Mumbai: Madura Garments brand, Peter England, intends to increase its penetration in urban areas and plans to have a presence in 1,000 towns by end-2009, as it sees a lot of untapped potential in these markets, a senior company official said.

"We plan to expand more in urban areas than rural as we scent a lot of potential in these markets. Our customer target is the common man who goes to work but is uncomfortable shopping in malls," Peter England's Chief Operating Officer, Kedar Apshankar told PTI here.

Peter England is a leading brand from the Madura Garments stable and is a part of the Aditya Birla group.

"We are already present in 600 towns. Our target is to have a presence in 1,000 towns by end-this year," Apshankar said. It is, however, to put a number, but we will grow manifold (in terms of number of stores), he said.

The company plans to set up franchisee stores in urban areas.

"Our plan is to find a local franchisee who is well- versed with the area, its rules and regulations and customer tastes and preferences," Apshankar said.

In 2008, the company had set up around 100 stores and would add another 20 by end-March 2009. These would be located in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Satara and Kolhapur in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and a few other cities.

"Of the 20 stores, two-thirds would be franchised while the remaining will be our own stores," Apshankar said.