A 100-year-old bespoke suiting brand, PN Rao plans to expand its presence across the country by taking the franchisee route, note Ketan Pishe and Naveen Pishe, Partners, PN Rao.
The brand currently operates eight company-owned company-operated stores. Of these, five are located in Bengaluru, two are in Chennai, and one store is situated in Hyderabad. By this fiscal year-end, the brand plans to open four additional stores via a franchisee route and also one company-owned and company-operated luxury store in Bengaluru in the coming financial year.
In Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, the brand plans to adopt the FOCO model, which will also be promoted in other locations. The average stores that the brand plans to open via the franchisee route will span 2,500 -3,000 sq in metros and Tier I cities and 1,500 sq in Tier II and beyond, add, Ketan and Naveen Pishe.
The investment in FOFO model will be around Rs 1.2 crore and the ROI is expected in 2.5 - 3 years, they further add.
Currently operating in the ready-to-wear, fabric and tailoring categories, the brand will initial open stores in South India to penetrate into the market further.
Currently, the brand’s manufacturing unit spans across 1.5 acre and it plans to build another unit once the current unit gets closer to 80-90 per cent capacity utilization.
Going ahead, the brand also plans to build its online presence by offering bespoke services. It currently has an EBITDA profitability of 11-15 per cent and will close this fiscal with Rs 65 crore in revenue. It aims to close FY 26 with revenues worth Rs 75 crore.
