Yepme to have 400 Brick-n-Mortar Stores in India!
Yepme to have 400 Brick-n-Mortar Stores in India!
Yepme, the online fashion retailer that ventured into brick and mortal retailing earlier this year, is planning to expand further with 400 more outlets by the end of this fiscal. The company has opted for this route to give its customers a better experience. It is also aiming to make its presence felt in around 550 district of the country in the next 4 to 5 years.
Commenting on the initiative, Yepme CEO and Co-founder Vivek Gaur said, “By the end of this year (FY 2016-17), number of retail stores will be 400, which would be around 600,000 sq ft. Out of this 400 outlet, 20 per cent will be in metros and rest all in small scale town.”
This move has raised a speculation about the pricing of the products in the current scenario-whether the products would be differently priced for the online and offline platforms. Yepme, however, has assured that there will be no difference in the pricing of the products.
“Yepme is open to people who can come and add value to the overall business, but no activity to raise the capital. Last funding was in September. Total US$ 75 million was raised, Khazanah was the lead investor,” Gaur added.
Gaur further revealed that all the new stores will be based on franchise model, unlike the ones that have already been opened in Gurgaon, which are company owned.
This is not the first time that an online retailer is taking the offline retailing route; other big e-tailers like Flipkart, PepperFry, Snapdeal and Firstcry have been there and done that!