Bharti in talks with realty majors for retail space

Bharti Enterprises today said it is in talks with real estate developers including DLF, Unitech, Parsvnath and MGM for space for its retail venture.

"As a retailer our job is to go and talk to real estate players who have got land bank. We are talking to many players including DLF, Unitech, Parsvnath and MGM," Bharti Enterprises Managing Director Rajan Bharti Mittal told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci event here.

He said the talks are for both leasing and buying depending on the location.

Asked about Bharti Retail's frontend store branding, he said it would be announced sometime later but declined to comment whether the Wal-Mart name would be used.

He said the first store of Bharti Retail would be opened by the first quarter of next year.

Bharti plans to invest $2.0-2.5 billion (Rs 8,000-10,000 crore) by 2015 in its retail venture.

Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart had tied up for the backend cash-and-carry business earlier this year.