We have earlier reported that how Reebok India changed its business model to expand via franchisee route. Trent is following the same model now to expand presence of Westside in Tier-II and Tier-III Indian cities. The management cited that Real Estate bottlenecks have hampered its growth prospects severely. This is true to every sector of Indian economy that laid back land owners [mostly politicians, goons and mafia] want to make money without any work.
Trent tested out the Franchising business model in Mysore, Karnataka last year and the retailer is now planning to roll out 25 to 30 stores in the next 5 years on similar lines. The company is targeting the cities of Allahabad, Patna and Guwahati.
Ms. Neeti Chopra of Trent said,
We want to get over the property challenge and franchisees would help us in scaling up the business in smaller cities. We expect them to invest Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 crore and generate revenues between Rs 6 to Rs 10 crore.
The company will help the franchisee in training and recruiting competitive staff , marketing and promotional support, project assistance etc. The company seeks partnerships from individuals who know the local market and have experience in retailing. Mysore Franchisee also owns Honda Motors and Tata Indicom retail outlets 🙂
This marks the beginning of new era in Retail India – Franchisees for Growth 🙂