Lifestyle set to join the party

Lifestyle International is all set to cash in on the mall boom in the country with ambitious expansion plans lined up.

The six-store chain is aiming to establish fourteen outlets across the country by 2007 and push the turnover from Rs 135 crore (Rs 1.35 billion) to Rs 650 crore (Rs 6.5 billion) in the same period.

Lifestyle International, the Indian arm of the Dubai-based Landmark group, currently runs stores in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon and Mumbai.

The group now intends to take their operations to tier B cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Cochin, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Lucknow.

Their immediate expansion plans involve another store in Mumbai by October, which will be followed by one in Noida and another in west Delhi next year.

The group which started its operations in Chennai in 1999 with a stand-alone store has adopted the mall model for expansion.

"It makes more sense when you think of issues like parking space, which is a huge constraint in the metros. Malls have a host of attractions such as theaters and eateries that draw in crowds and that works well for us," said Kumar Seetharaman, managing director, Lifestyle International.

The group recently inaugurated a new outlet in the Phoenix Mills complex, their second store in Mumbai.

"We started operations in Chennai with the understanding if something can work in a conservative market like that then it can work anywhere in the country. It took us some time to enter the Mumbai market because property is not easy to come by here.

"But now that we are here, our outlets will come up in quick succession and we will do our best to profit from this market. Studies have shown that disposable incomes are on a upswing in the metros and Mumbai leads the pack," said V Muralidharan, vice-president, Lifestyle International.

Lifestyle International spent Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) on its Phoenix Mills store, Rs 6 crore (Rs 60 million) of which were spend on the fit outs alone which were imported from Italy.

The new store devotes an entire floor to the 'Home' section and Kumar reckons that this will be the store's unique selling proposition.