Aero Group’s footwear brand Woodland is planning to increase the share of its international markets to its overall revenue pie. The brand clocked Rs.600 crore revenue in the last fiscal and expects around a 25 per cent increase revenue in the current fiscal.
“Currently, our international markets contribute around 25 per cent to the total revenue. However, we plan to increase its share substantially. We are present in many international markets through a distribution network in countries such as Australia, Canada and Europe. Now, we are entering international markets such as Hong Kong through a distribution channel,” Harkirat Singh, managing director, Woodland, informs IndiaRetailing.
Woodland has over 300 COCO stores across 50 cities in India and covers a total retail space of around six lakh sq.ft. The average size of a Woodland store is 1,500-2,000 sq.ft. The company, though, doesn’t want to take the franchise route. “It is very easy to grow through the franchise route, but quality is important in retail. By having our own stores, we can project the brand much better and keep the staff as per our requirements. So, we have taken a general call not to expand through franchisees.”
Woodland recently launched a sub-brand, ‘Woods’, which is a formal brand. “Currently the brand is present in Woodland stores, but soon we are planning to launch separate stores for Woods,” adds Singh.
The company also plans to expand its sales through an e-store. “Though we are already selling the products through a few websites and through our company’s website, which leads our consumers to the e-store, we are redoing it due to some technical problems. We are going to start a separate e-commerce website for Woodland by the end of this calender year,” he assures.
Woodland spends around six to seven per cent of the total revenue on marketing and advertising the brand. But in the peak season, between September and December, the spends go pretty high, up to about 12 per cent, says Singh.
Woodland is also planning to bolster its retail network in India by opening 60-70 large format stores of an average size of 4,000 sq.ft by 2011. These stores will be opened in Mumbai, Jammu, Amritsar, Kanpur, Shillong, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Cuttack, Raipur and Navi Mumbai, among other cities.
— Diwakar Kumar
