""The Managing Director of Aero Club, which owns the Woodland brand, on the company's growth strategy..""
Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Aero Club, the brand that owns the rough-and-tough brand, Woodland, says everything the company does has a green tag to it.
“We are an outdoors brand and very much in tune with nature. Whatever we do, it will never be against the environment but rather in consonance with it,” he declares.
Interestingly, when BrandLine meets up with him on a balmy afternoon, he has coordinated his dress with a deep green and yellow turban — a signature Woodland colour.
In a freewheeling interview, Singh outlines the brand's persona and future growth opportunities for the company.
Can you trace Woodland's journey for us?
We started operations in Quebec in Canada making specialised winter boots for the harsh climate there. We were suppliers for factories and leading retailers in Europe and Russia. We had tanneries in Canada. In the early '90s, we started looking for other markets to expand and we chose Europe and India. We had several other brands as well. Woodland was one of the brands that we launched in India.
When you entered India, the footwear market was largely dominated by players such as Bata and others from the unorganised sector. Woodland created a new category of expensive shoes which was well received. Between then and now, how has the market evolved?
When we entered India, there were only Bata and Corona, among others. The youth took a fancy to our shoes as there was nothing in that category offering both fashion and utility. Even though we were priced high, we managed to connect with the youth and that did a lot to promote the brand. That was in the beginning and we gradually developed a product line especially for India.
When did you change track from being a purely manufacturing company to a retail brand?
In the mid-Nineties, there was an invasion of Chinese products in the Canadian market. At that point of time, we consciously moved to the Far East, India and West Asia. The Indian market was growing and we considered it the right time to start our retail journey here. We opened our first store in 1997. The response was good and we start expanding and diversifying here. Currently, we have 300 company-owned, company-operated stores with a total retail space of around six lakh sq. ft. Our shoes and apparel are also retailed through 3,000 distributors pan-India.
Unlike many other players in the industry, you have not opted for the franchise route to expansion. What is the thought behind the decision?
We did try the franchise model but somehow it did not work well for us. It is difficult to convince a franchise partner to stock higher-end products and also to keep a check on quality. Therefore, we decided it was best to go it alone.
What is your strategy for growth?
In the last six-seven years, the retail sector has grown but we have been very selective and slow in our expansion. Where there is a good opportunity, we go ahead with expansions. We started with the metros but are expanding to the smaller towns as they are also accepting all the brands, not just ours alone. Our belief is that growth should be consistent and our product offering should be good. We are particular about product quality and are trying to improve on it. Retail expansion will continue to be a core focus besides diversifying into specialised lines such as kidswear and a yoga line.
You have been looking to find your feet in China?
Woodland is available in many countries. We are also going into China as it is a huge market in terms of consumption. We believe we can replicate our success in China. We have already appointed a distributor in Hong Kong.
There is lot of nature in Woodland. Does that reflect in your manufacturing practices as well?
Yes, very much. Woodland is all about adventure and that is the idea behind the brand. We believe you should be as close to nature as possible. We have tied up with a German company for technological knowhow. Our manufacturing facilities use robots and are reducing human intervention. It brings lot of perfection and improves efficiency. Also, we are working with our suppliers to reduce the impact on the environment. Reuse and recycle is core to our philosophy. For example, the chemical used in our shoes can be retrieved and reused. We use organic clothing and our leather is treated with vegetable tanning agents. We have formed a Woodland adventure club and are promoting it in schools. We will be promoting our products through social networking sites such as Facebook to take our products closer to our customers.
What is the kind of growth you are looking? Are you likely to hit the bourses in the near term?
We are growing at about 20-25 per cent. Last year, our group turnover stood at Rs 600 crore. We are not looking for a listing. We don't need outside funds. For the current year, we have earmarked Rs 50-60 crore for product development and technology enhancements for our manufacturing facilities. We are also identifying the opportunity to open 60-70 large-format stores of an average size of 4,000 sq.ft. by 2011.
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