According to RK Sharma, the Chief Financial Officer at Monte Carlo Fashions, demand is currently slow, but he foresees a rebound in the January-March quarter.
“This year we expect flat to single-digit growth compared to over 23% last year as retail demand was slow in H1FY24 in the Indian economy. It is a temporary phenomenon. It should rebound in Q4,” stated Sharma.
The Chief Financial Officer affirmed that the current sluggishness in retail demand has not hindered the company’s plans for store expansion. He remains optimistic about the mid and long-term prospects of the industry.
“We don’t see the demand hitting our store expansion trajectory as of now. We have plans to open 45-50 exclusive brand outlets this fiscal and we are on track. On the contrary, we have increased this target by another 10 stores to 60 stores next year (FY25),” the CFO stated.
Monte Carlo predominantly operates under a franchise-owned-franchise-operated (FOFO) model, with 90% of its stores falling under this category. This means the company avoids significant capital expenditures in these instances. The remaining 10% of the stores follow a Company-Owned-Company-Operated model, with each store incurring approximately Rs 40 lakh in costs per showroom.
At the end of FY23, Monte Carlo had a total of 356 store outlets.
During the fiscal year 2023, Monte Carlo’s business expanded by 22% compared to FY22, reaching approximately INR 1,100 crore.
