Housefull Intl launches home improvement retail chain

House Full International today launched a home improvement store called House Full. This will be the country's first retail chain providing goods and services like building materials, furnishings and customized furniture to both professionals and consumers, the company claimed.

The company plans to have 51 stores over the next five years. Of these, nine - spread over 3.6 lakh square feet - would be operational by the end of this financial year, Arif Sheikh, CEO & president of House Full International, said.

The overall investment in the chain would be about Rs 320 crore with a turnover of Rs 2000-2500 crore expected after five years. The first store would open in Pune by the end of the week followed by Surat. By March 2008, the company expects the turnover to reach about Rs 350 crore. At present, investment has been done through internal accruals of Rs 150 crore and going ahead, it would look at project financing and perhaps an IPO after two years, Sumit Shah, MD of House Full International, said.

Sheikh said the focus would be cities where either there was a certain degree of spending power, as well as cities where there was a lot of new construction coming up. Initially, the company would set up stores in the West and South followed by the East and finally the North.

House Full has set up buying offices in the US, Europe and China and would be sourcing products from 32 countries. Shah didn't rule out the possibility of taking the chain global at a later date, starting with countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In addition to products, the stores would also offer consultancy services on interiors as well as vaastu.