Retail footfall in the city is projected to grow in the next few years

Calcutta might witness a welcome spurt in shop-stops in the next few years, provided franchisees get their brands and location right.

A two-day interface between brands and franchisees organised by Franchise India and India Franchise Association in the city recently threw up the verdict that contrary to popular belief, Calcutta is emerging as an important destination for many retail brands.

“The city has been very successful in franchising in the education and services sector. It is now gaining ground in apparel and F&B too. There has been a 30-35 per cent growth in franchising in the past year in this city,” Sachin Marya of Franchise India told the conclave.

Col. (retd) Upendra Sachdev of Indian Franchise Association felt since Calcutta was “relatively a virgin territory compared with Delhi, which is saturated with franchises”, there’s a lot of scope for growth.

Some brands are really bullish on the city and are moving fast to fill in the gaps. “We have about 10 franchises and four company-owned stores in Calcutta. We are looking at opening another four to five outlets in the city this year,” said N.P. Singh, the director (retail projects), Samsonite.

The brand that has a 70 per cent share of the pan-India business pie in the Rs 5,000-plus luggage segment, stressed that its growth in Calcutta was on a par with other cities.

Local retailers who have been doing business in town for years, however, sounded a word of caution when it comes to choosing the right brands for franchising.

“Experience shows only mid-segment brands like a Levi’s or a Benetton would do consistently well in Calcutta, while the city is yet to warm up to relatively high-end brands like a Guess or a Next,” Kamal Jain, the city-based franchisee for Benetton and Adidas, told Metro.

Not just the stature of the brands, the location has to be dead-right for business to bloom, concur city retailers (refer to the latest casualty Odyssey).

“Of course, Calcutta has the advantage of lower rentals and thinner pay-packets for retail hands, compared with a Bangalore or a Mumbai. Still landlords have showed a stubborn streak of late, particularly at high-street properties, and that doesn’t augur well for high-value standalone outlets,” pointed out Vijay Dugar of CS Trade Link, franchisee for Reebok and Levi’s.

Of course, the spending power of the city is still seen to be way behind that of a Pune or a Hyderabad. Nonetheless, if Calcutta continues to languish at the bottom of the priority heap, it’s not always because of consumer behaviour, but since it’s the “only city in the east”.

Explained Rishi Bajoria of Subway: “The east is the last zone to be targeted because Calcutta is the sole big city here. After Calcutta, the next big city in the zone is Guwahati, where there’s even less steam in the market. So brands target the west, north or even south, before turning their gaze to the east.”

Bajoria was quick to point out that when Subway first opened in Calcutta, it recorded the highest sales in the country. “Our store in Sector V also has a healthy growth rate and we are looking at opening more stores here,” he reiterated.

There’s a glint in the eyes of the jewellery segment as well. Vikram Bhatt, national franchise manager, Gitanjali Group which markets brands like D’Damas, Nakshatra and Asmi, said: “Gitanjali has a strong presence in West Bengal. Our annual business from Calcutta is between Rs 15 and 23 crore, 15 per cent of our national figures, and it is growing at a rate of 25-30 per cent, which is on par with Delhi.”