Lifestyle International opens fifth store in metro

As part of its aggressive expansion strategy, the company plans to open 12 to 14 stores including one more in the city, this year, which would translate to a capex of about Rs 140 crore.

The new store will showcase 250-plus domestic and global brands across diverse categories including men’s wear, women’s apparel and accessories. Over 100 plus people will be hired in this store, said Srinivasa Rao- SVP, Marketing, Lifestyle, who outlined the growth plans for the brand.

“Every store is part of our journey to learn and stay relevant as we incorporate the experience at every step,” he said, when asked about the rationale behind enhancing the shopping experience by the new store addition.  Incidentally, the company invests about Rs 8 to 10 crore in each store.

Rao said the omni channel experience sought by customers has worked well for retailers. “We don’t see one channel disappearing,” was his response on the relevance of physical stores in a digital era. Post the noteban, the digital component of sales has surged by 2.5 to 3.5 per cent Also the card spends have gone up to 65 per cent from 60 per cent of which debit card transactions were pegged at 33 per cent.

It has been a smooth sail as far as GST is concerned for the retailer as the hiccups were felt only in the initial period of implementation. “For about a fortnight or so, we did face supply constraints but thereafter it was streamlined and there was no major impact on MRPs,” he said, adding the benefit had been passed on to customers.

On the emerging trends, Rao said, Chennai, which contributes to about 16 per cent of the turnover has been consuming fashion much more. “There is also a skew towards ethnic wear among women apart from Western wear showing incremental outcomes,” he added.