Arvind Strengthens Presence in Retail with Oracle
By CXOtoday Staff
Mumbai, Aug 7, 2008

Megamart, a part of Arvind Ltd. a leader in the development and production of textiles, is strengthening its retail presence. The move is a part of its aggressive growth plans in the fashion and value retailing sectors in India.

The company recently opened the second of its large format value store, Megamart Outlet Center, in Pune (the first being in Chennai) and plans to establish more than 250 large and small format stores across the country over the next three to four years at an investment of more than $ 100 million.

The company has selected Oracle retail merchandising, planning, supply chain and stores to achieve the goal.

"Upon evaluating the retail software market, we identified that the best practices embedded in Oracle Retail applications will help us in many ways, including creating a product mix based on our customers' buying patterns and forecasting customer behavior based on historical data. Oracle Retail will give us a head start as we plan our stores network," said J.Suresh, CEO, Arvind Brands & Retail.

Oracle Retail and other business applications will be deployed through Arvind's network of a centralized distribution center and other regional distribution centers across India.

With this deployment, Arvind expects to increase its inventory turns, improve its forecast accuracy, enable shorter replenishment lead times and overall improve its service levels to the current 93 Megamart stores and Outlet Centers. This will ultimately help ensure that customers at Megamart stores will find the brands, styles and sizes they are looking for, according to a press release.

Arvind has licensing relationships with international brands like Arrow, GANT & US Polo, JV's with VF Corporation with brand portfolio of Lee, Wrangler, Nautica, Jansport, Kipling, Hero by Wrangler & Lee Riders, Tommy Hilfiger and most recently Arvind has tied up with Izod, U.S.Polo, GANT, Pierre Cardin, Hart Schaffner Max and Sansabelt to exclusively design, distribute and retail these brands in India.

The Indian retail market, which is the fifth largest retail destination globally according to industry estimates, is expected to grow from $ 330 billion in 2007 to $ 427 billion by 2010 and $ 637 billion by 2015. Simultaneously, organised retail, which presently accounts for 4 per cent of the total market, is likely to increase its share to 22 percent by 2010.

According to Springboard research, IT revenue from the Indian retail segment measured $ 253 million in 2006 and is expected to grow to $1.07 billion by 2010, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44 percent.


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