Croma plans to enter smaller cities

Consumer electronics and durables store Croma, which opened shop last October in Mumbai, has chalked out expansion plans. The Croma brand of Infinity Retail, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Sons, will find a place at malls and will set up standalone stores in tier I and tier II cities.

Ajit Joshi, CEO and MD, Infinity Retail, said, "We prefer large format stores of about 20,000 sq feet in residential zones. However, we cannot ignore downtown spaces in high ticket size catchment areas. So, we will compromise on space and rentals and may opt for smaller Croma stores with a size of 10,000-12,000 sq feet."

Sources said the management was considering a variant of Croma, which will offer laptops, computers and youth-centric gizmos, tapping high networth consumers.

Croma plans to roll out 40 stores by this financial year, 10-12 stores in each quarter. Investment for each store could touch Rs 10 crore. The company plans to make profit in two and a half years.

In the coming quarter, the company plans to set up stores in Belapur and Vashi in Navi Mumbai. Two more shops in Pune and one in Surat will be completed by June-end.

Last month, Croma rolled out two megastores in Ahmedabad. The company plans to add 17 stores in Ahmedabad.

The consumer durable market in the country is pegged at Rs 32,000 crore, growing in excess of 10 per cent per annum. It is expected to reach Rs 60,000 crore by 2008.