Aero Club, which sells footwear, apparel and accessories under the Woodland brand, is being forced to rationalize its store count/expenses. However, it will expand its online business at the same time.
The company currently has an exclusive retail chain of over 600 stores in a CO-CO (company owned, company operated) model.
The company is also renegotiating rentals for its existing stores. At the same time, to compensate, Aero Club is expanding its online business.
Due to the lockdown customers were not stepping out to shop and were turning to online platforms. This trend helped the company register 40-50 percent growth in online sales. Post-lockdown, Aero Club has witnessed momentum picking up for both apparel and footwear.
Aero Club plans to expand its online business to reach out to the masses with its range, over and above the key styles offered by e-commerce partners. It has started seeing demand reviving for both apparel and footwear. Singh feels the festive season will help it achieve at least 40 percent of its FY21 revenue target.
The company closed FY20 with almost Rs 1,300 crore in revenue as against Rs 1,250 crore for FY19. Almost 60 percent of the turnover came from footwear and the rest from apparel and accessories.
