Aditya Birla Retail sees growth in South

Aditya Birla Retail, the retail arm of the Aditya Birla Group, is witnessing growth in South India as the retail market is organised and evolved in the region compared to rest of the country.

Besides, in January 2007, the company acquired a South Indian retail firm "" Trinethra Super Retail "" which has a strong presence in all the four southern states through brands like Fabmall, Trinethra and FabCity.

Aditya Birla Retail CEO Sumant Sinha said the acquisition provided the company a strong retail footprint in South India extending to 275 stores over more than half a million square feet in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

"The retail market in South India is more organised. The other parts of the country are fast catching up. We will continue to focus on this region for growth," he added.

Of the 275 stores in South India, 68 Fabmall stores are located in Karnataka. In all, Aditya Birla Retail has 60 stores in Bangalore, eight in Mysore and 10 in Mangalore.

"All Fabmall stores will be rebranded to More by January-end. We are also looking at other cities, including secondary and tertiary cities, for growth," Sinha said.

He said the total size of the organised retail industry in India is presently valued at $320 billion.

"Within the organised retail sector, food and groceries account for 14 per cent of the market with potential to garner an even bigger share of the market. Demographic movements in the country over the last two decades have made organised retail a necessity," Sinha noted.