News: HyperCity to open 35 stores soon

(TNN 19/06/2006) Kolkata - The K Raheja group of Shoppers’ Stop fame is spreading its wings in retailing. The group plans to open 35 hypermarket stores across the country. The stores, called ‘HyperCity’, will sell a variety of goods from groceries, vegetables and meat to consumer durables.

The firm is close to finalising two properties in Mumbai and is also looking at Kolkata and some other cities for a slice of the country’s retail pie.

HyperCity Retail (India) chief executive officer Andrew Levermore said: “We are in an advanced stage of negotiation for two properties of more than 1,00,000 square feet (sq ft) in Mumbai.” Till now, the group has opened only one HyperCity store in Malad (Mumbai).

Mr Levermore added, ”We haven’t set any deadline for opening some 35 stores across the country but intend to do so as soon as possible. Our second HyperCity in Gurgaon will open trade by the ’06-end.” The third store outside Thane (Mumbai) will see HyperCity as the sole anchor of a mall covering some 120,000 sq ft of space.

Apart from tier-I cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata, efforts are also on to identify properties for outright purchase or lease Tier-II cities. It has identified properties in Lucknow, Ludhiana, Coimbatore, Mangalore, Jaipur and Aurangabad.

“The group is open to the idea of becoming anchor stores in malls or undertaking greenfield projects. If we take the first option, we will become the anchor only if the total mall development area is in excess of 6,00,000 sq ft,” Mr Levermore said.