Sunday, May 13, 2007

Big Apple to open 100 retail stores by August

Big Apple, the Indian version of the popular US retail chain 7-Eleven, plans to open 100 convenience stores in the national capital and surrounding areas by August to cater to the urban consumers.

With shopping becoming another casualty of long working hours, Express Retail Services Pvt Ltd is rapidly expanding its Big Apple chain of convenience stores with 25 stores already merchandising 2,500 products including FMCG, grocery, fruits and vegetables, company managing director Munish Hemrajani said told PTI here.

"I have a kitty of Rs 100 crore which I have to exhaust by March 31, 2008," he said. "We just opened our 25th store in Delhi and by August we will be 100 stores."

The stores will remain open from 7:am to 11:pm.

After August, Big Apple will expand into cities adjoining the national capital to double the number of stores to 200.

In the second phase, expansion is planned in Karnataka and Gujarat, he said.

The company's stores are doing an average sales of Rs 16 lakh per day and it is just six-month away from break- even. "We are just two per cent away from break-even."

A typical Big Apple store is 1,500 to 1,800 sq feet and stores over 2,500 product merchandise, he said and claimed it was way ahead of competition from Reliance Retail's neighbourhood stores and Subhiksha. "We change product line every 90 days based on customer acceptance and demand."

The Rs 40 crore company has a direct tie-up with farmers in Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

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