Vishal Retail Limited has set for itself a target to cross the 500 store mark by financial year 2010-11.
Positioned on the value for money plank, Vishal Mega Mart, which is one of the fastest growing hypermarkets, seeks to ensure that eighty per cent of the total stores should be located in non tier I cities.
Speaking to Indiaretailing, Manmohan Agarwal, CEO, corporate affairs, said, “The company plans to reach the 500 stores mark covering 10 million sq ft of retail space by financial year 2010-11. We have set up a dedicated team of 20 professionals for sight identification with clearly-defined responsibilities for the next 3 years”.
At present, Vishal Mega Mart has 136 stores, out of which 30 are in tier I cities and the rest are all in non tier I cities (tier II and III cities). “Even at present, around 79% of our total stores are in tier II and III cities, where we enjoy first mover advantage and cater to the middle and lower middle class consumers”, said Agarwal.
In the next three years, Vishal plans to have a good geographical mix of stores – 45% in the north, 30% in the west and the rest in south and east. Under an agreement with HPCL, Vishal Retail also intends to test the concept of non-fuel retailing at the forecourt. The company has already opened two such stores on a trial basis and has plans to increase it to 20-25 stores.
