Arvind Mills to invest Rs 400 cr on retail expansion

NEW DELHI: Bangalore-based Arvind Mills said on Monday it will invest Rs 400 crore in next four years to ramp up its retail operations targeting one billion dollar business by 2012.
    
Arvind Mills which currently has 70 'Megamart' retail stores across India selling multi-brand apparel, plans to set up 200 more outlets in next four years, besides introducing a larger format 'Megamart Outlet Centres' in top 20 cities.
    
"200 new 'Megamart' stores and 30 'Megamart Outlet Centres' would entail investment of Rs 400 crore and the company expects sales of one billion dollar driven by the retail expansion," Megamart Retail Chain Business Head Venkat said.
    
He said the first 'Megamart Outlet Centre' spread across around 60,000 square feet would come up in Chennai in December followed by Hyderabad and Pune.
    
"We have already signed up prime properties in Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad for this expansion. These three stores will be operational during this financial year," Arvind Mills Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Lalbhai said.
    
The existing 'Megamart' format stores across India cover 2.5 lakh square feet of retail space which was likely to go up to 25 lakh once the planned number of new stores are up and running.
    
As a part of the expansion plan, the company has tied up with design house JHP - London for designing the stores and is investing heavily on training the fashion assistants to man the Outlet Centres.
    
Currently, Arvind has licensing relationships with brands like GANT, Lee, Wrangler, Nautica, Jansport, Kipling, Hero by Wrangler & Lee Riders, Tommy Hilfiger and most recently Diesel.