News: Indian retailer Landmark plans 5 new stores

(RTR 13/04/2006) Mumbai - Book and music retailer Landmark Ltd., a unit of Trent Ltd. will spend Rs 200-250 to expand into western and northern India in 2006/07, a company official said on Thursday.

Trent, a part of India's Tata group, bought 76 percent in the Chennai-based chain for about 1 billion rupees in August last year. The rest is held by Hemu Ramiah, the chief executive officer of the company.

Ramiah said in a news conference the investment for the expansion would come from part debt and part internal accruals from Landmark. The company plans to open 5-6 stores under the plan.

“I've resisted entering Mumbai for so many years because of space. The price of the project went haywire. Till last year as a family-run business we were conservative in our outlook,” said Ramaiah.

Landmark has a presence in south India with three stores in Chennai, one in Bangalore and another in Kolkata in the east.

The company had retail revenues of Rs 1 billion last year and plans to add 60-70 percent growth in its top line this financial year, Ramiah said.

The firm was started as a mom-and-pop store by Ramiah and her brother in 1987. It has developed into a large format retailer requiring an average of 13,000-45,000 square feet space to house its collection of books, music, stationary, magazines, gifts, toys and home products, she said.

The ideal size for a store is a large format. Every store I do below that is a compromise, Ramaiah told Reuters.

Landmark will kick off its expansion plan with a 18,500 square-feet store in Mumbai, and another in the next 7-8 months.