Tesco-Trent JV signs four stores

After signing the agreement in March this year, the Trent-Tesco joint venture company has signed four properties for stores under the Star brand, said a source in the know.

Trent Hypermarkets, the JV company, will open stores in January-February next year and stores will be located in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore, the sources said.

The stores signed are between 2000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft and for its large format Star Bazaar, mid format Star Market and small format Star Daily, the sources said. A mail sent to Trent Hypermarkets did not elicit any response.

Trent Hypermarkets' current stores are in Maharashtra and Karnataka, and it plans to open three to five more in those states, Trent said in its annual report. , Trent set up a separate company for non FDI compliant states under the name Fiora Hypermarkets and it said "it does not envisage expansion of Star banner stores in Fiora Hypermarkets.

Of the 16 stores under the Star brand, four were in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which are opposed to FDI in retail.

Besides Trent Hypermarkets, retailers such as Spencer's are also looking to expand their operations. Spencer's is looking to open 10 stores in 2015 and similar number in 2016.

Trent Hypermarkets posted net sales of Rs 820.76 crore in FY 2014 as compared to Rs 785.19 crore in FY 2013. The company posted a net loss of Rs 69.79 crore in Fy 2014 as compared To Rs 76.1 crore in FY 2013.