Printo to make retail foray

To tap the largely unorganised Rs 17,000 crore printing market, Printo Document Services Ltd is opening retail outlets for printing and document services. The company plans to open 250 retail outlets over the next three years.

The stores will be opened in all the major cities in India with an investment of Rs 100 crore. Printo has already opened six stores in Bangalore. The first stores in Bangalore were launched in April last year.

The print and document services market in India, which is growing around 80 per cent per annum, does not have organised retail players at present. Globally, the market is dominated by a handful of players like Fedex Kinko's.

With these stores, Printo is targetting both the retail customers as well as corporates. The company will offer services like printing of cards, company brochures, photo products and marketing and communication documents. Printo has raised funds for the expansion though a mix of private equity and debt.

"Globally the print and document services market is an organised business but not in India. We believe we are making our foray at the right time as organised retail has been steadily gaining ground in India. We are aiming at a turnover of Rs 500 crore in the next seven years," the Co-founder and CEO of Printo Manish Sharma said.

Founded in 2006, the company is owned by co-founders Manish Sharma and Lalana Zaveri, while a minority stake is held by the employees and investors.