Renowned designer Kenneth Cole is upbeat about India’s prospects with plans to open more stores there.

Kenneth Cole, which partnered with Reliance Brands about a year ago, is planning to increase its India store network from seven currently to 20 over the next three to four years.

The Indian expansion strategy is part of its goal to make international markets account more than 30 per cent within the next few years from 12 to 15 per cent currently.

“I do believe that global business is a big part of the future of our industry. There is an awareness of the global reality and that there is a demand and a market, but the product has to be respectful of individual markets and individual cultures,” said Kenneth Cole.

The designer said it is also expanding to other Asian countries including Malaysia and Vietnam. And it will be re-introducing itself in China soon, it says.

“We’re changing partners and thought that we would just close it down and start from scratch,” said Cole.