Amitabh Bachchan is said to be a frequent visitor to it. The Spar supermarket in Juhu, that is. He will soon see a new nameplate there.
MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan is said to be a frequent visitor to it. The Spar supermarket in Juhu, that is. He will soon see a new nameplate there.
The store, which was a joint venture between the Rs 177,000 crore (€28 billion) Dutch giant Spar and Radhakrishna Foodland Pvt Ltd, is being rebranded following a break-up of the two partners. That should be good news for corporations who have missed the Reliance Retail, Wal-Mart, and Food Bazaar what-have-you bus.
It gives them an opportunity to ally with a retailer owning 17,500 convenience stores in 34 countries. An official announcement on the break-up will be made by the second or third week of December.
Spar currently has two outlets in India - in Juhu and Thane— which tot up a business of around Rs 25 crore.
Spar stores offer an exotic selection of fruits, vegetables, dairy items, impulse items, bakery delicacies, groceries, staples, home meal replacement products, non-vegetarian items, delicatessen items, personal care and home care items.
The precise reasons for the split are not known. You could call it a conflict of interest issue or just a move-on strategy, now that the international principals have understood the nitty-gritty of doing business in India, said a source.
Spar signed a licensing agreement with Radhakrishna in 2003, through which the latter was given the responsibility to expand the Spar network in India.
But since then Radhakrishna has managed to open just two stores in Mumbai - one each in Juhu, Mumbai (spread over 2,700 sq ft and launched in December, 2004) and
Thane (6,000 sq. ft, opened this year). The original agreement envisaged setting up of a dozen-odd stores by May, 2006.
In the meantime, Radhakrishna launched its own food and grocery retail store brand called Foodland Fresh in 2005. Radhakrishna has since focused on expanding the Foodland Fresh network and Spar stores took a backseat. This is the root cause of the split, said a source. Radhakrishna officials were not available for comment on the issue.
Foodland Fresh has grown from two stores in 2005 to over eight stores as of date and is still expanding. Spar now wants to rewrite its Indian expansion story by joining hands with a new partner altogether.
Some of the developments in the recent past have clearly shown growing interest among Indian conglomerates to enter the retail business in association with an international partner. It’s all about hitting the iron when it is hot and Spar must have finally realised that the time was right, said the source.
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