H Mehta, Director, Zudaas France

Sharing the inception, growth, franchise structure and future prospects, H Mehta, Director, Zudaas France, delves into the details of the brand

Neha Malhotra (NM): Kindly brief us about the inception and growth of Zudaas in India?

Hitesh Mehta (HM): Zudaas is a renowned kid’s wear brand from France known for its international style clothing and comfort. Zudaas comes with a complete range of kids wear and accessories for the age group of zero to16 years. Zudaas France has more than 61 fully integrated stores across India.

In India the brand registered its presence in year 2007 when the company opened its first store in Delhi. Attaining success in design and production unit, company has entered in UP, MP, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

NM: How many outlets do you have at present and how many of these are franchised?

HM: At present we have 80 outlets across India out of which around 40 are franchised.

NM: What is the investment and area required to open a Zudaas outlet? What pre requisites does a franchisee need to meet before taking a Zudaas franchise?

HM: The investment is about 7-10 lakh per store. We take 7lakh as security amount (for the stock we supply) and 2-3 lakh will is used by the franchisee for the interior of the store. The investment point is considered second while we decide to appoint a specific franchise at specific location. Our priority is to first check the franchisee whether he can generate good sales or he is just a mere spectator in the process of sales. We prefer that our franchise should put more focus on sales and earn commission. We provide some fixed amount as cushion to his expenses plus more commission percentage. The investment point comes after this process.

NM: What differences do you find in the Indian and the international market?

HM: Internationally customers are brand conscious whereas in India, the situation is different. In India, only five to 10 per cent of the consumers are brand conscious though now the situation has changed as people are now opting for international brands. In the coming years, there can be increase in the percentage of consumers opting for international brands.

NM: How is franchising contributing to the growth of Zudaas in India? 

HM: Franchising helps to enter in to newer zones and cities and explore the local market of a particular region thus helping us to increase our reach.

NM: What are your expansion plans?

HM: We are planning to open 250 stores by the end of March 2010. We are opening both company owned stores and franchise stores, but more focus is being laid on opening franchise stores. We are also planning to enter into family stores which is in process and will take a month’s time at least.