Bull in an India shop
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If Kishore Biyani has used retail as a foundation to foray into financial services, it’s quite the reverse for the Indiabulls Group. It started with financial services, then moved into real estate, and then arguably synergistically into retailing.
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For starters, there are the Indiabulls Marts, which are smallformat stores, in the range of 4,000-5,000 sq. ft and stock groceries and general merchandise; Indiabulls Mega Stores, medium-size lifestyle stores, will follow; and Indiabulls Wholesale will be on the lines of the cash-and-carry format similar to Costco in the US.
Says Ikroop Singh, CEO, Indiabulls Retail Services: “Currently we have 35 Indiabulls Marts; these will go up to 100 stores. There will be 10 large-format wholesale stores. All these stores have been planned to come up over the next 12-18 months.”