacturing units spread in northern part of India with a production capacity of six lac pairs of footwear per day, catering to varied needs of consumers worldwide. Since its inception, the company has gone on to become one of the largest producers of footwear in India with an estimated business value of Rs. 17 bn in 2016

Which format, according to you, works well for your brand– EBOs versus shop-in-shop? Why?

Both formats have its pros and cons, so far both are working well for us. We cover all customer touch points. We sync the offerings from Retail to e-tail.

What’s the average store size and investment required to open a store?

The initial investment is 30 lakh required from franchises. This includes store setup cost of 11 lakh, franchisee fee of 2 lakh and initial stock of 17 lakh. And the average store size is 1000 sq. Ft.

Who is your target consumer and what consumer area/sensitivities does your brand stand for?

Youth, Sec A2, B primarily in the age group of 15 – 35 years is our target customers. The person should be a quality conscious person, who doesn’t compromise on brand, and looks for more value for every penny that he/she spends.

There exist many players in this segment, what’s your strategy to beat the existing competition?

We look at every market individually and study them closely to find the gaps; on that basis we set our marketing mix and GTM for respective market.

What’s the technology that is being used to make store operations efficient and who are your tech partners in the same?

We are using Microsoft Navision for back-end and LS Retail for front-end solution. Prudence Technology Private limited is our tech partner.

How do you manage your supply chain and logistics effectively?

We run replenishment on daily basis for fulfilment of stock requirement. As per our current practice, we can supply stock pan India within 48 hours.

What’s your expansion plan?

We have 261 exclusive company owned stores, which is spread across 143 cities in 9 states. We plan to take this number to 280 by the end of this year, with expansion in MP, HP and Maharashtra being the focus markets.

Moving forward, we now have opened the franchise module as well and are targeting to open 10 franchise stores by end of this year. For COCO outlets investment is internal, for franchise outlet, it is external.

What number of franchise stores you plan to open and where?

We have kick started our franchise model and as a part of PILOT, we are targeting 10 franchise based EBOs by the end of FY 16-17 and looking for rapid expansion in FY 17- 18.

What support do you give to the franchisee?

The initial setting up of the franchise business is coordinated and assisted by the professional team of Relaxo. We help them identify locations/store, then monthly marketing support to get traction to stores. And, regular training for store staff to groom their selling skills and personality development