Business
Standard
27
May 2010
Aditya
Birla Retail today said it will increase focus on
its private labels business and is looking to introduce
its own branded consumer durables and electronics
products by 2012.
The
company, which is the retail arm of Aditya Birla
Group, said it aims to increase the share of private
labels in its total sales to 30 per cent within
2-3 years from around 20 per cent currently.
"Our
strategy is to focus more on private labels as they
give more margins and also increase our own brand
profile. We aim to increase the share of private
labels in our total sales to 30 per cent in the
next 2-3 years from the existing 20 per cent,"
Aditya Birla Retail Ltd (ABRL) Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Varghese told PTI.
Private
labels are products manufactured by a company
under its own brand and are generally positioned
as lower cost alternatives to national or international
brands.
Varghese
said ABRL is exploring the consumer durables and
electronics segments for launching its own private
labels.
"However,
it will take some time... Maybe a year-and-a-half...
Maybe by early 2012, before we introduce our own
range of consumer durables and electronic items.
We will launch them once we have at least 15-16
of our large format More Hypermarts," he
said.
Varghese
added that the company will look at all categories
of consumer durables, including televisions, coolers
and refrigerators.
"We
will outsource the manufacturing to some top quality
manufacturers either in India or abroad. We want
to maintain the quality of a Aditya Birla-branded
products," he added.
ABRL
currently sells a range of private labels catering
to various segments, including FMCG, apparels and
footwear. Among its major in-house brands are More
(staples), Blue Earth (apparels), True (footwear),
Feasters (food based items), Kitchen's Promise (ready-to-eat)
and Enriche (soaps and conditioners).
ABRL,
which had a turnover of Rs 1,460 crore in 2009-10,
today opened its first More Hypermarket in the
Delhi NCR region. It currently has 540 More supermarkets
and seven large format More Hypermarts in 167
cities and towns across India.
The
company had earlier planned to invest Rs 200 crore
this fiscal to open another 100-odd supermarkets
and 8-10 more hypermarts by March, 2011.
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