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Sankar Radhakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram June 13 Subhiksha, the Chennai-based discount retail chain, is preparing to start operations in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

Mr Mohit Khattar, President (Marketing), told Business Line that the company plans to open stores in all four States in the next few months.

The company recently opened stores in Punjab and is in the process of expanding its retail network in its existing markets, he added. In Kerala, the company plans to set up at least 70 stores across the State. While the first Subhiksha stores in Kerala will be in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, the company will set up outlets in other major urban areas of the State, Mr Khattar said.

It expects to open its first stores in Kerala in 3-4 months. The company will invest approximately Rs 50 crore in setting up its stores in Kerala.

While the company is stilling fine-tuning its strategy for Kerala, it expects to be able to take on the State's existing discount retailers such as the `margin-free' stores. According to Mr Khattar, existing discount retailers in Kerala are not giving customers the maximum discount possible.

Subhiksha believes that it will be able to offer customers discounts 4-5 times those currently being offered, he said. Besides, the company's stores will also offer better service levels, he added. The company's stores in Kerala will typically cover an area of 1,500 sq ft and will be in the self-service format. They will stock 80-85 per cent of a consumer's daily needs, he said.

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