Wills Lifestyle taps Franchise India to grow retail network across metros and Tier 2 cities

ITC's apparel brand Wills Lifestyle has partnered with Franchise India Brands to scale its store footprint nationwide via the franchise route, targeting both metros and Tier 2 markets as part of a PAN India growth strategy spanning its Wills Classic, Wills Sport and Wills Clublife lines.

— FiledThu, 16 Jul, 2026, 17:18 IST·First seen Thu, 16 Jul, 2026, 17:17 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

ITC's apparel brand Wills Lifestyle has partnered with Franchise India Brands to expand its store network across India via the franchise route, targeting metros

Key facts

  • 14 years

Why this matters

The Franchise India tie-up validates a partner-driven distribution model that could inform franchise, licensing, or co-branded expansion plays across the apparel retail landscape.

What to watch

  • Announced number of franchise stores signed per quarter
  • Same-store sales and franchisee churn rates
  • ITC lifestyle segment revenue commentary in earnings
  • Entry of competing apparel brands into same Tier 2 markets
  • Any shift back to company-owned format signaling franchise underperformance
  • ITC to disclose store-count targets and capex-light franchise economics in investor updates
  • Franchise India to run recruitment drives and roadshows in Tier 2 clusters
  • Sub-brand assortment tailoring (Wills Sport, Classic, Clublife) per market tier
  • Competitors and mall developers to reassess apparel category leasing terms