Future Bazaar to open information centres

Futurebazaar.com, owned and operated by Future Bazaar India Ltd "" a subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd "" will soon launch a chain of stores which will function as display and information centres for the customers all across the country.

Talking to Business Standard, Futurebazaar.com CEO Sankarson Banerjee said, "These stores will function as information centres for the customers, providing them with catalogues and other printed information about the product, along with a touch screen where they can have a look at the product and place their order immediately."

In the next six months about 37 such stores will be opened in Uttar Pradesh.

"The purchasing power of Lucknow is high, making it to be the seventh most popular city for the company from business point of view. The city offers a great market for middle-level electronic items and clothes," added Banerjee.

At present, Uttar Pradesh contributes about 8 per cent of the total Futurebazaar.com sales with Lucknow having a 3 per cent share. The company registered 400 customers in the last three months, from the state.

"Cities like Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Saharanpur, Gurgaon, Noida and Muzaffarnagar offer great potential for us to grow. With the concept of new stores, we hope to get a 12 per cent share from the state over the next year," said Banerjee.

Organised retail is only 6 per cent of the total retail market in India which at present is worth Rs 10, 000 crore and is expected to increase to about Rs 25, 000 crore by 2020.

Over next three years about 15, 00 such centres will be opened across the country, involving an investment of Rs 150 crore.

"A part of this investment will also be used for regional warehousing," Banerjee said.