Liva looks to double store count to 4,000

Aditya Birla Group's fabrics retail brand Liva is planning to double its footprint to 4,000 stores across the country, a senior company official said.

"In Spring Summer 2016, Liva has presence in over 2,000 stores across 140 cities with 7 million garments tagged to the brand and we intend to double the outlets to 4,000 stores in the next two seasons.

"With the launch of Liva Connect, a b2b digital platform, we aim to give access to the unorganised sector and ensure that we widen and deepen the market at the same time," Grasim Industries Managing Director and Aditya Birla Group Business Director (Pulp and Fibre Division) Dilip Gaur said in a release.

Currently, the per capita consumption of viscose fibre in the country is 0.2 kg, while globally it is 0.75 kg.

Globally, man-made fibres have growing faster than cotton, with viscose-based fibre growing at 27 per cent annually while normal textiles have grown at 5 percent over the past few years.

"Since the domestic market has been stagnant, we intend the portal to be an ideal platform for the trade to come on board to drive the eco-friendly vision of Liva fabric," Gaur added.

Birla Cellulose has also been working on specialty fibre within the viscose segment that accounted for 36 per cent of the total portfolio in the just concluded year, compared to 28 per cent in the previous year, Gaur said.

Liva, which is focused on women's clothing, has also forayed into sarees segment.