Aim to take Liberty annual revenue to Rs 1,000 crore by 2020: Anupam Bansal
Executive Director - Retail, Liberty shoes, believes celebrity endorsements are helpful but not so much in the scheme of their current strategy
Liberty, the Indian footwear brand, is currently on an expansion mode with plans to open 100 new stores in the ongoing fiscal year. Anupam Bansal, Executive Director - Retail, Liberty shoes, has played a key role in building and creating Liberty’s image from being a family footwear to a lifestyle brand. Bansal has been responsible for spearheading and creating a strong retail team for Liberty Shoes. In conversation with exchange4media, he revealed the company’s plans for this fiscal year, marketing strategy and more. Excerpts:
Tell us more about your plans to increase the number of stores in the current fiscal year. Which markets will Liberty will be focusing on the most?
In the current fiscal year, we are planning to open around 100 stores. Each year we have been systematically setting annual sales targets. These have been further divided in terms of product development needs and retail expansion needs. The bifurcation is then seen in terms of the long-term perspectives of markets that need development, the ones that need consolidation, and then a future course of action is set. In the next few years, we see our brand interfacing with a much larger group of customers spread across tier 2 cities and we will add about 100 new stores to deliver consumer delight. At present, we have around 400 stores, out of which 150 are company-owned and remaining are franchise stores.
What’s your marketing budget for this year and how much of it goes into digital marketing?
For the current fiscal year our budget for digital marketing is 10% of the entire budget. The high ROI model of stores helped us expand rapidly and nearly all of them are profitable.
How far do you see celebrity endorsements as a beneficial marketing tool for Liberty? Why has the brand has not roped in any celebrity after Hrithik Roshan?
In the current growth phase that Liberty is, there are some strategic steps that are being taken for facilitating the long-term goals. Celebrity endorsements are helpful but not so much in the scheme of our strategy currently. People are looking to purchase more shoes, the market is growing and that’s what keeps the brand alive. It’s definitely challenging because the consumer has started to become more demanding, it keeps us on our toes and always motivates us to innovate even more.
Any particular reason why Liberty has not been very active in the advertising space lately?
Our advertising plans are set for the coming months, as are our digital initiatives. We are also coming out with a big campaign ‘Chal Badh Chal’, which will hit the Indian market soon.
Being such an old brand how do you make sure to win the trust of consumers despite growing presence of competing brands in the market?
Each brand that comes into the market offers a certain distinctive proposition. We have an undisputed platform of comfort, which our footwear is known for. With some new products that we have introduced, we see the fashion quotient also increasing with our brand.
What is your revenue mix?
The company’s current annual revenue stands at about Rs 600 crore and it aims to take it to Rs 1,000 crore by 2020. The USP of this business is its fast payback and the quick break-even point.
At some key markets, where the rentals are very high, franchise options do not really work out. There are only COCO stores, which work out in favour, but for the remote and developing markets where capex is limited and ROI is better, we definitely opt for the franchise route for our business.
How seriously is the company is exploring the e-commerce space and what percentage of your sales comes from online?
Our online sales are very encouraging. We have been able to cater to a youthful and fashion conscious customer base online. We tracks our repeat purchases, which leads to encouraging results. Our marketing team aggressively runs online marketing campaigns that have yielded good results.
How do you see the growth trajectory of the Indian footwear market two years from now?
We see a lot of churn happening in the footwear space. These are being affected by governmental policies as they are pro-industry and make it a business worth investing in. As a popular industry for job creation, it has been getting due focus of the policy makers. Even the retailing investment policies will help upgrade the industry standards in the coming years.
Tell us more about your plans to increase the number of stores in the current fiscal year. Which markets will Liberty will be focusing on the most?
In the current fiscal year, we are planning to open around 100 stores. Each year we have been systematically setting annual sales targets. These have been further divided in terms of product development needs and retail expansion needs. The bifurcation is then seen in terms of the long-term perspectives of markets that need development, the ones that need consolidation, and then a future course of action is set. In the next few years, we see our brand interfacing with a much larger group of customers spread across tier 2 cities and we will add about 100 new stores to deliver consumer delight. At present, we have around 400 stores, out of which 150 are company-owned and remaining are franchise stores.
What’s your marketing budget for this year and how much of it goes into digital marketing?
For the current fiscal year our budget for digital marketing is 10% of the entire budget. The high ROI model of stores helped us expand rapidly and nearly all of them are profitable.
How far do you see celebrity endorsements as a beneficial marketing tool for Liberty? Why has the brand has not roped in any celebrity after Hrithik Roshan?
In the current growth phase that Liberty is, there are some strategic steps that are being taken for facilitating the long-term goals. Celebrity endorsements are helpful but not so much in the scheme of our strategy currently. People are looking to purchase more shoes, the market is growing and that’s what keeps the brand alive. It’s definitely challenging because the consumer has started to become more demanding, it keeps us on our toes and always motivates us to innovate even more.
Any particular reason why Liberty has not been very active in the advertising space lately?
Our advertising plans are set for the coming months, as are our digital initiatives. We are also coming out with a big campaign ‘Chal Badh Chal’, which will hit the Indian market soon.
Being such an old brand how do you make sure to win the trust of consumers despite growing presence of competing brands in the market?
Each brand that comes into the market offers a certain distinctive proposition. We have an undisputed platform of comfort, which our footwear is known for. With some new products that we have introduced, we see the fashion quotient also increasing with our brand.
What is your revenue mix?
The company’s current annual revenue stands at about Rs 600 crore and it aims to take it to Rs 1,000 crore by 2020. The USP of this business is its fast payback and the quick break-even point.
At some key markets, where the rentals are very high, franchise options do not really work out. There are only COCO stores, which work out in favour, but for the remote and developing markets where capex is limited and ROI is better, we definitely opt for the franchise route for our business.
How seriously is the company is exploring the e-commerce space and what percentage of your sales comes from online?
Our online sales are very encouraging. We have been able to cater to a youthful and fashion conscious customer base online. We tracks our repeat purchases, which leads to encouraging results. Our marketing team aggressively runs online marketing campaigns that have yielded good results.
How do you see the growth trajectory of the Indian footwear market two years from now?
We see a lot of churn happening in the footwear space. These are being affected by governmental policies as they are pro-industry and make it a business worth investing in. As a popular industry for job creation, it has been getting due focus of the policy makers. Even the retailing investment policies will help upgrade the industry standards in the coming years.
