Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/513366
merchandise labeled as 'Splash,' consis- tent with value, quality and fashion." The formula works, Beig says. "We are a very aspirational brand with a very driven team, and our positioning of product, price and quality allows us to enter new markets, including mature markets," he said. With its presence well established in the Gulf Coast region, Splash has gone on to open stores in In- dia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. "In the last two years, we have opened 16 stores in India, and in some of the best locations," said Beig. "It does very well in India," said Pan- kaj Renjhen, JLL's managing director of retail services in India. "The majority of the spending population is middle class, and Splash is perfectly positioned for them. Splash is a midmarket, fast- fashion brand. The middle-income people are very, very value conscious. They're not so conscious about the latest fashion trend — they buy value. Splash has good merchandise that goes well with people who want to buy value." Splash has a presence at several malls: two in Bangalore, two in Chen- nai, and one each in Chandigarh, Ghatkopar, Hyderabad, Kerala, Mum- bai, Pune and West Delhi. Phoenix Malls, one of India's top developers, has Splash stores at three of its proper- ties: in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune. Splash wants to be in top-end malls like the Forum in Bangalore (owned by Prestige Group) and Select Citywalk (a Select Group property), but "at the right commercial terms," Beig says. "Due to the lack of awareness and high rents, it is extremely difficult to score the most premium of locations," he said. "Mov- ing forward, we have decided that we will take 'A' or 'B' category locations, but those which give us clear visibility." Many retailers find the geography in India quite daunting, experts say. "It's not very easy for any of the international brands to understand this complex conti- nent, because it varies so much from one region to another," said Susil S. Dungar- wal, head of Mumbai-based mall consult- ing firm Beyond Squarefeet. "I think the whole Landmark Group has got it right from day one. They understand the Indian consumer and their needs and wants better than anyone else has done." But Splash had to make a major ad- justment soon after entering India in 1998. Indian women were not "accept- ing the trends we were retailing," Beig recalls. Landmark withdrew Splash from the subcontinent and focused on build- ing the brand in the Middle East. The tactic paid off. "We grew exponentially," Beig said. Then, in 2008, "we decided to revisit the Indian market, and for the first time introduced a franchise model." Splash has five franchise stores in Pakistan, Tanzania and Sri Lanka, plus 16 in India. It operates company-owned stores in the Emirates and in Bah- rain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The chain is hoping to enter even more countries. "Our focus for the com- ing years is to firmly place our footprint in the East and [in] untapped virgin retail markets," said Beig. "We also do believe that there is opportunity for us and we can create excitement in markets of Europe and Eastern Europe." Splash has no presence just now on the European continent, the U.K. or in the U.S., but management is mulling whether to enter these through a franchise or a joint ven- ture, or through a Landmark Group acquisition strategy. The company is leaving its options open. S C T To discuss leasing or franchises, contact Splash CEO Raza Beig at raza.beig @landmarkgroup.com, or Matthew Raml- jak, Splash chief operations officer for retail, at matt.ramljak@landmarkgroup.com. "It does very well in India. The majority of the spending population is middle class, and Splash is perfectly positioned for them." 18 S C T / J u n e 2 0 1 5 r e T a i l i n g T o d a y