Victorinox plans ₹80-crore investment to open 35 stores.

Swiss knife and accessory maker Victorinox has outlined aggressive expansion plans here over the next three years and is looking to open 35 stores by 2018 with an investment of ₹80 crore.

“We will open 35 stores by 2018, and will invest about ₹80 crore,” Colonel Chandhoke, Managing Director and CEO, Victorinox, told PTI.

The company is also looking at more than doubling its revenues to ₹ 200 crore from ₹75 crore at present, he added.

It plans to open 20 stores in 2016, in four metro cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai and will open 10 more stories in tier-II cities in 2017, and the remaining 5 stores in 2018, Chandhoke said.

“We have already signed on 14 stores, and four more will come up by mid-June this year,” he added.

Victorinox is opening 'concept stores' under the brand Gutt Reise using a franchise and distribution model, where it will display its knives and travel gear predominantly, besides other products of their global brand partners.

'Once we've established over 30 stores we will open Victorinox brand stores,' he said.

The company will not retail the watches under Victorinox brand in these stores, but will continue to push watch sales in conventional and modern trade, which accounts for about 35 per cent of the turnover.

“Currently, our knives, watches and travel gear account for an equal percentage of sales. However, I expect the travel gear segment to account for 50 per cent of sales,” Chandhoke said.

Victorinox is also set to launch its own line of apparel in the next two years, which account for 10-15 per cent of the overall global turnover of the company, he added.

Besides, it will launch the Wenger watches from among its international brands in the country later this year, he said.

HBL