Woodland to open 25 stores in China

Leading foot-wear, apparel and outdoor adventure gear brand Woodland is betting big on China, one of the rapidly growing retail markets in the world, by opening 25 new stores in that country in the next 2-3 years. 

According to Woodland Managing Director Harkirat Singh, “Today, we have two Co-Co (Company Owned, Company Operated) stores in Hong Kong and a presence in over 50 other multi-branded retail outlets. The product acceptance and consumer response there has been encouraging and we do intend to add at least 25 stores within the next 2-3 years in the China-Hong Kong. We have earmarked capex of Rs 50 crore in this market for this fiscal.”

Woodland, the flagship brand owned by Delhi-headquartered Aero Club Ltd, operates in the footwear, apparels, accessories and shoecare segments and exports to Canada, Africa, West Asia and Eastern Europe.

“Though competition in the Chinese market is fierce and challenging, we see a huge opportunity for international retailers to expand in this market. Keeping in mind all these factors, we decided to foray into China and have already established our presence in the Hong Kong market, a gateway to China,” he said.

Since the consumer response from the region has been encouraging, Woodland took the next step of opening standalone stores. “Though standalone stores are an investment for the brand, they are more of a landmark in a town glorifying the brand. Opening up more stores will help expand our footprint in the market,” Singh said.

Talking about the strategy to expand, Singh said Woodland has been present in China for a long time now, initially for global sourcing trends and later through distributors selling its products.

“Foreseeing the huge market potential, we have been working extensively to understand the Chinese market better. Like any new market, the Chinese population too has its own buying trends,” he said.
Woodland has seen consistent growth at a pace of 30 per cent every year, of which 25 per cent of the businesses has been coming in from the international markets.

The footwear and apparel major is targeting revenues worth Rs 1,300 crore in fiscal 2014 and focusing on expansion and growth in Tier II and Tier III cities of India. In 2013-14, the company's turnover was Rs 1,000 crore.