Talwalkars - GYMs to Premium Health Clubs

Talwalkars' Better Value Fitness Ltd which had announced its tie up with Pantaloon Retail India Ltd for GYMs at Mall is now venturing into premium health clubs. The company is in talks with an European Major for a 50-50 joint venture.

Mr. Prashant, MD of Talwalkars said,

We would be floating an equal JV with an European company which is a manufacturer of health and spa related products. The purpose is to graduate from health clubs to having an exclusive clubs in the area of health and fitness.

After the tie-up with Pantaloon Retail, Talwalkar now has access to many malls in the country where it will launch premium health clubs as well. The facilities planned at these clubs include - spa, indoor swimming pool, restaurant focused on healthy diet and food. The membership for these clubs also comes at a premium price - Rs 25,000. The first three clubs will open for business in Mumbai. Corporate membership is also on the cards :-)

Talwalkars operates 45 gyms and the figure is likely to touch 60 by the end of this year. They also operate on franchisee model.

Amante to embrace Indian Women

Sri Lanka based intimate apparel manufacturer, MAS Holdings has big plans for retailing Lingerie in India. MAS is a big league player and is a major supplier to Victoria's Secret.

MAS has launched the Indian operations under the brand name Amante. This brand has been specifically designed for the Indian women. Targeted at Middle and Upper-Middle class, the Amante Lingerie collection will be made available in the price range of Rs 295 to Rs 995. Just like how Moods gave the Indian men a punchline - Act with Confidence, Amante has launched Confidence collection which accounts for 60% of its merchandise priced between Rs 495 and Rs 695.

Amante Lingerie will be made available at Lifestyle and Departmental stores such as Shopper's Stop, regional multi-brand outlets such as Hi-Style and Mermaid in Chennai and gradually through franchisee and exclusive Lingerie outlets.

Organised retailing of Lingerie still has a long way to go as the market is mere Rs 320 crore and MAS wants to encash on this, with the retail boom in India.

New Vimal Launch with 3 Sub-brands for Diwali

The "Only Vimal" advertise makes my memories fresh about Dhirubhai Ambani sponsored - Reliance Cup. Mukesh Ambani will now re-launch the new Vimal. We have definite information that the brand will be sub-categorized targeting different sections of the Indian consumers.Vimal will be made available in 3 different categories to cater to every Indian consumer.

• Vimal Red -Popular pricing for wide section of mens market
• Vimal White - Premium and Trendy Range
• Vimal Black - The elite designer wear, specially designed by Mr. Maurizio Bonas.

All the three brands will be launched at the time of Diwali in 20 odd exclusive stores. Reliance Retail stores will sell Vimal Red and White brands but for the Vinal Black, you need to step into one of the exclusive stores.

The stores are being renovated and they promise ultimate and never before shopping experience to the Indian consumer. Bollywood and Cricket personalities are likely to be brand ambassadors for the same.

Reliance Retail also unveiled its Private Labels and Garment Brands in the Indian fashion street.

Private Labels - Panda for Infant & Toddlers, Trendz for Boys and Girls and Sparsh for Women
Exclusive Men's Wear - DNMX (Denim and T-shirts), Netplay (Casuals)and Network (Officewear)

Aristocratic pens from Just in Vogue Lifestyle Retailer

Just in Vogue, the Indian Lifestyle retailer has set its eyesight on the Luxury and Elite Pen market for High Networth Individuals [HNI] in India. Just In Vogue has acquired exclusive franchisee for brands such as Waterman, Sheaffer and Cross.

Mr. Manoj Subu, Marketing Head @ Just in Vogue said,

The pen market in India is growing at 9% YoY and is estimated to be $400 million market. Small organised players command 60% of the market share while the rest is unorganized. Most HNIs buy pens while they are on a trip abroad because their are no trusted Indian retailers in the luxury pen segment.

However, we checked the website of Waterman and found Luxor as its contact in Bangalore located @ Brigade Towers. So also their are vendors for waterman in India @ Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, Noida and Jaipur.

Waterman is one of the oldest pen manufacturer surviving today. Their pens in sterling Silver and Gold range between Rs 200,00 to Rs 400,000. The other elite branded pens average at around Rs 50,000.

Related Reading:
Luxor Signature Retail Stores in India.

MAC Cosmetics Pampers Indian Women

World renowned M.A.C Cosmetics is pampering the Indian women unveiling its Winter collection in Mumbai. This couldn't have come at a better time, its festival time in India when Women are flush with funds.

Top picks from the MAC store in Mumbai are,
Blue-grey shadow with MAC Eye Shadow X4 in Gentle Fume, Caramel lips using MAC Lipstick in Sparks Can Fly. [Price Ranges for the above said products from Rs 900 to Rs 1200] Accentuating Cream Eyeliner in rich brown costs Rs 900 and Automatic Lip Crayon in Brown, Rs 1,100. For the elite Indian lady, they have Givenchy Prismessime Eyes 9 Colour Eye Shadow in Cache Cache at Rs 2,300.

There is only one M-A-C stores in India located in Mumbai at Dynamix Mall, Juhu Scheme. If you want to continue your elite shopping experience, then a Girard-Perregaux watch is a must for your collection.

Now Metro jumps into Private Label

India's first and leading wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry has announced to step up its private labels in India. The company has zeroed in on four categories, local Kiranas [your neighborhood retailer in India], mom-and-pop-stores, restaurants and hotels for enhancing its private labels business.

Currently Metro has two brands - ARO targeted at kiranas and mom-and-pop stores. HoReCa targeted at restaurants and hoteliers. Metro is planning to trap the lucrative Dairy business including liquid milk segment. [Heritage Foods Fresh @ stores has also launched dairy private labels in dairy segment]

Mr. Martin Dlouhy, MD of Metro India said,

The share of purchase by hotels in India is very low compared to our distribution centres globally. However, there are 12 million mom-and-pop stores in India providing a good customer base for our private labels.

Metro will also launch private labels in Sportswear - Active brand, Apparels - Authentic brand, Lamertazzi - Leather products.

Metro started its operations in the Retail Capital of India-Bangalore followed by store launch at Kukatpalli, Hyderabad. Kolkatta will get its first metro store at East Jadavpur and the Mumbai store is coming at LBS Road, Bhandup.

Girard-Perregaux Watches in India

In a recently concluded retail conference at New Delhi, a lady representing American retailer said that - Once upon a time India represented 15+% of the World's GDP and it has all the potential to be the largest Retail market in the world, in the next 2 decades. Girard-Perregaux one of the oldest Swiss watch manufacturers since 1791 is now in India.As Ladies are more and more interested in and fascinated by the watched they wear; this is why Girard-Perregaux has created truly beautiful timepieces whose designs as renowned as their finest manufactory-made automatic movements, guaranteeing ultimate comfort.

Girard Perregaux [G-P] has opened an exclusive watch boutique in India's most Luxurious retail destination - Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai. Masterpiece come at a price and so do G-P watches. They are priced upwards of $2,000 :-)

Raymond Be: Stores to be Re-Launched

Raymond Ltd is withdrawing its designer label Be: brand of stores and will relaunch without the "niche" tag, which the brand has been associated. The re-branding exercise is to reach wider audience in India, especially after Corporate Indians voted Local Brands as their Hot favorites in a Poll by Time magazine.
Currently Be: brand of stores are located in - Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, two each in Bangalore, Mumbai and three in Delhi. Mumbai and Delhi stores have been shut down.

An official spokesperson of Raymond India said,

Be: will cease to be a niche brand. Be: will be made into a more relevant brand and will address a wider population ulkike in the past where the brand was meant to address a niche set of people. Be: will not be a mass brand an d the decision to associate designers with it is being evaluated.

Mr. Gupta, president of Raymond Ltd said,

There was nothing wrong with the Be: brand but there are number of women's wear brand that Raymond already has - Color Plus and Park Avenue which can be part of Be: tomorrow.

Be: brand came into existence in 2001. Designers such as Priyadarshini Rao, Rohit Bal, Rajesh Singh and Raghavendra Rathore were associated with it. Merchandise was priced between Rs 600 to Rs 6,000.

Donut Baker in Bangalore, India

This news is simply unbelievable. Are we blessed Bangaloreans that we will get to relish Fresh Doughnuts from Donut Bakers :-) Yes, its confirmed news that Global Franchise Architects [GFA], owner of restaurant brand Pizza Corner will launch 20 Donut Baker outlets in the Retail Capital of India, Bangalore.

The price points are stretched from Rs 9 to Rs 29 for 47 varieties of doughnuts. The first outlet is expected to go live this week and 4 more outlets within a month. GFA is hunting for locations in or near malls and high streets.

GFA is also planning to launch its ice-cream, Cream & Fudge Factory next month. The first store will open for business at Kormangala, Bangalore. The offering will be premium as each ice-cream can be customized and there will be fewer outlets of this brand. Tentatively they will be priced between Rs 60 to Rs 90.

Gift Vouchers for Corporate Gifting

Its festival time in India now. It can never be a better time to say "Thank You" to your Friends, Business Associates and Employees. Until the establishment of large retail outlets, most Corporate Gifting was in the form of Bonuses or Cheques. Pantaloon Retail India Ltd with its multi-brand
retailing strategy has introduced retail Corporate Gift Vouchers for medium and large business houses. You can buy Gift Vouchers for Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Central Mall, Pantaloon Fashion, Home Town, eZone, etc. Contacts to BUY Corporate Gift Vouchers, [Do negotiate for discounts, depending on the volume :-)]

• North - Somya Sharma - 98734 99161 or Suneet Singh 93500 95414
• West - Ajay Pawar - 98905 06620 or Saurab Singh - 99249 87918
  
• South - Ram - 99860 26177
• East - Nirmalya Ghosh - 93312 99682

Individuals don't be disheartened. You can BUY Gift Vouchers for the above said brands on Future Bazaar.

Himalaya Cosmetics + Health Products Retail Expansion

Bangalore based Himalaya Drugs Company Ltd has set a new mantra for expansion - differentiated products that will marry science with cosmetics.

The company started retailing with exclusive stores and have 150 stores / parlors and they plan to add another 150 by the end of 2009. They also have the concept of shop-in-shops in large format departmental stores such as FoodWorld in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Typically these shops are just 70-90 sft in size but do brisk business for the company. Mr. Saket Gore, head consumer Division, said,

There are30 shop-in-shops now. The company has 130 products across its various divisions including pharmaceuticals and consumer products.

Himalaya's consumer division is focused on skin, hair and oral care. It will very soon launch "neem" based face wash, face pack and soaps as well. The neem face wash is one of the largest selling products in the market.

Himalaya has went for a complete brand make over. They launched their products under the brand name "Ayurvedic Concepts" but started individual branding once their products were known to Indian consumers.

Specialty Format Verticals and Store Details

Finally Reliance Retail has announced its plans for Specialty retail. The company wants to enter segments of health & Wellness, Jewellery, Home Decor and Solutions, Books and Music and Apparels.
Reliance Fresh may have met with angry protesters in large corners of India. However, the company is likely to have a an ultra-smooth roll out for specialty retailing and hence the urgency to enter the market. Here is an exclusive map of the proposed new formats, store sizes and No of stores the company plans to open by 2010.

• Health and Wellness - 5,500-15,000 sft. 4,000 stores across PAN India
• Jewellery - 6,500-14,000 sft. 150 stores, project headed by Nita Ambani
• Home Decor and Solutions - 100,000-250,000 sft. 13 stores mostly in Tier-I cities
• Books & Music - 5,000 - 15,000 sft. 23 stores, Mostly in state capitals
• Reliance Mini Mart - 11,000 - 50,000 sft. 200 cities across India
• Apple iStores - 2,000 - 5,500 sft. Sell exclusive Apple products. iPods, iPhones, etc
  
• Apparels - 30,000-50,000 sft. 100 stores

Reliance will debut its first mini hypermarket - Reliance Mini Mart at Amritsar by the end of November. This will be followed by launch in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Chennai. With the exception of Health & Wellness center, other stores will have a heavy mix of private labels and will account for more than 50% of the merchandise.

Reliance Health & Wellness will mainly focus on selling medicines, personal care, diet supplements and other wellness products. The first store will be opened in Hyderabad later this month. Reliance is the exclusive vendor for Apple's products through Apple iStores in India.

Readers across the Globe, who want to cash in on the Retail Boom in India by partnering with Reliance, can register as a Supplier.

Related Reading:
Exclusive Coverage of Reliance Mart Opening in Ahmadabad.
Reliance Fresh Opening Day Pictures, Hyderabad.

FMCG Branding Bug Bites Future Group

Last week covered how Heritage Foods / Fresh @ has launched its own private labels in the Dairy products category. Now its Pantaloon Retail / Future group which is venturing into building FMCG brands. They will be taking their food and beverage private label venture to the next level.

Subham Ray, GM of Future Brands said,

Future group has several private labels retailed through Food Bazaar outlets. These brands were first introduced under the Food Bazaar brand. Having realized the potential of these products, we have taken away the store's name from the main label and have maintained only at the back, so as to give these products a treatment of proper FMCG product line.

Private Labels from Future group in this category are,

• Fresh-n-Pure - Dairy products - Butter and Ghee
• Tasty Treats - processed food - Jams, Snacks, Namkeens, Pickles
• Care Mate - Home care products
• Clean Mate - Cleaing products from diapers to dish washing bars

The idea is to promote these brands and develop them like independent FMCG products. The biggest consumer attraction factor is pricing 8-10% below the prices of competitors. Pre-Diwali cleaning is a big event across house holds and thus Pantaloon Retail plans to introduce - Clean Mate as an FMCG brand within the next few days.

They are also preparing a blue print to launch Tasty Treat. You can recall that Big /Food Bazaar stopped retailing Frito Lay brand and thus Tasty Treat is a well accepted brand in the market now.

Sony Pictures' in Talks with Reliance for a Record Deal

Sony Pictures and Home entertainment is in advanced stages of talks with Reliance Retail / Mart to offer its content on DVD and VCDs in the Indian retail market at unbelievable prices. It is said that prices of vernacular dubbed VCDs will be slashed by 60%. Sony pictures has dropped the prices of its dubbed VCDs from Rs 199 to Rs 69 on popular blockbusters like Spiderman series available in Hindi and Tamil. In all Sony has 110 titles dubbed to Indian vernaculars which will be sold under the new pricing during this festive season.


Sony already has a counter at Reliance Mart, Ahmedabad and has seen encouraging sales from the store. Sony wants space in Reliance Digital and Reliance specialty stores for Books and Movies. Mr. N Muthuram, country Head, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment said,

There will be special schemes and tie-up with Reliance retail. Currently it is our biggest client on the number of footfalls at its stores. We are evaluating on having schemes and ocassion based promotions at Reliance stores. We may also release exclusive titles of home entertainment through them.

Sony pictures has gone local with Bollywood blockbuster - Saawariya and has a huge retail promotion on the same. Sony also plans to introduce 400 titles from around the world in India this year. They plan to introduce DVDs as well for this content.

Big Mac's - India Expansion Plans

McDonad's which has tasted good success in India with 123 outlets wants to extend its lead by opening more outlets across India and compete with Indian fast food retailer - Jumbo King, known for selling Vada Pav and Lassi.
McDonalds India has chalked an expansion plan for the next 3 years where it will spend more than Rs 300 crore. The company plans to open new outlets at Airports, Railway Stations and across Indian Highways. Mr. Vikram Bakshi, Managing Director of McDonalds India said,

We are aiming to triple the number of our outlets in the next 3 to 5 years. We already have a tie-up with BPCL & HPCL [Gas Stations] which enables us to be present on the highways and increasing our reach by being on Airports and Railway Stations is an important element of our expansion.

McDonalds opened its first Airport outlet at Terminal 1A, New Delhi Domestic Airport. Another family restaurant opened for business today at Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.

Heritage to sell Branded Butter, Ghee, Ice-Cream and Paneer

Heritage foods, owner of retail chain Fresh @ has added a new dimension to its retailing strategy. The company told us that they have readied a host of products - Flavored milk, Butter, Ghee, Ice-Cream, Paneer and Curds in Cups similar to those being sold in the western markets as Yogurt [can be used as a dessert].

Mr. M S Rao, President of Heritage Foods said,

We are going to sell these products through our Fresh @ outlets and multi-outlet supermarket chain such as Reliance Retail. We would also sell to other interested retailers through our distributors. We have been selling some of these products in a small way in certain pockets. But what prompted us is our retail reach and increasing demand for milk in longer shelf life formats.

The company will first roll out these products in all its 40 Fresh @ retail stores by the end of this month. The company wants to strengthen its base in the markets of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Donear's DCot to compete Koutons Brand

Donear Industries Ltd is all set to enter the retail market in India with DCot brand. This is a 180 degree shift in the company's strategy, because earlier they had said they will compete with Reliance's Vimal. The company which is on a major expansion spree is also setting up a new plant in Surat. Mr. Ajay Agarwal of Donear Industries said,

We are planning to set up a high-end cotton fabric manufacturing unit in Surat for our new brand DCot as well as to supply other retail brands in the domestic and export markets.

Inspired by the success of Koutons, Donear is all set to roll out its own brand DCot. The company is looking to open 25-30 franchisee owned DCot stores in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, and Gujarat in the first phase. The company plans to rollout 100 more stores starting March-2008 and by the end of 2009, they plan to have 400 stores on PAN-India basis.

Information about DCot franchisee stores - Each store will have an average area of 800-1000 sft in size. DCot will be a discount brand and will have whole range of clothing, accessories and footwear for men. The company has already signed cricketer Yuvraj Singh as the brand ambassador. You can also contact Donear Indutries.

Bombay Dyeing's Global Plans

Nusli Wadia managed Bombay Dyeing which has been struggling for over 2 decades on the Indian turf is now planning to go global. [HaHa!!!] They are planning to supply to specialty retailer bed, Bath and Beyond and also at Wal-Mart, Target and Macy's. [I don't believe Bombay Dyeing has quality products that can be stocked @ Macy's]

Mr. S K Gupta of Bombay Dyeing said,

We might have our own distribution or could even join hands with someone to enter the US market. However, it will only be our sheet sets that we would be selling under the Bombay Dyeing brand.

Coming to the local turf, the company has now woken up that there is a retailing boom in India. They say that they will invest Rs 60 crore to launch 100 company owned stores. Earlier this year we had reported that they are looking forward to ti-up with Multinational retailer, but nothing has concrete has come up yet. Bombay Dyeing is also adding Franchisees in various Indian cities.

[On a side note, the stock is up only because of the vast Land Bank the company has which is inherited and Nusli Wadia nor his sons have contributed anything worth mentioning here. Let me know if I am wrong.]

Private Equity in Indian Retail

Our Retail Analyst has done this exclusive research tracking Private Equity money flowing into the Indian equity. Here are the findings of the research.

• Retail Purchasing Power of Indians - Over 70 mn Indians earn Rs 800,000 a year. This number is all set to rise to 140 mn by 2011.
  
• Organized retail in India is mere 5%
• Clothing Vertical is the largest contributor to organized retailing at 39%.
• Future Capital Holdings has invested $5 mn for a minority stake in Biba Apparels Pvt Ltd
• Avigo Capital Partners has invested $5mn in Spykar Lifestyle
• Citigroup $8mn + UTI $4mn in Primus Lifestyle
  
• Wolfensohn LLC has invested $11 mn in FabIndia for 6% stake
  
• ADM Capital + Blackstone + New Vernon together have invested $25 mn in Brandhouse Retail for 10% stake
  
• Fidelity + Gensis Capital + Artis Capital + Liberty International $33 mn in Provogue India

The promoters of textile company Donear Industries are negotiating with potential investors to sell 10-15% stake in the company and raise at least Rs 1,000mn to fund their foray into retail. Sky is the limit for retailing in India :-)

Brand Saawariya + Espirit Global Lifestyle

Sony Pictures and Future Group together will launch brand Saawariya in over 300 stores across 42 cities across India. Goods include Clothing, Home - Bed / Bath Linen, Beauty Products along with special promotions around the movie for customers. Consumers will get to buy range of cosmetics, caps, badges, wristbands, coffee mugs, and stationery [including calendars, year book, pads, envelopes etc] This launch will coincide with the release of the film Saawariya. You can see Sonam Kapoor & Ranbir Kapoor the lead actors of the movie in the picture above.

In another development, Global lifestyle brand, Esprit has announced its expansion in India across - Kidswear, Bodywear and Lingerie. Esprit has tied up with Aditya Birla Retail in India. Esprit Country Head, Ms Tiwari said,

We plan to increase our consumer base by introducing the new lines in kidswear and bodywear including lingerie. The kidswear is priced between Rs 350 - Rs 1,500 whereas the womens lingerie will be priced at Rs 600 - Rs 3,000.

Just to remind you, Esprit is a lifestyle brand and lingerie design is exclusive and hence expensive, but your search for the best comes to an end in this shop here. They plan to open 15 exclusive shops and 10 shop-in-shop [inside malls or Shopper's Stop or other Lifestyle Retailer] by the end of this fiscal.

Just in Vogue PAN India Expansion

Lifestyle Retail chain - Just in Vogue, with 16 outlets in 8 cities is now planning to add 12 more outlets by March 2008. Currently they have 4 outlets in Mumbai and Gujarat each, 3 in Bangalore, 2 in Hyderabad and one in Pune. The confirmed locations for three new outlets are - Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Hyderabad. They are exploring various locations on Kolkatta and Gurgaon as well.

Just in Vogue has 50 international and national brands at its outlets and mainly cater to watches, jewelery, perfumes, cosmetics and writing instruments. The company is now focusing on the lucrative leather segment especially to pamper the Indian Lady. Just in Vogue will introduce exclusive accessories in leather for ladies - handbags, corporate and party bags, mobile holders, belts etc.

Currently, the company draws 70% of its revenues from watches, 20% from Jewellery and 10% from others. However, 3 years down the line, the company hopes to have 305 of its top line from Watches, 30% from Jewelery and the rest from Mens and Womens accessories.

Fitness One Equipment Retailing + Home Gym Concept

India's leading chain of GYM's Fitness One is now planning foray into fitness equipment retailing according to sources.

The company has tied up with Precor of the US and will also retail its in-house brand, "Propel Fitness". Equipment manufacturing of propel range is outsourced to Taiwan and Korea. The first retail outlet will come up in Bangalore followed by Chennai within the next few days.

The company has also ventured into Home Gym segment. Mr. Anand, MD of Fitness One said,

If one cannot come to the Gym to exercise, then Fitness One will go to his home. We install and maintain Fitness One equipment at home and will also depute a trainer on a daily basis.

The home GYM must cost anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 500,000 depending on what you opt for.

Fitness One offers Gym, Aerobics, Yoga, Meditation and Weight Management program. Earlier in March, we had reported that the company was also planning to cater to corporate sector in India. They have established Gyms for Cognizant and Gobian Glass already. It also started exclusive Gyms for the Indian women.

The company is looking out for entrepreneurs in Tirupur, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad to run Fitness One centres on a Franchisee model.

Software Engineers hack Retailers Act

The staff of IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS have formed consumer Co-operative establishments to shop at wholesale prices in Metro Cash & Carry outlet @ Kanakapura Road, Bangalore.

Metro, the German retailer is into wholesale retailing in India. Accordingly, Metro can only sell to your neighborhood Kirana, Hotels or other smaller retailer who have valid KST & CST registration.

Here is a photograph of Bangalore Metro retail outlet which is packed with all luxury cars [Ya! right, Kiranawala comes to shop here in Luxury car.] One of the things our retail reporter noticed is most of the expats in Bangalore love to shop in Metro.

India FDi watch has filed a Public Interest Litigation against Metro [Jeez!!! Looks like these guys don't have any other better work to do]. The shady government of Karnataka is supporting the PIL. This puts IT company employees into miserable tight spot as they will no longer be able to enjoy the pleasure of good quality goods.

Witco - Luggage and Handbag Retailer

We have just learnt from our Retail reported that Witco India Pvt Ltd - retailer of Luggage, handbags and Accessories is in talks with PE Funds and investment bankers to fund its retail expansion plans.

Mr. V P Haris, MD Witco said,

Besides private Equity we are also looking at other option of entering into strategic tie-ups with retailers who can provide us space. The abnormal cost of Real Estate has delayed our plans for a while now.

The expansion would require around $8million. The company has launched brands such as Kipling [Belgian Women's Handbag] and Remova [German Luggage Brand]. Witco, which is mainly in premium branded retailing, is in talks with various designers to launch its own brand.