Aditya Birla Retail plans expansion push

Aditya Birla Retail, the retail arm of the USD 29 billion diversified Aditya Birla Group, plans to open as many as 130 supermarkets and a dozen hypermarkets in the fiscal year starting in April, to take advantage of the surging spending power of Indian consumers.

It aims to expand its business and revenue share from its in-house labels, which offer higher margins, a top official said in an interview on Friday. The company also expects an announcement in the next six months on rules that would expand foreign direct investment in India's retail sector as India looks to battle high inflation. "We have spoken to the commerce secretary who said it is on the cards and that is now the view of most bureaucrats, that a decision is just around the corner," said Thomas Varghese, chief executive officer and chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry's committee on retail. The retail firm, which runs hypermarkets and supermarkets under the brand More, plans to spend Rs 250 crore (USD 55.3 million) to open 10-12 hypermarkets and 110-130 supermarkets in the country in the fiscal year that ends in March 2012, Varghese said. Organised retail accounts for just 6% of overall retail sales in India. The organised retail sector is growing at 20%, more than twice the rate of the overall economy.