Usha International toying with franchisee model

 

KOLKATA, June 23: Usha International, a
diversified consumer durable company– has decided to focus
aggressively on the organised retail front, a top company

official said.

Traditional distribution account for close to 90 per

cent of Usha’s revenue but now the company has drawn a

strategy to increase organised retail’s share rapidly.

“Currently, we have 51 company owned and company

operated usha branded retail stores in 13 cities. Now, we will

experiment with franchisee model to expand our exclusive store

footprint in tier II and III cities. Once this model

stabilises, then we can go for a major expansion spree in

raising the number of stores,” Usha International retail head

Kapil Kohli told PTI.

Now organised retail account for Rs 300 crore sales

out of Rs 3,000 crore topline of the company but it wants

greater share of sales through organised retail.

Organised retail for company consists of sales from

modern retail outlets, regional branded chains, Usha brand

stores and e-commerce.

“We are targeting at a 40 per cent CAGR. We have

already achieved 30 per cent jump last fiscal. We hope the

organised retail revenue to go up to Rs 500 crore in two years

from Rs 300 crore now,” Kohli said.

He said the main objective is for greater branding and

not for expanding margin through this effort.

Kohli said the company will launch high value and

premium products first at organised retail before offering it

in the traditional distribution channel.

The company has also decided to devise a strategy to

push sales on e-commerce platforms.

Analysts tracking consumer durable sector said such

strategies in the long run yield better margin and brand

recall.

Kohli said small appliances are the largest revenue

churner for the company followed by fans. The company was also

emphasising on Rs 12,000 crore water pumps segment with a CAGR

of 8-10 per cent. (PTI)