Bharti’s entry to the Indian retail market has been much more sedate than its competitors. The company is taking a slow but steady approach, and its plans to roll out a supermarket format in the state of Punjab by the end of the year reflect that.
The company’s managing director and head of the retail arm, Rajan Bharti Mittal, said he would only roll out stores only in Punjab and the neighbouring state of Haryana this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Mr Mittal said the expansion was “as per plan”, and that the supermarket stores would cover a floor-space of 3,700m2. Hypermarket stores would open next year, he said.
Bharti came into the market earlier this year, opening several convenience stores in Punjab. The company has signed up to a cash-and-carry wholesale joint venture with US retail giant Wal-Mart, but rollout of the wholesale stores is proceeding slowly, with 15 planned over the next seven years.
The company’s competitors, like Reliance Retail, Aditya Birla and Spencer’s Retail, have opened hundreds of stores in the same time frame in an industry recent reports have predicted will treble by 2015.
Entry into the organised retail market in India has been difficult for many companies, who have found themselves pushed out by a powerful lobby of ‘mum and dad’ style shops. Organised retail’s share of the country’s US$322bn retail market is currently only 5 per cent.
The retail arm of the Bharti group has solid backing; the company owns India’s largest mobile phone company, Bharti Airtel.
