FMCG major Dabur India will look for strategic investors for its retail subsidiary H&B Stores that operates New U Stores across the country.
“We would spin off the retail business eventually. With the government opening up foreign investments in retail, we would essentially look for foreign retailers as strategic investors,” said Dabur India chief executive officer Sunil Duggal. However, it could also ink pact with domestic established retailers.
At present, there are 50 New U stores across the country, and Dabur plans to increase the number to 100 over the next three years. About 0.8 per cent of Dabur’s domestic revenue comes from its retail business, at present. Domestic business contributes about 70 per cent of the company’s total business.
The business has already reached its break-even point, but for the next step for growth it would require further investments and structured retailing, Duggal said. “This would take some time, but the idea was to incubate the business under Dabur and then to spin off as a different entity in strategic alliances,” he added.
The company could also explore entering retail services business in the personal care space, but that would be associated with the retail arm, Duggal said, adding, “Nothing has been finalised yet”.
New U Stores is a retail chain sells cosmetics, skin care, hair care, fragrances, herbal care, beauty implements and accessories, men and children toiletries, health foods and ayurvedic products of Dabur’s own private lebels and other domestic and international brands. It also sells products online. H&B Stores that operates New U is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dabur India.
Currently, its stores are located in cities such as Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Chennai, Pune, Mysore, Chandigarh, Indore, Amritsar.
