Trent finalises foray into hypermarkets business

The Tata group's much talked about foray into hypermarkets has finally been firmed up. Trent, which owns and operates the Westside chain of departmental stores, today announced the launch of its hypermarket chain called Star India Bazaar.

The first hypermarket will be launched in Ahmedabad, which will be around 50,000 square feer in size, in the next few months.

Trent chairman Simone Tata, said, "After having established the Westside name as a leading player in the apparel retailing industry, we look forward to presenting customers across India with the widest variety of products and great saving opportunities at the Star India Bazaar hypermarkets."

The other players which operate hypermarkets are RPG Group's Giant and Pantaloon Retail India's Big Bazaar.

Targeted at the budget-concious household, the Star India Bazaar, will offer customers a large assortment of products that include staple foods, beverages, health and beauty products, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, household items, garments and consumer electronics.

Trent began its first apparel retailing venture under the acquisition of Littlewoods Plc's single store in Bangalore.

Westside is present in 9 cities with 14 stores and is planning to open five more stores in the current fiscal. These new sites include Indore, Mumbai and Bangalore.