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Cornerstone to open 300 outlets by year-end in India
Friday, 22 February 2008, 18:29 IST
Hyderabad: Zerostock Retail Private Ltd Thursday announced the launch of Cornerstone, its premier men's wear brand with the opening of five exclusive outlets here.
The company plans to open 15 more stores over the next 10 days in six cities - Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Kochi and Jaipur.
Aiming to have a pan-India presence, the company will invest $4 million for a total of 30 stores by the end of March. It plans to have 300 stores by the end of 2008 and 1,000 stores by the end of next year.
Ashok Maya, CEO, Zerostock Retail Private Ltd, told reporters that the company raised $4 million from angel investors both in India and abroad. It would raise another 
500 million ($12 million) from venture capitalists and private equity players to fund its expansion plans.
Each store will have 600 square feet of space. Maya said they aim to have a turnover of 1 million per store per month.
Stating that men's wear account for 45 percent of 890-billion ($22 billion) garment industry and is growing at 10 percent annually, he said the segment was handicapped by limited designs, sizes and in stocks.
"Unable to find the design and size in most of the stores, people compromise. But why compromise and why adapt. We offer men's wear in all sizes and over 300 designs," he said.
"Variety, quality and value are our brand's mantra. Our garments of comparable quality will be at least 30 percent below the market price."
Fabric count is a measure of fineness of the fabric. Worldwide, very few brands offer garments of 100 count and above. Cornerstone offers over 50 percent of its entire collection in 100 and above counts.
The stores will offer shirts, chinos, polos and T-shirts. They will have centralized inventory and will also sell the products online.
Launched in mid-2007, Zerostock was founded and run by Wharton MBA graduates. Its founder Madhukar Gangadi is the CEO of Medplus, a network of pharmacies, labs and clinics.
Source: IANS
500 million ($12 million) from venture capitalists and private equity players to fund its expansion plans.
Each store will have 600 square feet of space. Maya said they aim to have a turnover of 1 million per store per month.
Stating that men's wear account for 45 percent of 890-billion ($22 billion) garment industry and is growing at 10 percent annually, he said the segment was handicapped by limited designs, sizes and in stocks.
"Unable to find the design and size in most of the stores, people compromise. But why compromise and why adapt. We offer men's wear in all sizes and over 300 designs," he said.
"Variety, quality and value are our brand's mantra. Our garments of comparable quality will be at least 30 percent below the market price."
Fabric count is a measure of fineness of the fabric. Worldwide, very few brands offer garments of 100 count and above. Cornerstone offers over 50 percent of its entire collection in 100 and above counts.
The stores will offer shirts, chinos, polos and T-shirts. They will have centralized inventory and will also sell the products online.
Launched in mid-2007, Zerostock was founded and run by Wharton MBA graduates. Its founder Madhukar Gangadi is the CEO of Medplus, a network of pharmacies, labs and clinics.
Source: IANS