Pepe Jeans to strengthen its network in India

Denim wear brand, Pepe Jeans is focusing on NCR/Chennai and Bengaluru for further expansion. The chic brand from London has around 200+ Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) and all are franchisee run. It also has 700 Point of Sales (POS) in Multi Brand Outlets (MBO) and has presence in 125+ cities in India.

Kavindra Mishra, Chief Executive Officer, Pepe Jeans India says: “We plan to open 40 new stores by 2015-16. Ur focused territories will be NCR/Chennai and Bengaluru for this year and next year."

Brand’s 50 per cent business is via denim and rest 50 per cent is non-denim. Regarding the franchisees Mishra says: “My brand’s franchisees are just like our partner. After handling so many brands and having an experience of 16 years in the industry, I can confidently say that apparel brands don’t work on RoI. It is all about finding good partners. For Pepe, we don’t look for investors instead we seek excellent partners with local expertise and one who understands retail, fashion and who can add value to the business.”

Pepe Jeans London was founded in 1973 at a stall in Portobello Market (London) where its founders, the Shah Brothers, customized original jeans. A few years after their success, they bought several shops, becoming UK market leaders in the 1980s. Pepe Jeans entered the Indian market in 1989 as a denim and casual wear brand. The brand extended its product offerings and grew into a complete denim wear brand with denim jackets, shirts etc. along with its line of jeans.