THE Aditya Birla group’s retail venture, Aditya Birla Retail, is now set to bring ‘More’ brand of stores to Gujarat. Industry sources say that the company has already grabbed around 80,000-1,00,000 square feet of leased space for the proposed foray. While most of the locations are under construction and ready for possession in two-four months, a few more are ready. Birla retail is believed to have signed around 20 properties in Ahmedabad, almost all of them on ground floor. “The company plans to launch its ‘More’ brand supermarkets in Gujarat with an average area of 2,600-7,800 square feet,” said a source. Some ten locations have already been finalised, with few more yet to be finalised. While it will start rolling out its stores in the next three-four months in Ahmedabad, the company also plans to reach out to Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat and Jamnagar. The company announced its national launch in Mumbai in May and has come up with stores in Pune. The company is increasing its presence in South through retail network of Trinethra Super Retail.
It had acquired the south-based chain to further expand in the southern region. Aditya Birla Retail has already faced strong opposition from the vegetarian community in Maharashtra for selling non-vegetarian products and is fearing further opposition in Gujarat, a strong vegetarian market. However, sources say that at present the company does not intend to sell non-vegetarian products in Gujarat market. The company plans to increase its presence across the country. “The stores will be set up in every 3-5 km radius as they are positioned as convenient stores.” The supermarkets would be neighbourhood stores serving daily needs of the customers, including fruits, vegetables and groceries at competitive rates. The company plans to bank on store brands to improve margins. With the APMC act in Gujarat to be amended, the company is looking at tie-ups with farmers.
No comments:
Post a Comment