TTK plans to spread Prestige in Europe

Chennai: Kitchen appliance major TTK Prestige Ltd is hoping to hitch on the M&A (merger and acquisition) route to increase its presence in Europe.

The company is already scouting for European brands in the same space that may be up for sale due to recession. “We are keen to expand our presence in Europe and hence we are looking for options for something around RS 400 crore,” said

T.T Jagannathan, chairman of TTK Prestige.  For now, of the five per cent of total exports, the contribution of Europe is a mere two per cent.

But exuding optimism about such an acquisition taking this share to 25 per cent, the chairman said “The biggest advantage of a European brand is that it has a worldwide acceptance.”

However, he was quick to clarify that no company had been shortlisted so far.

Speaking at an event to announce the launch of its 500th Prestige Smart Kitchen (PASK) outlet and completion of 10 years of launch of the retail model, S. Ravichandran, managing director of TTK Prestige, said the number of retail stores will touch the 1000-mark in the next three years.

PSK was launched as a concept store that houses complete kitchen solution stocking over 250 products on a franchise model basis.

“The average monthly income of a PSK outlet has grown from Rs 3 lakh per store to Rs 5.5 lakh today and the retail model is contributing to 18 per cent of the total turnover,” he added.

With the company roping in Abhishek Bacchhan and Aishwarya Rai as their brand ambassadors, the company is hoping to increase its penetration in the northern markets.

For now, the company is present in 260 towns in 23 states, catering to over 60 lakh customers. The company has posted revenues of '­1,300 crore last year.