Nature’s Basket, the retail venture of the Godrej group, has recently opened its two outlets in Delhi at Defence Colony and Greater Kailash (GK) market. The group has further plans to launch six more stores in Delhi within this year (2010).
Talking exclusively to IndiaRetailing, Mohit Khattar, managing director, Godrej Nature’s Basket says, “Our immediate plan is to launch six more stores in Delhi within this year. Post this, we have plans to expand in other cities. We do not believe that as of now there is big potential in the smaller cities for gourmet retail. We do not operate on the franchisee model as the level of care that is required for this business cannot be left to someone else. We will share investment plans as we move forward."
The store at Defence Colony is the chain’s first foray in Delhi after having launched its signature store at Warden Road in Mumbai in 2005. Since then, the brand continues to be synonymous with gourmet food retail in Mumbai.
“We genuinely believe that the level of service and experience that you can offer a customer is critical. So even though we operate with moderately-sized stores like the one at Defence Colony, which is spread across 2,800 sq.ft or the 1,700 sq.ft GK store, the consumer comes out of the store with the feeling that they have been around the world," Khattar says.
“The launch of the Nature’s Basket brand in New Delhi is an important step for us in extending our eclectic assortment of world food to foodies in the capital and to an audience who would like to shop for food the way the world does. Nature’s Basket is a one-stop shop for those who have hitherto either not been able to find what they have been looking for or have had to make do with poor or stale substitutes from regular stores,” he adds.
Currently, Nature’s Basket has morphed into a 10-store-chain, including two stores in Delhi, covering total retail space is 18,500 square feet.
— Rajni Pandey
