In November last year, CX Partners was close to buying around 30% stake in Soch. In 2017, Vedant Fashions was also in talks to acquire Soch
Indian ethnic wear brand Soch Apparel is in discussions with up to three private equity players for a stake sale, said Managing Director Manohar Chatlani.
"We are looking at 26-30 percent stake sale," Chatlani told Moneycontrol. He feels the company is in the "take-off stage" and will be able to double its equity value in two years. He, however, didn't disclose the company's financial details.
He said, the company was in talks with private equity players in the last few years but it fell through. "We were in talks but it didn’t work out. We are still in talks with 2 or 3 PE entities," Chatlani said.
In November last year, private equity firm CX Partners was close to buying around 30 percent stake in Indian women ethnic brand for slightly over Rs 300 crore. In 2017, Vedant Fashions, owner of the ethnic wear brand Manyavar, was also in talks to acquire Soch.
When asked on expansion plans, Chatlani said: "If the funding happens then 40 more stores will be opened and if the funding does not happen then 10 stores via franchise route and 10 via the company."
Currently, there are 126 Soch brand stores which Chatlani looks to expand to 150 by the end of FY20.
The company plans to expand its reach first in the South, then in East and in North. "We are planning to expand mainly in South because of easy logistics. It helps to have the cluster approach and then the East and the North," Chatlani said.
In terms of the performance of the company, Chatlani envisages the company to end FY19 with lower double-digit growth. He pointed out that demand in January and February were good but expects a further pick up in March. However, he said there could be some slowdown in demand due to the upcoming elections.
Soch Apparel had opened its first exclusive store in Bengaluru’s Forum Mall in 2005. The brand retails through over 100 exclusive brand outlets across 39 cities, including Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad. It largely retails through shop-in-shops across Shoppers Stop and Central outlets, with a presence in over 50 large format stores.
