UK-based Accessorize London to open up to 10 stores in India every year, targets travel retail space

Currently, the company operates 30 stores in India in cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Goa and Nagpur.

Bengaluru: British fashion accessories brand Accessorize London plans to launch seven to ten stores per year over the next three years in India, with a focus on expanding its presence in the country’s travel retail sector, a a senior company official told IndiaRetailing.

“At the moment, we are prioritizing targeted retail expansion, especially since we had to close a few stores during the pandemic. Now, we are ready to bounce back, with a target of opening around seven to ten stores every year,” said Kumar Saurabh, CEO, Planet Retail Holdings Pvt. Ltd., the master franchisee of Accessorize London in India.

Currently, the company operates 30 stores in India in cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Goa and Nagpur.

The brand plans to open more stores in airports. “Accessorize thrives in high footfall locations due to its appeal as an impulse buy brand,” said Saurabh. “The Indian travel retail landscape is fragmented with many competitors and this initiative helps us emerge as a remarkable brand. »

Accessorize London was founded in 1984 by British businessman Peter Simon with its first store in Covent Garden, London’s shopping and entertainment hub. Building on its local success, the first international store was launched in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1994.

Today, the retailer is present in over 56 markets across the world with approximately 900 stores worldwide.

The brand entered the Indian market in 2006 in partnership with Planet Retail Holdings. Its first two stores opened in the National Capital Region: one at Ambience Mall in Gurgaon and Select City Walk in New Delhi.

In addition to its offline stores, the company sells its products through its direct-to-consumer (D2C) website and various e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Myntra, Nykaa Fashion, Flipkart and Tata CLiQ.

“Since we started as an offline brand, our offline sales currently make up around 60% of our business, with the rest online. While this ratio may change slightly over time, with somewhat greater potential growth online, we do not expect dramatic changes over the next three years,” Saurabh added.

Primarily targeting women aged 25-35, Accessorize London offers approximately 1,200-1,500 stock-keeping units (SKUs) across various categories including bags, jewelry, sunglasses, scarves and hair accessories, with updates every six months.

The company plans to launch more categories in India.

“One category we are looking to introduce is watches, while we are also actively discussing and evaluating the addition of fragrances. We expect to see them within the brand in the next three to six months,” he said.

The spokesperson did not disclose the brand’s financial figures, but for FY25, the brand is targeting 15-20% growth from last year.