High returns for being fashionable

In conversation with Priyanka Rai, Megha Poddar, Director, Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd, shares her success story and expansion plans ahead.

Tell us about your company.

Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd is the largest producer of blended high fashion suiting, shirting and apparels. In the last three decades, Siyaram Silk has produced over 60 million metres per annum with a network of 1,00,000 retailers and over 450 dealer networks pan-India. Siyaram's believes in providing value to its customers and the reason behind it is having the widest range of latest machinery in its eco-friendly plants at Tarapur, Daman and Silvassa.

What products do you offer? What is your brand’s USP?

We have three brands in the readymade garment segment such as Oxemberg - a formal and semi-formal brand, MSD -a casual brand, and J.Hampstead -a premium formal brand. Under the brands like Siyaram’s, Mistair, J.Hampstead and Royale Linen, we offer a variety of fabrics to our customers.

Why have you opted for franchising? What qualities do you look for in your aspiring franchisees?

We are aiming to reach out to all the tier II and III cities. For brand expansion we have decided to opt for the franchise business model. Now we are looking at partnering with the right kind of franchisees who have in-depth understanding of the local trends and preferences, who have a passion for excellence and a go-getter attitude. We want to work with people who have an open mind and believe in lifelong learning.

What kind of training and support do you offer to your franchisees?

We provide marketing, advertising, business and promotional support to our franchisees. Besides, we will also help them in terms of the starting capital by providing them soft loans.

What are the investment and area requisites for opening your brand’s franchise? How much break-even and RoI does one get after partnering with your brand?

The business venture requires an investment from Rs 18 lakh to a maximum of Rs 25 lakh with a minimum area of 500 sq ft. In our business the break-even is expected in 2-3 years with 25-30 per cent RoI.

How many franchise centres do you have at the moment? How many are you planning to open by the year-end?

Presently, Siyaram’s Shop is operating 120 franchise outlets across the country. For expanding our retail presence, we are planning to add 50 new stores by the year-end.