Dubai: Babyshop, a UAE-based retail brand under Landmark Group, said it is planning to open 20-22 stores in 2017 across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East and North Africa (Mena), and Thailand.
Vinod Talreja, Babyshop’s chief executive officer, said the brand is also planning to launch operations in a new market, possibly within Africa where he sees new opportunities. He added that the brand is aiming to enter one new market each year, on top of strengthening its footprint in existing markets.
“We’re expanding our business in the Mena countries, especially in North Africa. Last year, we opened in Nigeria, and these are the areas where we’re looking for expansion at the right time. The African region is developing well, and there are new properties and new malls, so there’s a lot of interest, and we’d like to put our stores there,” he said, adding that Babyshop opened 20 new stores in 2016.
Outside the GCC, the brand is currently present in Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Kenya, Tanzania, Thailand, and Pakistan.
In 2017, Babyshop is also planning to focus on e-commerce, having launched its online shopping platform in November 2016. Talreja said the website is witnessing month-on-month growth of around 75-100 per cent.
“We’re seeing very good growth, and we feel that this is one area where the business will definitely grow. We’re pretty new in e-commerce, but the way we see the number of customers visiting the site and how that converts to the business, we expect this is going to be one of the prominent channels for sales,” he said.
Turnover
Asked about the brand’s overall performance in 2016, Talreja said revenue growth was in the low single digits in some markets and flat in others. He declined to disclose further details on turnover as the company is not publicly listed.
In 2016, retailers reported lower consumer spending and weaker demand as a result of slower economic growth in the UAE. But Talreja said the trend in children’s retail, such as Babyshop, was slightly different.
“I think 2016 was relatively challenging across all industries, and the primary reason is oil prices were lower. But in our industry, the slowdown is the least because parents will always cut spending on something else before they cut spending on their children. We did not see a major impact on our revenues in 2016, though the growth [rate] has come down,” he said.
The company earler this month launched a new brand logo, “It’s your style,” aimed towards millennial parents, with the CEO saying the focus towards millennials is expected to drive higher footfall to the stores.
