Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Nov 15, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Nov 15, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marketing
-
Retailing Metro Cash & Carry mulls expansion Our Bureau
CHENNAI: Metro Cash and Carry Pvt Ltd has studied the options of expanding into Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi and Mumbai. Mr Harsh Bahadur, Managing Director, Metro Cash and Carry India, said that Tamil Nadu has the potential of five to six distribution centres. Each distribution centre requires about seven acres covering 125,00 sq ft. The investment for each distribution centre would be up to Rs 70 crore, he said. The company, a member of the German Metro Group, entered India in 2003 and has two distribution centres in Bangalore. Mr Bahadur said that the entry into other States has been delayed because of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, as the law allows one to trade in fruits and vegetables only from the mandi in some States. Though the company is not looking for subsidies, he said that the Government could help by allotting land for the distribution centres, reducing sales tax and introducing a single window clearance for the various licences that are required. Mr Bahadur said that in India, the supply chain is long, fragmented and costly. For instance, a tomato changes hands 18 times before it reaches the customer and there is wastage of about 25- 30 per cent each time. In the Metro model, cooperatives are organised, the farmers are taught grading and packaging and post-harvest techniques, he said. The main customers of Metro are businesses — such as small retailers, hotels and restaurants. The competition, Mr Bahadur said, is the system under the APMC Act. There are about 95,000 registered customers of which 55,000 are retailers. This format is able to offer a wider variety of products at a cheaper rate, Mr Bahadur said.
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|