The menswear apparel brand, Frank Jefferson, from Ahmedabad-based Asima Group, is going to increase its footprint across the country by the end of March, 2009. Presently the company has 15 retail outlets, and with the expansion drive, “this number may go up to 70-75”, reveals Padmanavan Shukla, Sales Manager, Frank Jefferson. The company has a mix of company-owned and franchised outlets at the cities like Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune, Secunderabad and Surat. To carry out the expansion, the company is planning to pump in Rs.5 crore. Frank Jefferson’s product lines include men`s shirts, trousers, denims, T-shirts, and sweaters. The company insiders have revealed that the recent fall in the profit margin of the group’s fabric manufacturing vertical has actually catapulted this expansion plan. It can be understood that the spurt in the input costs and the drop in sales prices are also taken into consideration before taking up this project. The company believes retailing and garmenting sectors offer better profit margins, and if required, they may carry out expansion in the garmenting vertical too. As far as franchise criteria are concerned, Shukla informs that the company requires a retail space of 700 to 1000 sq. ft. at high street with a front space of 20 ft. The investment required for each project is approximately Rs.12-15 lakh. The brand eyes for middle and upper class as its target customers.
