Cantabil Retail undergoes restructuring

01 Jul '11

2 min read

Clothing retailer – Cantabil Retail India is in the midst of a restructuring exercise, which will involve repositioning the brand, slowing expansion, as well as closing down unprofitable stores across India. The retailer will also gradually do away with its strategy of offering 80 percent flat discount to its customers.

Revealing the reasons for the exercise, Mr Vijay Bansal, Managing Director – Cantabil Retail told fibre2fashion, “In a dynamic business scenario, change is an inevitable part of business strategy. Cantabil is perceived as one of the strong brands in the Indian fashion market.

“This inspires us to do something new in our business strategy. We want to reposition the Cantabil brand in a fresh and alluring mood with a new concept – 'Fresh Priced Brand concept', keeping behind the discounted brand image. We believe this will revive and reposition us as a premium brand with a niche customer segment”.

Cantabil Retail has a strong market presence all over the country be it the metro's or tier-II cities. Henceforth, the retailer will now focus Cantabil as a premium brand and in turn try to attract fashion savvy young people, mostly between the 18-45 age bracket all over the country.

Providing details of the restructuring plans, he said, “We have a broad road-map for the whole restructuring process, which includes closing down of non-profitable outlets, go slow on expansion and ending the offer of 80 percent flat discount throughout the year. Also, retail locations and competition have taken a toll on the brand.

“The company is gradually doing away with 80 per cent flat discount strategy, a key revenue driver at one point in time, and has started selling new stock at maximum retail price. This is because the imposition of excise duty, which is based on the MRP and has hit the discount model.

“There was a time when everyone was getting into the business of discount retail to grab a large share of the market. But this system is feasible only in initial years of operations and not sustainable in the long run.

“So we will take the route of 'Fresh Price' strategy and concentrate on quality benchmarks. Moreover, we have taken new marketing and communication initiatives like new advertisements, online marketing, and re-branding exercise (retail branding) to give a fresh look”, he concluded by saying.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

More Apparel/Garments News - India...