Godrej forays into mass furniture segment

Godrej & Boyce today launched a new home furniture brand Script targeting the mass premium segment and is eyeing a revenue of Rs 320 crore in the next three years from this venture. The company has presence in the furniture category with Godrej Interio, but said Script and Interio would operate as different entities. "It is the first brand from the house of Godrej & Boyce, which establishes Godrej in the attainable premium furniture category," Godrej & Boyce Chairman and Managing Director Jamshyd Godrej told reporters here. Script will tap into a market size that is estimated to be over Rs 10,000 crore. "Interio is a mainline brand which will have more functionality-driven products. Script will be more experience related. It is two distinct segments that we are working upon. One is where people are looking at premium brands and other functional and mainline brand. It will be two separate entities and the stores would be separate," Godrej & Boyce Chief Operating Officer Anil Mathur said. Godrej & Boyce would be setting up 18 standalone stores for the new brand in the next three years in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chandigarh. The city-based company will be opening the first Script outlet in Bengaluru later this month and will have a store each in Delhi and Mumbai by the end of the fiscal year. It will invest Rs 150 crore in three years, primarily for opening the stores, with each store expected to be around 8,000-10,000 sqft. Apart from furniture, Script will also retail home accessories like rugs, soft furnishings, linens, pillows and pillow covers, lamps among others. The company will be spending Rs 25-30 crore next year on marketing activities.