Triumph scouts for partner to open flagship stores

MUMBAI: Triumph International (India) Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of Switzerland based Triumph International, an intimate apparel brand, is scouting for a franchise partner to open its flagship stores here. The company���s manufacturing facility at Chennai will also start commercial production by November this year.

���For flagship stores we will go through a franchise agreement. We are in talks with a few companies but we are yet to find a partner with the right mindset,��� Triumph General Manager and Country Head (India) Thorsten Allenstein.

The company had earlier expressed keen interest in opening its own flagship stores but changed the plans due to the requirement of a joint venture (JV) partner for foreign direct investment. ���We are not willing to open flagship stores through a JV partner,��� Allenstein maintained. Triumph, present in India since 1998 through a JV, Intimate Fashion, producing private labels and its own brands, is now coming up with its plant at Chennai.

���The facility at Chennai will produce 12 to 15 million pieces per year of our brands mainly for exports with a small portion for domestic sales which would eventually be scaled up,��� he said. The new factory will employ close to 5,000 people, majority of them women, he said, adding a high-end brand too would be launched at a later stage.

���We have been approached by Reliance Retail to sell our brands through their hypermarkets but we currently have only our mid and upper segment brands here,��� Allenstein said.

Looking at the retail growth and the new malls, we are planning to launch a premium brand, he added.

Globally, Triumph International has manufacturing facilities at 27 locations. It started its sales and marketing in India in 2002. Prior to that, it was in production through Intimate Fashions, a JV with MAST Industries, the makers of Victoria���s Secret, and the MAS Group.

The manufacturing facility for this JV company too is located in Chennai and at present is mainly involved in production of private labels with a small portion of Triumph products.

���The second plant will be 100 per cent owned by us and it would manufacture only Triumph products,��� the company���s India chief stated.

On India opportunity, Allenstein said the local market was largely unorganised with more than a 1,000 brands.
���Only one to two per cent of department store turnover is contributed by lingerie whereas in the West and even Asian countries like Malaysia this figure is as high as 10 to 12 per cent,��� he pointed out.