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Our Bureau

Hyderabad, July 21

Videocon Retail has readied a huge expansion plan for Planet M and Next retail formats in the next few years with an investment of Rs 800 crore.

“We are going to add 40-50 Planet M stores every month in the next few years to reach 1,500 outlets,” said Mr Saurabh Dhoot, Director, Videocon Retail.

Currently, the company runs 200 such stores in 42 cities, he said.

Mr Dhoot was here in the city in connection with the launch of the first Café eARTh outlet, attached to the Planet M store at Banjara Hills, here.

“A good number of Planet M stores would have such cafes,” he said.

Videocon, which acquired Planet M last year, was in the process of revamping.

“We have so far revamped 80 stores offering mobile phones, accessories, apart from the entertainment products,” he said.

The company was also planning to increase the sales from its private label products such as mobile accessories and T-shirts.

“At present, the private label products contribute 15 per cent to the topline,” Mr Dhoot said.

Planet M registered a turnover of Rs 400 crore last year. “We are expecting this to reach Rs 4,000 crore in the next few years when we breached the 1,500-outlet mark,” he said.

Justifying the numbers, Mr Dhoot said the mobile phone segment contributed 40 per cent to the topline last year.

“Considering the speed at which the company’s expanding the network, we are confident that we will achieve the $1-billion mark after three years,” he said.

As part of its plan to offer value-added services, the company initiated talks with general insurance companies to offer insurance for handsets.

“We have already begun offering extended warranties on certain products,” he said.

The company had also decided to increase the number of Next (appliances retailing format) stores to 700 from the present 400, covering 200 cities.

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