TI Cycles, a subsidiary of Tube Investments of India Limited and part of the Rs 8,500 crore Chennai-based Murugappa Group, plans to launch electronic bikes and sports gear stores in the next financial year.
“The company intends to set up sports gear stores, one each in Chennai and Pune, and the third either in Gurgaon or Chandigarh. These stores will cater to the whole range of sports equipment. At present, we are in the process of conducting a feasibility study for such stores, which are expected to be established in the next fiscal,” Arun Alagappan, head of retail at TI Cycles, said at the launch of the BSA Go store in Kolkata.
TI Cycles, known for its Hercules and BSA brands, aims to roll out 100 such stores in the country by the end of 2008, the investment for each store being Rs 20-25 lakh.
BSA Go store is a speciality store that offers fitness equipment and infant products apart from the complete range of Hercules and BSA brands of bicycles. At present, there are 16 such stores all over India.
On an average, the area of the stores will vary from 1,000 to 1,300 square feet.
The company, which is the second largest manufacturer of bicycles in India after the Hero Group, is eyeing a revenue of Rs 800 crore by 2010, up from the Rs 500 crore that it clocked in 2006-07.
TI Cycles has a market share of about 27 per cent in the Rs 2,000 crore bicycle market in India. The company has over 2,500 dealers throughout the country with manufacturing facilities in Chennai, Noida and Nasik, and warehouses in Durgapur, Patna and Guwahati.
