Next Retail, a subsidiary of Videocon Industries Ltd, has shelved the plan to offload a 40 per cent stake in the company.

“Next is no longer up for sale. At this stage, it does not seem any foreign player would be keen to enter India and we would rather consolidate our operations than selling a stake,” said Sanjay Karwa, Director, Next Retail.

Earlier, Videocon Industries had said it would sell a 40 per cent stake in Next Retail to a foreign player in 2013.

Despite being a multi-brand retailer, Next Retail would now focus on home-grown brands such as Videocon and Electrolux.

“Next Retail will be led by our home-grown brands and we expect almost 70 per cent of our sales to come from group owned brands,” added Karwa.

Next Retail has moved its outlets away from the metro markets to tier two and three cities where it expects its largest selling Videocon brand to fare better than the strong multinational brands. Almost 25 per cent of its sales come from the Videocon brand in categories such as flat panel TVs and refrigerators.

The company also plans to enhance its presence in States such as Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

“We do not have a strong presence in the eastern States and are planning to increase our business in the coastal towns. We will target regions with a population of under 1 million, the strategy is to move step by step to increase penetration with the help of our dealers,” Karwa said. With a sales turnover of ₹800 crore this fiscal, Next Retail is yet to break even with its 700-odd outlets.

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