Miniklub symbolizes quality and care.Bringing the best of everything for your kid so that they live their finest years of childhood to the fullest. The products are carefully engineered for style and comfort of babies.It makes sure about the little details to maximize every precious moment of childhood. Vijay Singh Yadav, the Director of Miniklub says that we are the fastest growing brand with over 600 multi stores across India
Tell us about the journey of your brand, what challenges did you face initially?
Miniklub as a brand was born in 2013, owned by First Step Babywear Pvt. Ltd. India’s one of the largest manufacturers of Babywear and Kids wear garments for the United Kingdom, Australia and the Middle Eastern markets. The client profile reads like a who-is-who with names like George Clothing, Mothercare, GAP, Babyshops, Debenhams, H&M, Target Australia & many more international brands.From a modest factory and 60 machines in 2002, First steps babywear has now grown into a multi-location entity with 6 factories that house over 2000 stitching machines, a design studio, a dedicated fabric sourcing & storage warehouse, and with liaison offices at Chennai and Tuticorin. Presently employing more than 5000 employees, the entity has an annual production capacity of nearly 50 million garments.
We have expertise in our field and not face much challenges ,Miniklub launched in India through distribution & on various online sales portal like amazon, flipkart etc. in 2013, after fully understanding Indian customer’s requirement and need we last year in 2017 started our Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs). First store opened in Jodhpur then in Guwahati,Gurgaon and journey goes on, now upcoming in Hyderabad, Amritsar,Bangalore& Srinagar by next month end.Major challenge we are facing in opening EBOs is property rental which are still on higher side.
What do you see as the future of the industry you are in? Where does this company stand in its industry?
Baby care & apparel market is in India is very fragmented and unorganized & there is a huge scope of growth for organized retailer in this segment. Baby products & apparel market is expected to grow at the rate 15% CAGR in coming years.Our Vision is to lead the market in Infant wear in the target segments using Innovative products and sustainable pricing by utilizing the in-house design, sourcing and manufacturing capabilities.We will be in top 3 top players in India by 2030 in infant wear category from age group 0 to 4 years. This financial year we will be opening 25 EBOs in major cities pan India.
Why did you choose to go for franchising and how do you attract potential franchises?
Franchising is one the best business model in world which offer win-win situation for both franchisee/investor & franchiser/brand & fastest way to expand the business.We are offering a unique franchisee model where an investor can earn up to 40% ROI. We have flexible business model in terms of investment which range from 25 lac to 40 lac & space requirement of 500sq.ft to 1200 sq.ft.
What are the hindrances you face while expanding your business?
Major hindrance we are facing is the high property rental in Indian market .
What are your brands competitive advantage which restricts other’s to enter?
First of all we are providing all baby & Mom requirement items under one roof, we are a one stop destination store.Functionality, aesthetics, comfort are the key drivers behind Miniklub products. Each products is developed with diligent consumer research,material exploration, prototyping and market testing to deliver the best.Another major competitive advantage over our competitor’s is that we have largest scalable production capacity, spread over 7 lac sq.ft. With production capacity of 50 million garments per year. The top of the line machinery and efficient production line enable us to maintain out quality and standards.
What support do you offer beyond the initial training to your franchise?
We do a complete hand-holding to our newly joined business partners, starting from identifying profitable store location, designing, staff training,store launching & marketing support.
Please conclude how your journey has been so far?
Actually we have just started our journey and there is a long way to go ahead, overall it’s a good start for Miniklub.