Pyramid Retail to invest Rs 135 cr

Pyramid Retail Ltd, the Piramal Group promoted retail chain, will add 12 more malls in the lifestyle category and 60 more stores in the food and grocery segment in the northern and western region by 2008, with an investment of Rs 135 crore.

"Pyramid Retail Ltd (PRL), the lifestyle chain, will have 12 more malls in the northern and western regions in the next one-and-a-half years with an investment of about Rs 100 crore, while its food and grocery chain "Truemart" will add 60 more outlets during the same period," PRL Managing Director and CEO Krish Iyer said here today.

The group will invest about Rs 35 crore and open 60 more outlets in Mumbai and Pune alone.

It currently has nine outlets in the two cities, he said on the sidelines of the International Conference on Opportunities and Challenges in Retail organised by Ficci.

"We are focussing on opening malls in the northern and western region and will have 17 malls by 2008. The group currently has five stores in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur," he said, adding that the company planned to open two stores a month in food and beverages category.

The company, which was listed yesterday, is expanding operations into the northern region and plans to set up 8-10 malls. "Of this, 5 malls will be in and around Delhi and the rest will be at Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Chandigarh," he said.

The company is close to finalising a second mall in Pune. In the next stage, stores are also being planned at Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, he said.

The new malls will be set up on leased premises and each one will have different formats. A large-scale set up for consumer durables is also being planned, Iyer said. To open a store in food and grocery, he said, "We are looking at a 5,000 square ft area in a proper location to open such outlets."

By 2008, the chain will have 69 stores in Mumbai and Pune and then "we may think of expanding it in other parts of the country as well."

The group has raised Rs 108 crore from the market through its IPO, a major part of which will be used to construct malls at various places in both the regions, he said. The Piramal Group's retail business is implemented by Pyramid Retail, a subsidiary of piramal holdings.

On partnerships, he said: "We as a company are doing well but are open to good partnerships."

UP THE PYRAMID OF GROWTH

Pyramid Retail Ltd will add 12 more malls in the lifestyle category and 60 more stores in the food and grocery segment

The company's food and grocery chain "Truemart" will add 60 more outlets during the same period

The group will invest about Rs 35 crore and open 60 more outlets in Mumbai and Pune alone

The group currently has nine outlets in the cities of Mumbai and Pune and plans to have 17 malls in the northern and western region by December 2007

The group plans to set up units at Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Chandigarh, apart from Delhi

The group, which has raised Rs 108 crore from the market through its IPO is looking for a 5000 sq feet area to open a stoere