Kothari Industrial plans to open 100 exclusive Kicker fashion stores in India and eight countries in two years

Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd. (KICL) plans to open 100 Kickers fashion stores and 700 retail counters in India and abroad.

Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd. (KICL), which is on the revival path, is planning to open 100 exclusive French brand ‘Kickers fashion stores and 700 retail counters in India and eight countries in the next two years, said a top executive.

“We wanted the first Kickers fashion store to be located in Chennai and we did that. This will be followed by opening up another nine stores by March in Qatar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai,” said KICL vice-chairman and managing director J. Rafiq Ahmed during an interaction.

As per the proposed plan, the company plans to open 50 Kicker fashion stores and 200 retail counters in the first year, of which 10 will be in eight countries and the balance in the second year.

“Altogether, it would entail an investment ₹500 crore. “We are zero debt firm and hence raising funds will not be an issue. Qatar-based royal family firm FJ Global and Investment has committed to make huge investment,” he said.

The city based firm, which is part of D.C. Kothari group, has signed a 30-year licensing and distribution agreement with Royer Group of France for Kickers brand for India and it would also export it to Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

“While most of the Indian firms has contractual obligation with the foreign brands to produce and export it back to them, ours is slightly a different model. Here we are going to manufacture, distribute and retail this international products in Indian rupees. It will be much cheaper than imported product,” he said.

Asserting that they have already started producing Kicker brand of products such as footwear, men’s wear, women’s wear, kids wear, swim wear and fitness wear in Chennai, he said that inner wear were sourced from North and bags from West Bengal. Later, inner wear would be sourced from Tiruppur.