Business - India;Spencer's to introduce foreign,kids brands

Pradipta Mukherjee

In an attempt to double revenues from the burgeoning kids’ segment, Spencer’s Retail will introduce more private labels for children and bring in international brands.After tying up with Woolworths of the UK for marketing its Chad Valley range of toys in June, Spencer’s Retail will introduce the British retail chain’s Ladybird range of children’s wear in the country next month, sources said.Spencer’s, the Rs 800-crore retailing arm of the RPG Group, is also looking at redoing its stores and visual merchandise to ramp up revenues from the segment, said Samar Sheikhawat, vice-president (marketing), Spencer’s Retail.“Emergence of the child as an independent buyer has given a boost to the branded kidswear market in India, which is growing at over 25 per cent a year,” Sheikhawat said.“This is the reason why we decided to tap this segment by redoing our stores, bringing in visual merchandise, new private labels for children and getting international brands to India. These measures are aimed at boosting the aspiration levels of buyers,” he added.However, he refused to divulge names of the international brands that will be introduced by Spencer’s. At present, Spencer’s large-format stores span between 25,000 and 70,000 sq ft, of which it will allocate up to 20 per cent to kids’ merchandise, up 15 per cent from the current space allocation.Revenues from the kids’ segment are also expected to increase to 30 per cent from the present 15 per cent to the firm’s turnover. Currently, Spencer’s earns Rs 700 per sq ft from the kids’ segment, which is likely to go up to Rs 1,000 per sq ft in a year, informed Sheikhawat.“Our experience with Chad Valley has proved the potential. Within three months, Chad Valley sales have touched Rs 2 crore per month,” said Sheikhawat.Currently, Chad Valley shop-in-shops have been set up inside 140 Spencer’s stores. Spencer’s has 400 stores in India right now. Chad Valley shop-in-shops are usually spread across 150 to 1,600 sq ft. Spencer’s is also investing in building a play area of 150-200 sq ft within Chad Valley or inside the stores, to entertain children.Spencer’s has introduced a slew of private labels in the garment segment that includes Puddles (for children between 0 and 2 years age), Little Devils (for children between 2 and 14 years), Island Monks (casual wear for men and women), Mark Nicolas (formal wear for men and women), Scorez (men and women sportswear), Detailz (men and women basic), Asankhya (ethnic and fusion wear for men and women).Among other initiatives, Spencer’s will take its Good to Grow programme nationally this year to touch 10,000 students in each city. A school student engagement programme for children below 10 years of age, the winners of inter-class painting, talent-hunt, poetry or quiz competitions will get Spencer’s gift vouchers of Rs 100-1,000.According to FMCG analysts, the kidswear market in 2007 was estimated at Rs 17,260 crore, growing at 25 per cent a year. The toy segment constitutes Rs 2,500 crore, but the share of organised retail for toys is just about 10 per cent and that for kidswear would be 30-35 per cent at present.Realising the potential, companies like Allen Solly and Colour Plus have also announced plans to foray into the kidswear market in India.Recently, Allen Solly, a brand of Madura Garments, announced its foray into the kidswear segment later this year.