Bucking a slowdown in retail, the Videocon group plans to increase the count of its Next Retail stores to 700 this year, up from 430 currently.
The stores will also sell IT and gaming products along with toys and gifts and Next Retail expects 8-10% of revenues from these new product categories.
“These are typically high-margin categories, which also help in generating higher footfall,” Sunil Mehta, chief executive officer of Next Retail India Ltd, said. “We have taken a cue from matured European markets for such a model.”
Next Retail has set up seven large central hubs to streamline distribution. It plans to replace smaller warehouses by central distribution centres that will deliver to consumer homes directly. This exercise will help cut costs by 7-8%, Mehta said.
The expansion will primarily focus on tier-II and tier-III cities. Mehta declined to give details on investments in opening the new stores.
Source: Mint
