BPCL to add 600 retail outlets

Earmarks Rs 450 cr for expansion

Bharat Pertroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has earmarked about Rs 450 crore investments to add about 600 retail outlets to expand its retail presence to 7,000 outlets during the current year.

On the sidelines of launching its branded fuel Speed 97, S Krishnamurti, executive director (retail), BPCL, said that about 300 outlets have already been set up. These outlets will come up in urban cities, tier II cities and highways.

S Radhakrishnan, director-marketing, BPCL, said about 30 per cent of gross disposable income of an individual is spent on shopping and fuel purchase.

To keep pace with the rapid growth in organised retailing and changing lifestyle, BPCL will add another 600 convenience stores, Radhakrishnan added. At present, it has 380 stores.

BPCL wanted to crunch the time taken on fuelling and shopping, the two significant activity that is frequently done by consumers and which has made the convenience store popular, he said. Radhkrishnan pointed out that the 35 to 40 per cent transactions happening in Bharat Petroleum petrol bunks are from royalty programmes.

"We have pioneered the concept of fuelling and non fuelling activity and will further fine- tune the concept so that a customer can shop in the same ambience that is provided by shopping malls," he added.