The Bombay Store to set up 16 outlets

The gift and home retail chain, Bombay Swadeshi Stores,

which sells under the brand The Bombay Store, is planning to launch 16 stores by 2012. The company is looking at opening these stores in upcoming airports all over the country. The Mumbai-based company has 11 stores across India and is looking to set up outlets in Mumbai, Bangalore, Aurangabad, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Indore, Chandigarh and Udaipur.

Most of their clientele are those who purchase Indian artefacts and home accessories as gifts. Many of them are travelers who pick it up as gifts at airports. Given this, Bombay Swadeshi is looking to set up outlets in new terminals in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai.

Conceived in 1906 by Lokmanya Tilak as the Bombay Swadeshi Co-operative Stores, the Dalal family acquired the company in 1991 and launched the brand The Bombay Store in 1995. Presently, the Dalal family owns 60 per cent of the company while Fidelity Multitrade holds 14.9 per cent stake, the rest is held by the public. UK, France, Germany and the US are the new markets the company is planning to explore in the near future. It is also exploring the shop-in-shops format in India and abroad. In 2009, the company clocked a turnover of Rs 23 crores and is expecting to end March 2010 at Rs 30 crores.