‘FRANCHISING IS OUR KEY PILLAR OF GROWTH’

How House of Anita Dongre was introduced to the franchising concept?

Keeping in mind the geographical expansion of tier II and III cities, we felt the need to tap local expertise, and hence, the idea of franchising came through. We strongly believe in growing the business, along with our franchisee partner.

How many franchised and company-owned stores it has right now?

We started franchising in 2011 and currently, we have 164 company-owned and 83 franchisee operated outlet across India and Mauritius. We also have 23 franchise partners working with us.

On what grounds, you select your partners?

The primary criteria we see whether they share the same passion. How involved he is and is he looking at the business as a long-term opportunity and not a short-term investment option. We also look at his existing business portfolio of brands and his reputation in the market.

What kind of training and support do you provide to the franchisees?

We have a robust learning and development team. We provide an extensive training on product, customer service, selling skills every season. The plans are also tailor-made keeping in mind the geographical spread of the country and regional sensibilities. We regularly review the business of our franchise partner, and if a store is not doing well, we address on a case-to-case basis.

What are the company’s franchise expansion plans?

Our expansion strategy through the franchise route remains a key pillar of growth, as we expand aggressively in tier II and III markets. We are planning to expand in North East, Punjab, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

Is international expansion on the cards?

Yes, currently we are operating two stores for Global Desi and one for AND in Mauritius. We have also finalized stores in Sri Lanka and Nepal. We intend to go to other markets namely UAE, Kuwait and Singapore in near future.

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