Pantaloon Retail to pump in Rs 2,100 cr

Pantaloon Retail, India’s biggest organized retailer,

has announced its plans for a capital outlay of Rs 600-700 crores annually to propel its retail expansion. This amounts to an estimated Rs 2,100 crores over the next three-years. The Kishore Biyani led company that operates a chain of stores -- Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, KB’s Fair Price and rural model Adhaar -- would be using the funds to add 15-million sq. ft. retail space into its portfolio by 2014.

The funds will be used to add 3 -million sq. ft. of retail space every year for the next three years. This will be done across formats in both the value and lifestyle segment, Biyani told shareholders at its latest Annual General Meeting. Currently, it runs its outlets in 80 cities and plans to add another 30 cities in three years. However, about 60 per cent of the expansion would be carried out in the top eight metros.

Future Value Retail is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail. Some of the company’s leading formats include Pantaloons, a chain of fashion outlets, Big Bazaar, a uniquely Indian hypermarket chain, Food Bazaar, a supermarket chain, and Central, a chain of seamless destination malls. Some of its other formats include Depot book store, Shoe Factory, Brand Factory, Blue Sky, aLL, Top 10 and Star and Sitara. The company also operates an online portal. Its subsidiaries such as Home Solutions Retail (India) who operates Home Town, a large-format store for innovative home and lifestyle products, Collection I which sells home furniture products and e-Zone the electronics segment are doing well.

Pantaloon Retail is currently undergoing a major restructuring exercise with a lot of cash inputs as it completes its silver jubilee in 2012. Biyani feels that the next couple of years are crucial as it becomes a full retail company with a pure retail balance-sheet through value unlocking and all its different retail formats under one common umbrella.