Fashion retailers open new stores after months of lockdown

After several months, fashion retailers are once again opening new stores,. Fashion retailer Madame opened six stores in July. It plans to open six more stores in the next three months. Similarly, footwear retailer Metro Brands plans to open 15 more stores in addition to the six it has opened post-lockdown. Cantabil Retail plans to add four-five new stores every month.

Some retailers are shutting down underperforming stores in the city and opening new stores at better locations. For instance, Metro Shoes plans to move its standalone store in Lucknow to one of the malls. Most landlords in Delhi and Mumbai are offering a discount of up to 25 per cent to their retailers until their sales pick up, while others have entered a revenue-sharing agreement.

Retailers are also opening stores in Tier-II cities and beyond, which are projected to recover faster than the metro cities. The company plans to invest Rs 75 lakh- Rs 1.5 crore in opening these stores. Cantabil plans to add company-owned as well as franchisee stores in smaller towns to fuel growth. Similarly, Madame has decided to open smaller 800 sqft franchisee stores as opposed to its earlier average size of 1,400 sq ft. It plans to invest Rs 50- Rs 60 lakh for stocking inventory in these stores.

However, most retailers are opening these stores in anticipation of revival and would have to close them down if consumption does not return to the prem-pandemic level.