Retailers in West Bengal are an optimistic lot when it comes to expansion in 2009.
For market leaders like the Future Group and Spencer’s Retail, new formats and more large stores are the way forward, while others like Wills Lifestyle, Turtle Ltd, and Bisk Farm, 2009 will see a host of new stores opening up, especially in the suburbs.
According to Samar Sheikhawat, VP-marketing of Spencer’s, “We currently have 24 stores in West Bengal of which four are hypers. We are planning to add another 30,000 sq ft by the end of March 2009 which would include a large format store in Siliguri.”
Future Group will add 3.5 lakh sq ft more for Big Bazaar and 50,000 sq ft more for Pantaloons stores over the next one year in eastern India.
According to Sandeep Marwaha, head of operations - east, Pantaloons Retail, “We will invest Rs 1,500 per sq ft for Big Bazaar and Rs 2,000 per sq ft for Pantaloons.”
Currently the company has around 15 lakh sq ft in East for all its formats put together. Big Bazaar alone occupies close to 9.5 lakh sq ft in East, while Pantaloon commands 3.5 lakh sq ft. “We will start Hometown mall, spread over 1.5 lakh sq ft in Rajarhat in another three months,” informed Marwaha.
HomeTown will provide consumers all that goes into building a house. In addition to retailing, the format will also provide services like electrical, plumbing, interior decoration, vaastu, etc.
According to Amit Ladsaria, Director, Turtle Ltd, “Bengal traditionally is a good market for us and we enjoy a strong brand equity here. We feel that our value for money products would encourage new set of customers during economy meltdown. In 2009 we will be focusing on increasing network, taking greater shelf space in counters, opening more exclusive stores in district headquarters of Bengal.”
“We will invest Rs 4 crore in West Bengal. This will include expansion plans of our factory and office, new exclusive stores. Around 6-8 stores are planned in towns and suburbs and South Bengal areas. Revenue growth in 2008 over 2007 is 30 per cent and we have added 18 per cent more retail space during the period,” Ladsaria said.
Wills Lifestyle, the retailing arm of ITC Ltd, has three exclusive stores in Kolkata, one in Siliguri and presence in leading multi-brand outlets in Kolkata. According to Atul Chand, divisional chief executive officer of Wills Lifestyle, “Our latest store in South City Mall has enabled us to enhance our reach in the city and has emerged as a destination store for premium consumers in South Kolkata. Growth in sales in Kolkata has been extremely robust at 26 per cent this year. In the coming year we see our total retail space going up by around 15-20 per cent to cater to the needs of the youth with an eye for fashion, better.”
Bisk Farm, the Kolkata-based Rs 200 crore biscuit brand promoted by Saj Industries, is set to launch a bakery retail chain christened Bisk Farm, Just Baked. With plans to begin operations with three outlets in Kolkata, the company plans to open 100 franchise stores in different parts of the country soon. All the stores would be standalone, informed Vijay Singh, managing director, SAJ Industries.
