Siyaram Poddar group unveils aggressive plans for Oxemberg, other retail brands

Mumbai: The Siyaram Poddar group has unveiled plans to focus on marketing its garment brands, with particular emphasis on its flagship Oxemberg brand.

Oxemberg garments added Rs64 crore to the Rs1,500-crore turnover of the group during the last financial year and the company now plans to roll out an aggressive television campaign.

The textile and ready-made business is sailing through a patch where brand loyalty ranks low, and most brands are vying for shelf space in malls and large format stores, along with mind space through advertising and promotions.

Oxemberg is present in Central, Future Groups'' large format store and Siyaram is said to be in talks with In-orbit and other malls to get acquire retail space. According to sources, the brand plans to set up 100 retail outlets by the end of 2008, across 40 tier-II and tier-III cities. Special focus will be accorded to the south Indian market and new outlets will be located in malls and high street locations.

The company currently has 33 outlets in 10 cities.

The estimated outlay for each outlet will come to about Rs30 lakh on lease rentals, and Rs50 lakh to Rs1.25 crore on outright purchase deals. The stores will carry inventory worth Rs10-12 lakh.

The company is evaluating the adoption of a cluster approach, and plans to roll out standalone stores wherever viable. Post expansion, the Rs65-crore brand is looking at revenues of up to Rs100 crore.