ITC keen to buy urban mid-mkt retail marts

ITC would be keen on acquisitions in the mid-market retail segment in urban locations once real estate prices settle at realistic levels, chairman Y C Deveshwar said today.

Addressing the media in the evening today, Deveshwar said retail property prices in urban clusters were way too high, and the company would rather wait for it to come down to a level where the right quality of goods and services could be delivered to the middle-class consumer in a sustainable
manner.

The lack of transparency in real estate transactions and difficulty in securing land as well as permissions were holding back the company from investing directly in the mid-market urban retail segment.

Deveshwar said ITC would rather explore partnerships in this segment and place its products on the shelves of established stores rather than set up
discount or mid-market modern retail establishments.

ITC was sitting on a cash bank of close to Rs 4,000 crore, and if things went according to plan, the company would be able to fully utilise this cash on high-growth projects over the next 4-5 years, he added.