The Hindu Business Line : Shoppers' Stop mulls food retail venture

INDIA'S food retailing market is soon to get a bit more crowded with Shoppers' Stop now planning to jump on the bandwagon with a fine foods chain within its stores, tentatively christened Fresh Basket.

The company is planning to kick-start its foray into food retailing with a pilot project at its Magrath Road outlet at Bangalore. Sources told Business Line the foray into food retailing is expected to take off in the next three months. Sources said the chain's foray into food retailing is fuelled by the fact that food is currently being seen as the next big thing in the retailing space, thanks to an upwardly mobile populace with large disposable incomes and aspirational lifestyles.

Shoppers' Stop's food hall will be positioned as the one-stop destination for on-the-move urban foodies.

Among other things that the store is planning is a deli section, which will have imported foodstuffs such as pate and smoked ham and a selection of local and imported wines. Shoppers can also buy everything from a range of imported cheeses, premium conserves, ready-to-use pasta, curry sauces and salad dressings or head for the section which will have soups, salads and main courses for those in a hurry.

The chain is also likely to have section of ready-to-eat and ready-to-go meals (microwaveable) for the shopper with convenience on top of his mind. "Plans are eventually also to add a ready-to-cook section," sources said, adding that plans are also being firmed up to have a kitchen and dining lifestyle segment which is a growing business, especially in urban centres.

"The hypermarket team (K. Raheja group's new food retailing business through Hypercity India Pvt Ltd, expected to roll out in the next fiscal) is currently working on extending the coffee shop concept into the food area and is currently putting up a pilot project on a 2,000 sq. ft. space at our Magrath Road outlet," Mr B.S. Nagesh, Managing Director and CEO, Shoppers' Stop said, when contacted.

"It will basically be a food and bakery concept for which the team is still exploring the market," he said adding that the rollout is at least three months away. According to information available with this newspaper, the chain store is right now in the process of working out the modalities of setting up a cool chain and putting in place other sophisticated equipment required for perishable food items.

"The plan is to eventually roll out the food halls across all its sixteen other outlets," sources said.

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