Ritu Kumar to open a new store in Dubai Festival City

Dubai - The eponymous boutique will cater to a mix of luxury and high-street fashion clientele with the latest collections of Label Ritu Kumar.

India's leading design house Ritu Kumar sees exciting growth prospects in the Middle East region and plans to expand its presence through its base in Dubai, its top official says.

The leading luxury apparel brand, which made UAE foray two years back, looks all set to open a new store in Dubai Festival City Mall on Tuesday. The eponymous boutique will cater to a mix of luxury and high-street fashion clientele with the latest collections of Label Ritu Kumar.

"The Middle East is an exciting prospect for us. We believe that we have a unique product positioning for this market and we are well placed for it," designer-to-the-stars Ritu Kumar told Khaleej Times ahead of the brand's second store opening in Dubai.

India's leading designer Ritu Kumar

Ritu Kumar began operations in the UAE with a flagship store at BurJuman Centre in January, 2014. Spread over 1,600 square feet in Dubai Festival City Mall with a spectacular triple height shop-front, the new store will showcase the latest collection from the brands' pret line -- Label Ritu Kumar.

Ritu Kumar was awarded the Padma Shri Award 2013, the country's fourth highest civilian award for her exceptional and distinguished service in the field of fashion, textile and craftsmanship. She is credited for introducing haute couture in India as well as the revival of the country's traditional fabrics and crafts over the last 45 years.

"We will circumspect in the first year and hopefully gather momentum in year two and three. Apart from being a very mature market itself, Dubai is perfectly located for tapping the neighbouring markets. It is a highly cosmopolitan city and gives us the exposure we need to access new customers in the country and in the region," the 71-year old fashion designer, who is also owner and founder of Ritu Kumar, said.

Dubai's apparel and footwear industry sales are expected to reach $17 billion (Dh62.4 billion) by 2020. Sales of apparel and footwear in the emirate is anticipated to reach $13.5 billion by the end of 2016 and are likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6 per cent until 2020. The market was worth $12.8 billion in 2015. Apparel is leading total sales in terms of value and growth rate at $10.4 billion, with a CAGR of 5.8 per cent.

Kumar, who began her career in 1969, is confident of establishing a strong base in Dubai and then expand the brand presence across the Middle East region.

"With our current presence, we are catering to a mix of luxury and high-street fashion clientele with the latest collections. We are hoping to expand to seven to 10 stores over the next four years or so," she said.

"Additionally, we expect to start supplying to some local boutiques as we get more established. The Middle East market has aesthetic and cultural similarities to ours (India's) and we hope to gain customers who have not been exposed to our brand as yet," she added.

To a question about the brand's expansion strategy, she said Ritu Kumar is keen to expand its presence in the region.

"As a brand we are always looking for opportunities to grow and tap new and existing markets. We are currently expanding our exclusive brand outlets at the pace of one to two per month. This year we will be making our push into department stores and key franchise locations," she said.

About the brand performance, she said the Ritu Kumar brand expanded rapidly in 2015 and 2016, at a rate of 30 per cent year-on-year growth.

"All our brands grew at approximately the same rate. We also began our international expansion in earnest and have opened four stores in the last 12 months," she said, adding that the brand's e-commerce sales are also growing rapidly too at over 50 per cent per annum and it is expected that it will be continuing over the next year.

"We hope to make a larger impact in the Middle East in the coming years. We began operations in the UAE with a flagship store at BurJuman Centre in January 2014. Following up on its success we are just going to open our latest outlet at Dubai Festival City Mall," she added.

About the domestic market, she said India is, indeed, a huge market and an important one too for the brand. She said India has evolved since past few decades and so have the choices and preferences of people.

"We have grown our brand in accordance to this change that is increasingly driving demand for high-end quality clothing," she said.

To a question about the brand's market share in India, she said it is impossible to estimate the market share as the marketplace is highly fragmented in India.

"We are proud to say we are the largest premium designer brand in the country with 50 plus self-run stores," Kumar concluded.

What Indian fashion brand offers

Ritu Kumar design house offers three brands -- Ri, Ritu Kumar and Label, each catering to a different segment.

Ritu Kumar is a flagship brand which caters to the 30-plus age group. It is for a refined premium to luxury customer.

Label is a youth fashion brand for the 20-30-year old age group. It is an urban fashion brand.

Ri is an occasion wear and couture brand. It primarily caters to the upper end of the bridal and evening segment and is appropriate across age groups.

muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com