Spencer's to open 100 hypermarkets across India by 2017

Company to invest in hyper stores in phased manner with the investment of about Rs 4-6 cr depending upon availability of the property

Spencer's Retail Limited, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka group company, on Friday said it would open 100 hypermarkets (retail stores) across India by 2017.

The company on Friday opened its first store in Bhopal, which was its 32nd hypermarket in the country. The group plans to open two more hypermarkets before the end of this financial year.

The company said it would invest in hyper stores in a phased manner with an approximate investment of Rs 4-6 crore depending upon availability of the property.

"We will set up two more stores, one in Aligarh and another in Kadapa (formerly known as Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh) ," said Kingshuk Basu, executive director (operations) of the company. He also said, "The investment in these stores would be approximately Rs 55-60 crore. The company has a chain of 32 large format stores in 30 cities of the country."

"Now we will focus more on tier-II towns as more and more people have taken shopping as an entertainment. Most people go for cinema but they also shop at the nearest available hyper stores," Basu said.

Unlike its competitors, Spencer's places a wide range of food products including 120 odd varieties of nuts and dry fruits, in addition to its own patisserie.

"We give priority to food products while creating space in our hyper stores, live bakery, nuts and dry fruits, fish and meat, ethnic food from across the country, dairy and frozen food, fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, we will place a wide variety of home and office essentials, electronics and electronic goods, fashion wear and accessories for men, women and children," Basu added.

Most of the new stores will be spread on more than 20,000 square feet. The company claims to have 3.5 million footfall and about 1 million loyal shoppers across the country. The company has added trading area of 3,00,000 sq feet by the end of this financial year. The company was first in India to open retail store in Hyderabad and runs 127 large hypermarket and retails stores.