Westside Hums Franchisee Tune For Stores Expansion

Financial Express:

Westside, Tata’s leading chain of stores, is planning to adopt the franchisee route to expand its presence in tier-II and tier-III cities.

Through this model, 25-30 franchisee-operated stores of across 8,000-12,000 sqft and with an initial investment of Rs 1.2 crore, per store would be set up in the next 5 years. With this move, it plans to reach out to consumers across 37 cities.

For the purpose, Westside has identified cities such as Allahabad, Patna, Guwahati, Dehradun, Madurai, Kolhapur, Jammu, Bareilly, Aligarh, Kochi, Pondichery, Trivandrum and Salem. Currently, 30 Westside stores are spread across 19 cities.

As for the rationale behind the move, Neeti Chopra, head-marketing, Trent Ltd explained, “There is a huge business potential in tier-II and tier-III cities as people are willing to spend. Hence, we will be offering fashionable apparels to consumers in these cities at affordable prices. As the current economic boom in India spread to tier-II and tier-III cities and towns, a market presence in these cities is key to Westside growth and profitability.”

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