Marks & Spencer, Guess to open outlets in Pune

With the retail scenario in Pune booming, big retail brands like Marks & Spencer and Guess are planning to open exclusive outlets in the city. Market sources said both these brands have acquired retail premises in the upcoming Kakade Magnum mall in Camp area.

While Marks & Spencer is said to have acquired around 5,000 sq ft of space, Guess has taken up 2,000 sq ft. D'Damas and Benetton have acquired spaces of 1,400 sq ft and 2,500 sq ft respectively in the mall. According to sources, Benetton is expected to launch its complete range of products in the city for the first time.

Kakade Magnum, with a mall space of 1 lakh sq ft, already houses brands like Westside and Piramyd, Levis, Adidas and Citywalk shoes, in addition to F&B outlets.

Kakade Magnum is promoted by the Sanjay Kakade group which has been into residential developments so far. The company is planning to build malls and IT parks and has lined up four more mall projects in the city, sources said.

Pune already has all the big names in retail, with stores like Pyramid, Shopper's Stop, Pantaloons, Zodiac, Westside, Lifestyle and Globus vying for space in the 21 new malls that are coming up around the city. Nearly 5 million sq ft of mall space is expected to be ready by the year end. Another 5 million sq ft is in planning stage and is expected to come up by 2010.