Chennai-based industrial and automotive batteries manufacturer Amara Raja Batteries will be opening 500 Powerzone stores, its new retail store format, in rural areas across the country during the current financial year.The Powerzone network of stores is a franchisee model offering products produced by the company under one roof."Our target is to have at least one Powerzone outlet in every Taluk headquarters in India in the next two years", Amara Raja, MD, Jayadev Galla, said in a release.The company launched a Powerzone store today at Chotuppal, about 50 kms from Hyderabad, and proposes to open 40 such stores in Andhra Pradesh by December 2007. It has so far launched 30 such stores in various parts of the country.All powerzone stores would be connected through an information backbone to a central hub, for efficient planning, management and stocking, said Paul Vasanth Kumar, national manager-retail, Amara Raja.
