Kewal Kiran to expand K-Lounge chain to 180 by end-fiscal

Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKC), promoters of the 'Killer' brand of jeans and denim wear, plans to scale-up its K-lounge stores to 180 by end of FY 10.

Presently, KKC has 136 K-lounge stores across the country.

"We are planning to open 40-50 stores by end of this fiscal," KKC's chairman and managing director, Kewalchand Jain told PTI here.

The company would be investing around Rs25 crore, all costs included, for all the outlets, he said.

Most of the outlets would be opened on a franchise basis and the company plans to expand into Tier II and III towns, Jain said.

"The investment will not be huge as we will be opening most of the outlets on franchise basis. Around Rs50 lakh will be needed per store," he said.

The company, which exports its brands like Killer jeans, Lawman, Easies and Intergriti to markets in Asia, the Middle-East and CIS, has no plans to expand its overseas network.

"India is an emerging market and the growth potential here is immense, and hence we plan to focus strongly on the domestic market," Jain said.

Revenues earned from exports constitutes only a small 4-5% of total revenues, he said.

KKC was the first Indian company to take its demin brand 'Killer' to the international market in 1989.

The company has posted a net profit of Rs11.5 crore in the second quarter this fiscal, up 109.7% as against the year-ago period, Jain said.

Attributing this improvement to the implementation of cost control measures and a better product mix, Jain said he was confident that the company would put up a healthy performance this fiscal.