Boosted by the doubling of sales in 2004-05, Swarovski plans to launch 19 exclusive retail stores in India over the next three years, a senior company executive said 31 May 2005. The Austria-based crystal major currently has 11 exclusive retail stores and 34 sales points in India. "We are planning to have 30 stores, and 50-60 points of sale by 2007-08", said Vembu Shivkumar, Country Manager, Swarovski Consumer Goods Business. "We are looking at cities including Ahmedabad, Kochi and Lucknow for our expansion", he said. "In 2004-05, we doubled our sales in India compared to the previous financial year". The opening of 19 more stores may require an investment of around INR 150M, based on a cost per outlet of around INR 8M disclosed by Shivkumar. Swarovski, which achieved group sales of EUR 1.83 billion in 2004, opened its second store in Bangalore on 1 June 2005 offering international crystal products.
