Madura Fashion plans to launch retail portal

MUMBAI, Oct 7: Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, a part of diversified Aditya Birla Nuvo Group, is planning to make a foray into the e-commerce space to sell its brands.�In the next six to eight months, we would be looking at introducing an e-commerce channel,� Madura Fashion & Lifestyle Chief Executive Ashish Dixit told.Asked if it will start the new business with select brands or roll it across the board, Dixit said, �We are still evaluating how to go about it.�The company hawks premium brands such as Van Heusen, Peter England, Louis Phillipe, Allen Solly, Esprit.The Aditya-Birla Group company expects the e-commerce venture to drive its sales, especially in cities where retail penetration is quite low.�Clearly there is a demand in lot of towns where brands and retail haven�t penetrated enough. I do see that part driving the growth of e-commerce.�In smaller towns we have seen rapid growth. They are driving large part of growth currently and that is likely to continue for some more time,� he said.The company is also betting big on its brick and mortar format, and will be expanding its outlets. �We keep opening 50 stores for each of our brands and that is something we will continue,� he said.On� diversification plans, Dixit remained tight-lipped but said, �Van Heusen has launched shoes for men two-three months back. It is still early days. We will have to see how it does over a longer period, say six months or a year.�Asked if the company will hike prices, he replied in the negative saying, �There has been a slight increase in the raw material prices in the last few months but it is not significant enough to pass on to end-consumer.� (PTI)