The economic downturn may have many businesses running for cover, but for Pradeep Hirani, the promoter of Kimaya, a chain of high-end fashion boutiques, this is just the right time to expand.
“It’s true that our business has fallen by 15 to 20 per cent, but against this, our costs have fallen by almost 50 per cent thanks to rents taking a tumble and personnel as well as logistics costs also going down considerably,” said Hirani.
“In fact, we have locked-in a couple of rental deals at attractive prices, which would help us in getting premium space for a longer period of time at slowdown rates.”
The slowdown is not going to last forever and locking in a property at these rates for the next three to six years will show profitability in the long-term, he said. “We plan to start stores in locations like Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and most probably Hyderabad between August and December this year,” he said.