Women’s ethnic-wear brand Biba Apparels plans to tap the franchise route to expand into small cities and towns. A majority of these would be for its mass to premium brand – Rangriti – aimed at the young audience.
According to Siddharth Bindra, Managing Director, Biba, the company is looking to add 100 outlets this year, of which 60 will be under Rangriti. It currently has 275 stores across the country with under the Rangriti brand and a majority are Biba outlets.
Nearly 90 per cent of the Biba stores are company-owned. It is open to converting some of its existing exclusive stores to franchise outlets depending upon the location and feasibility.
The company plans to add another 125-150 stores, taking the total store count to 500 in the next two years. The entry price point for a Biba apparel is close to Rs 1,000 per piece and goes up to Rs 25,000; while that for Rangriti is around Rs 600 going up to Rs 3,500. Online sales currently accounts for nearly 15 per cent of Biba’s total sales and Bindra expects it to grow to 20 per cent of overall sales in the next two to three years.