Wadhawan group to set up chain of supermarkets

The Mumbai-based Wadhawan Group is all set to enter the retail space with its chain of supermarkets under the 'Spinach' brand. Confirming this, Kapil Wadhawan, director, Wadhawan Food Retail (WFRL) said that in keeping with the philosophy of the group to cater to the needs of the common man, they had decided to venture into the retail space.

"In the largely unorganised food and grocery sector there is a need to provide a value add. We will be looking at enhancing the kirana store experience," said Wadhawan.

The group has already roped in Dippanker Halder as the chief executive officer of the chain from Piramal Enterprises.

The first store will open in Mumbai within a few months and over time the company is looking at taking the stores to other cities as well. While Wadhawan is still tightlipped about the number of stores they are planning, sources indicate that the group is planning a 1000 stores over the next few years.

Being set up at an investment of between Rs 1-2 crore per store, Wadhawan says that the group is committed to ensuring the success of the stores and has set aside a suitable amount to see it them through.

Explaining the choice of the name Spinach, Halder says that apart from the association with freshness they also didn't want to use indicative words like mart or food in their name. "That it is a supermarket is there for all to see, why should you name it such as well," asks Wadhawan.

While the focus would remain food and grocery, the company hasn't ruled out providing other need based products and services either. At present, the total size of the food and grocery retail segment in India is valued at Rs 6,15,000 crore out of which organized retail comprises less than one per cent.

This is the second largest category after apparel and is expected to be among the fastest growing category because of the potential it has.

The Wadhawan family has presence in housing finance and construction.