Birla Kerala Vaidyashala eyes foreign markets

Birla Kerala Vaidyashala (BKV), a joint venture between the Yash Birla group and Kerala Vaidyashala, plans to open a store in Malaysia this month, in addition to entering other countries this fiscal, a company official said.

"First, we intend to open a store in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia this month. It will be a standalone store and will be spread across 2,000 sq ft. As we are a new entrant in the market, we will adopt franchisee model, forming joint venture with a local companies there," Birla Kerala Vaidyashala Managing Director Harsheet Kuroop said here.

The company intends to expand in more markets abroad this financial year through the same model, Kuroop said, adding, "we have zeroed in on places like Singapore, Australia, Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka and Malaysia."

"We will open 20 more centres by March 2010 in cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and few parts of Maharashtra. We will first open centres in metros and then proceed to Tier II and III cities," Kuroop said.

The company has earmarked Rs 50 crore to set up 200 centres in five years including company-owned and franchisee centres, high-end luxury day spas, cruise spas and economy centres.

"For the next financial year ending March 2011, we intend to open 50 stores with an investment of Rs 10 crore across India mainly spread across between 400 sq ft to 800 sq ft and above," Kuroop said.

Every year the company will open 50 centres with an average investment of Rs 10 crore per year till next five years, he added.

Currently, BKV has 30 centres offering disease-based and wellness treatments across India, including those in Kolkata, Shirdi Alibaug, Mumbai, Goa, Nashik, Panchagani, Pondichery, Aluva and Cherai among others.