Italy-based luxury menswear clothing brand Kiton has announced its plans to soon open two exclusive stores in India. The outlets are expected to come up in Delhi and Mumbai by the end of this year or in 2015. Kiton claims to make the world’s most expensive made-to-measure (bespoke) suits, Kiton entered India in October last year by signing a master franchisee agreement with Mumbai headquartered Regalia Luxury Retail.
The brand will initially target 250 well-heeled individual customers. In addition to bespoke suits priced at Rs 3 to 25 lakh, shirts and jackets will also be in offering to Indian clientele.
Furthermore, Kiton is contemplating a joint venture with a local partner with plans to open mono-brand stores in the country. The move is intended to tap into the thriving 150 crore Indian high-end menswear market. It is also looking at possibilities of converting the existing master franchise alliance into a joint venture. Regardless of the slowdown, the company has witnessed sharp sales growth in the last few years. In 2013, it clocked 10 percent rise in worldwide sales over the previous year to $105 million.
Co-founded as CIPA in 1956 in Naples, Italy by Ciro Paone, a fifth-generation fabric merchant, and Antonio Carolaas, Kiton brand was launched in 1968. It has around 45 stores internationally and all its garments are made in its production facility at Naples.
