Portico to strengthen its presence through franchising!

Home furnisher, Portico New York, a brand from Creative Portico India Ltd, is looking at the approaching festival season to generate its expansion for boosting its business. The company plans to increase the store sales in the festive season and is also planning to open 10 standalone stores, from the existing one standalone store, through the franchise route across metros and tier-II towns. The average size of these stores will be 500-1,000 sq. ft. Portico had put their expansion plans on hold due to the economic slowdown but as the economy is reviving and consumers are ready to spend again, the company will be opening 20 stores within two years. The company is planning to boost its marketing and advertising expenses this year as they are expecting the store sales to increase by 40 per cent during the oncoming festival season as compared to last year's sales growth of 25 per cent. Portico, which currently sells its products through 600 outlets across the country, has revenue-sharing arrangements in place with retailers like Home Solutions, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, @ Home and Home Town.