Tata firm Trent plans food retailing foray

Trent, the retailing chain of the Tata group, will endeavour to become one of the largest retail houses in the country. At the centre of these efforts will be Westside, its departmental store chain, and the proposed food retailing project.

Speaking to Business Standard, Simone Tata, chairperson of Trent, said the company's food retailing initiative will be going onstream by next year. At present, the economics of the food retailing initiative is being studied by Trent officials.

While Trent's entry into the foods business would be spearheaded via a separate brand, Simone Tata refused to divulge the name of the brand. She said, it is being kept under the wraps.

The Tatas' entry into the food business would put it in direct competition with established retailing chains such as Food World and Giant.

Analysts tracking the sector said, entering the food retailing business makes immense sense as the sector is witnessing a 100 per cent growth, year-on-year. Revenues from lifestyle retailing is only a small portion compared with food retailing.

Simultaneously, Trent will also be pursuing its growth plans for Westside. Simone Tata said that in 18 months, Westside would be a 20 store chain. At present, there are 13 Westside stores across the country. The foundation for the Westside stores will be style, quality and value for money.

When asked whether Trent would make an entry into the premium segment, Simone Tata said, the premium segment holds a very small pie of the retailing market.

She said, the firm has no plans for venturing into this segment. An entry into the premium segment, when Trent is in the midst of consolidating Westside, could be detrimental for the company.

The focus for Westside will continue to be the domestic market. Westside has now expanded from an one-store entity in Bangalore to other cities, such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, New Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Nagpur and Ahmedabad.

Industry sources said, future plans for Westside include establishing the Westside brand in all large towns with a population of over one lakh.