Has entered Indian market through Trent, the retailing arm of Tatas.
Products from the stable of the world’s third largest retailer, Tesco, have entered the Indian consumer market through Trent, the retailing arm of the Tatas. Tesco has an exclusive franchisee agreement with Trent.
About 50-odd private brands, including Tesco Value, Daisy and All About Men, of Tesco are being sold through Trent’s hypermarket chain, Star Bazaar. The brands mostly in the health and beauty category are priced between Rs 59 and Rs 349. Hypermarket is a large-format supermarket where groceries and merchandises are sold. The arrangement is expected to help Star Bazaar increase sales by marketing international brands.
“We are working within franchisee agreement. Our products are not competing with their (Star Bazaar) products. While we are predominantly in health and beauty, they are in different categories,” said Kanaiya Parekh, commercial director, Tesco Hindustan Wholesaling Pvt Ltd, the wholesale arm of Tesco In India.
Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, derives 50 per cent of its revenues from its private brands. Some of its brands sell at a premium to national brands. The retail giant posted revenues of £59.4 billion (Rs 4 lakh crore) in 2009 financial year.
When asked about more product launches from Tesco stable in India, Parekh said: “It is too early to say. We will see how these brands perform.” Separately, Tesco is also in the process of setting up cash and carry stores in the country.
“Since Tesco sources a lot of items from India, Star Bazaar will be able to derive volume discounts Tesco gets from its suppliers,” says Anand Raghuraman, partner, Boston Consulting Group. “They can also draw more footfalls by marketing them as foreign brands which UK consumers buy.”
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