Malaysian retail chain Kioda to enter India with investment plan of $10mn

Malaysian fashion and lifestyle concept retail chain Kioda is planning to enter India, in a joint venture with franchise solutions company Franchise India Holdings Ltd, a top Kioda executive said.

Both the companies will be investing about $10 million over the next three to four years for marketing and expansion and will begin operations in the national capital, starting September 2017.

Over the next five years, the company is planning to open 200-300 concept stores in India, starting with mega cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.
Kioda, which offers a range of products that includes scarves, mittens, leather products, hats, textile items and more. Kioda will source 25-30 per cent of the items it sells from India, while the rest will be imported from Malaysia.

Alvin In, managing director at Kioda said that they founded the company five years ago in association with a Korean designer and have been expanding in Asia ever since. Their stores are based on Korean concept and experience.

They have found the right partner in India now and will start operations soon. He was speaking on the sidelines of ‘Master Franchise Show 2017’ organised by Franchise India.

The company, which currently has presence in Singapore and China apart from Malaysia, plans to expand to additional 13 countries by 2018.

Franchise India Chairman Gaurav Marya said that India offers a large landscape for brands to access the burgeoning consumer market with international brands taking the top tier space in the hierarchy. Their investments in the JV will help them to quickly ramp up across India.

Experts said that the challenge for the brand will be the pricing and affordability of the products as Kioda will be competing with young fashion brands like Forever 21 and H&M.