JOIN USCustomers who walk into Max showrooms may soon be able to browse the latest offerings through the Wi-Fi facility that the value fashion brand is mulling to introduce on a pilot basis.
“We are thinking of introducing Wi-Fi at a few stores, and will see how this is received by customers, and how we can engage them in terms of offers. There should be some purpose for them and also for us,” Max Fashion India Executive Director Vasanth Kumar said.
A part of the Dubai-based Landmark Group, Max Fashion has a retail footprint of 175 stores across 70 cities in India, and it will add five more stores by the end of this financial year.
“We are already on course to add another 40 stores in the next financial year. By the end of the next fiscal, we will have 220 stores,” Kumar said, adding that a typical store requires Rs 5 crore investment (Rs 2.5 crore capex and the rest working capital).
While Lifestyle, which is also a part of the Landmark Group, is positioned for premium customers, where the average price is between Rs 800 and Rs 2,000, Max focuses on the mid-market segment, where the price-point is between Rs 200 and Rs 800.
The mid-market segment is growing rapidly, and the size is close to Rs 1 lakh crore. “Only one-third of the overall market is organised, and it is growing at the rate of 18-20%. When we are growing at 34%, the market is growing at 20%,” Kumar said.
“There’s also the Easy Buy brand that was launched two years ago, for Tier II and Tier III cities. A separate entity, it targets the lower middle income segment, and the price point is between Rs 69 and Rs 500. It is 20-30% cheaper than Max, and our vision is to open one Easy Buy in every district. There are 20 stores at present,” he added.
Talking about Max’s turnover, Kumar said, “We closed the last fiscal year with Rs 1,800 crore, and we are en route to achieving Rs 2,400 crore in this fiscal.”