US casual-wear giant Gap to launch 40 stores in India
Friday, 22 August 2014
US casual-wear retail giant Gap Inc says it will open 40 stores in India, calling the expansion ‘an important next step’ in its global growth strategy. The San Francisco-based company, known for its relaxed-style denim and other attire, is the latest foreign company to enter India to tap its increasingly brand-conscious and expanding middle-class. ‘India is an emerging, vibrant market and an important next step in our global expansion strategy,’ Gap global president Steve Sunnucks said in a statement late Thursday. Gap will launch the first franchise-operated stores in the national capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai in 2015. The two big cities boast thriving shopping scenes. Gap, which made the announcement as it reported second-quarter profit rose 25 per cent to $303 million from a year earlier, has already been expanding quickly in neighbouring China. It expects to have 110 Gap stores in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan by the end of 2014, while the Gap brand is already present in nearly 50 countries. Gap will tie up with Arvind Lifestyle Brand, part of leading textile-maker Arvind Ltd, to open its franchised outlets in India, long one of the US firm's top global product-sourcing sites, according to AFP.