Globus Stores Private Ltd, the apparel chain promoted by the Rajan Raheja Group, is adding five stores to the existing 25 across the country at an estimated investment of Rs 25-30 crore.

The company, which felt the downturn pinch and was a tad slow in store openings last year, is out of the recessionary phase and hopes to improve its top line in the current financial year. The company reported revenues of Rs 180 crore and grew at 4% for the year ended March 31, 2010.

?Last year has been tough for all retailers and it was same with us. We saw a lull in the first quarter, but it picked up later and we closed our books with a top line growth of 4%. For the current financial year, we hope to achieve a growth of 17-18%,? said Vinay Nadkarni, managing director and chief executive officer, Globus Stores Private Ltd.

He added that the buoyancy in the business was visible from August last year, when the stores recorded a 25-30% increase in footfalls.

As a private label, Globus, which entered the Rs 40,000-crore apparel market in 2001, competes with casual wear brands such as Pepe Jeans, United Colours of Benetton, Wrangler and Lee. The company entered the retail sector as a large format store, but in 2001, changed its strategy to become an ?own brand? store.

Last year, the company had a flat same stores sales growth. Things started looking up in May this year with sales growing at 30% monthly, Nadkarni said. He added, ?The coming quarter looks a little bleak as Diwali falls in the month of November and we see a rise in input costs for the third quarter due to presence of yarn in apparel. To keep our margins stable, we will have to pass on the price hike to our consumers.?

The company, which currently has 25 stores across the country and covers a carpet area of 2.5 lakh for its retail operations, gives utmost importance to its private label. For the same, it has opened a designer studio in Andheri with an investment of Rs 60 lakh. A team of 25 fashion, graphic & textile designers works there. The company is looking at opening new stores in Nagpur, Aurangabad, Vijayawada, Pune and Hyderabad.