Retail major Future Group today said it would push for expansion in the sports category with plans to open up to 10 large format stores of its chain, Planet Sports next year.
“Sports as a category is not very large but now we have settled in the last two years and are now beginning to rework our strategy for the business by offering new product mix,” Future Group CEO (Retail) Rakesh Biyani said.
In 2007 Future Group agreed to take control of Planet Sports, when it parted ways with NRI businessman V P Sharma from their erstwhile joint venture Planet Retail that ran the multi-brand sports retail brand.
Biyani said the plan is to open up to 10 Planet Sports large format stores ranging between 15,000 and 20,000 sq ft in the next one year.
The company today opened its first Planet Sports Super Store spread across 30,000 sq ft here. The store houses apparel, accessories and sports equipment from various brands. It also has live experience zones for games like cricket, golf, basket ball and table tennis.
Biyani said: “The idea behind doing such super stores is to provide more variety and choice along with an experience to the evolving consumers.” Planet Sports, which is a flagship format of Pantaloon Retail India’s sports division currently has 80 multi-brand lifestyle stores across 30 cities.
