Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Sequoia Capital are learnt to be negotiating with Ludhiana-based Nahar Industrial Enterprises (NIEL) to pick up 15-20 per cent in its wholly-owned arm Nahar Retail for Rs 120 crore. Nahar Retail owns Cotton County retail chain, which has 400 stores all over. Nahar Retail, which started the Cotton County apparel retail chain three years ago, today has 400 stores in 300 cities. It plans to take it to 500 by this fiscal-end at an investment of Rs 30 crore. Nahar Retail, which clocked a revenue of about Rs 100 crore last fiscal, is targeting a figure of Rs 250 crore this fiscal. Meanwhile, NIEL, which is an integrated textile company present across the value chain from yarn to fabric and garments, has seen its share price move up rapidly, of late. Cotton County retail chain, which initially was a north Indian tier II city phenomenon, is now making an aggressive foray into South and West India. It is also ramping up operations in metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. At present, it retails a complete range of men`s wear. It has started test marketing women`s wear in a few stores and in the next couple of months plans to retail the full range across its stores. The company also plans to open its stores in the Middle East, which has a sizeable NRI population. It is exploring partners who can set up stores through franchisee routes - the same model, which the company follows in India.
