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Tuesday, 14 September 2010 |
Marks&Spencer Reliance India, a joint venture between the Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance
Retail and UK-based retailer Marks&Spencer, plans to source 70 per cent of the merchandise from within the country over the next two years. This will be up from 40 per cent at present. The merchandise largely comprises of apparels, lingerie and accessories for men, women and children. M&S has also added kitchen products to its portfolio this year.
Moreover M&S plans to increase its store count to 50 by March 2013. It currently operates 18 stores in India across Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. With an average size of 15,000 to 20,000 sq. ft. the new stores will mainly be set up in metros and 15 other cities, including Tier I and II towns. They will stock apparel, footwear, lingerie, handbags, accessories and beauty products. The rollout will be a mix of malls and high streets. In comparison to the UK, where stores are an average of 1,60,000 sq. ft. maintaining small-sized stores would be more viable in the Indian context.
Meanwhile, M&S has been in the news in India because of its Gurgaon-based suppliers Viva Global. The company is embroiled in a labor dispute where the Garment and Allied Workers Union (Gawu) has accused M&S of colluding with Viva Global’s violation of labor laws for the past six years. While M&S has refuted the allegations of non-payment of minimum wages or violence against workers were totally untrue. It maybe recalled that M&S sources from over 800 textile factories around the world and 92 in India. |
