Cortefiel opens first stores in India

After announcing last December a distribution partnership deal with Tablez Retail to enter India, Cortefiel group has opened its first retail stores. The contract will see 60 store openings in India, as well as nearby Sri Lanka.

On July 17, mixed apparel retailer Springfield and lingerie chain Women’secret debuted inside the Phoenix MarketCIty shopping centre, located in the city of Bangalore.

In autumn, the Spanish group, which also owns the brands Corefiel, Pedro del Hierro and Fifty Factory – but not in the India market – will open a further eight stores in Bangalore, as well as in Bombay and Chennai.

By entering India, the Madrid distributor intends to take advantage of the growing appetite of young adults in the country for international brands, focusing its communication on city fashion, as the urbanisation of the country continues at high speed.

The goal of the group is to “achieve rapid growth across the two brands, thanks to the growing percentage of young people in the country,” as well as the explosion of commercial property in the nation.

The group, which according to several sources is in the process of being sold by the three funds that have retained ownership since 2005 (PAI Partners, CVC Capital Partners and Permira), also made its debut in Cuba a few weeks ago, setting up a Women’secret store in Havana.

Sales at Cortefiel, which boasts more than 2,000 stores across 90 countries, recorded an increase of 3.1%, to 1.13 billion euros for the year ending February 28.