Trent to open 7 Star Bazaars next fiscal

Trent, the Tata group retailer that operates hypermarket chain Star Bazaar in western and southern India, is looking to open 2-5 new stores by March 2010, Gordon Reid, chief operating officer, Trent, said on the sidelines of Retail Leadership Summit on Thursday.

“In the next financial year, we are going to open at least 7 Star Bazaars with an investment of Rs7 crore per store. We are focusing on South and West,’’ Reid said. However, he declined to divulge how the company would raise the funds.

The retailer is looking at Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai for expansion. “We are expecting like-to-like sales growth for this year (FY10) to be at 41% from last year,” he said.

The company had earlier announced a target of reaching 50 Star Bazaar outlets in 5 years and Reid said this was well within reach.

The categories of fast moving consumer goods, general merchandise and fresh foods are doing well, Reid said.