British lifestyle brand Carlton London is eyeing India to position itself as the most comfortable and stylish footwear brand.
It aims to provide affordable fashion for all, which is up to the ongoing trends and styles. The brand is keen on keeping an eye on the latest trends in the fast fashion industry and works hard to bring the same in the market, explains Carl Virk, director at Carlton London.
Carlton London started its operations in India in 2002. Production of shoes started from its own manufacturing unit in London. Currently, Carlton London is present in over 40 locations pan India including shop and shops across country and stand-alone stores in the northern region.
It recently tied up with Ace Turtle to scale up its e-commerce business in India. The British brand has witnessed tremendous success globally with its unique collections tailor-made for premium style focused consumers. Bangalore-based Ace Turtle provides end-to-end enterprise solution to brands and retailers looking to engage and transact with omni-channel consumers.
Retail versus online has often been a conflict for the past decade, says Virk. “When the brand started its operations in India brick and mortar presence was the key factor. Having survived for long, we have seen the shift to online sites and their dominance in the market.”
The brand had its presence established in Indian ecommerce sector and now has spread its wings to West Asia and South East Asia.
What started as a single retail outlet in MGF Metropolitan Mall in Gurgaon has now its presence across major cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, etc, either through its own retail outlet presence or through shop-in-shops. The brand hopes to open more retail stores in the coming months with a vision of more than 150 retail outlets by the end of 2023, says Virk.
“The footwear and accessories (including handbags, men’s and women’s wallets, clutches) are all developed in our head office in London. As a leading brand in design and craftsmanship, our design team is focused on searching for the latest trends. We take inspiration from catwalks, blogs, trade shows and international stores to make sure we are at the forefront of product development. We focus on the design details, tailoring our style to suit the needs of our customers.”
The brand has plans to expand in the Indian market aggressively in the fashion and lifestyle segments. “We plan to expand our portfolio by introducing products like apparels, watches, sunglasses, belts, fragrances to name a few,” Virk adds.
On the global scale Carlton London is present in Europe, Asia and the US. India has been its key market where its presence since 2002 gave it an early start. It was in fact the first international fashion footwear brand to enter India, claims Virk. “Since then the brand has developed into a leading fashion brand. In the coming years, we plan to expand to other markets through franchisee or joint venture opportunities,” he says.
