In an exclusive interview with BW Retail World, Deepak Bansal, the director of Cantabil Retail India, shared his vision for the company, expansion strategies and the company’s sustainable practices
Deepak Bansal, the director of Cantabil Retail India, shares his vision for the company, expansion strategies and the company’s sustainable practices while talking about the company’s long term vision.
In an exclusive chat, Bansal opined that the company is experimenting with different formats. “We are experimenting with formats like the ladies’ collection and it is successfully growing,” he said.
According to Bansal, the company is also planning to enter the athleisure space, with the sportswear and shoe category.
Bansal believes that by coming up with new formats, the brand can really diversify its offering to consumers. “If we are successfully able to scale up that category, then definitely the store size can be much bigger and also the store ambiance will enhance the experience with totally new Cantabil for the customers,” he stated.
In the company’s quarter-third revenue breakup, it was observed that there is a significant gap between mens, womens and kids wear, with 80 per cent of the revenue coming from menswear.
While talking about this gap, he said, “We started as a menswear brand and in around 2008 we started ladies wear in our men’s store only, so it was kind of a unisex brand.”
“But, somehow the customer’s perception was still that the brand caters to menswear only, so to sort out this problem, we have started our own exclusive ladies and kids line, which made the consumer clear that Cantabil also offers ladies and kids wear,” he added.
He said that the response on the exclusive ladies and kids line is great and is beyond the company’s expectations, adding, “In the future, we will grow this number”.
Bansal said that they will be seeing more sales from the ladies and kids section and the company is also planning to open family stores so that customers can get everything in one place.
Additionally, Cantabil Retail is aiming to boost its online sales, “Last year our online sales were around 2.5 per cent. In the coming year, we expect it to go up to 5-6 per cent of the total sales,” Bansal said.
While talking about the company’s target of Rs 1,000 crore in revenue by the year 2025, he said “Major revenue will be coming from the new stores which are opening 7-8 per month. Second revenue source would be online sales because there’s still a gap in offline and online sales.”
Improved business performance in existing stores will also contribute to overall revenue targets, he added.
Furthermore, Bansal also mentioned the various initiatives that Cantabil has taken significant steps to promote sustainability and reduce its environmental impact including using pollution free fuel in its manufacturing unit and only using paper carry bags.
