Celekt, a new entrant to the mobile retail industry, will set up 500 stores in the South and Western States with an investment of ₹200 crore.

Promoted by Y Guru and R Murali, who have been in the mobile retail and marketing space in the last 20 years,

Celekt will kick off its operations by opening two stores, one each in Hyderabad and Tirupati, on March 15.

“Though there are regional and local players in the organised mobile retailer, there is no major pan-India retailer so far. Markets like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have been left under-served by the organised players,” said Y Guru, Managing Director.

Of the ₹1.20-lakh crore mobile retail market, the share of organised players in the offline space is only 10-12 per cent, leaving the bulk to the unorganised players.

In the first phase, the firm will focus on the South and West before expanding to the North.

He said majority of consumers still prefer to buy the phones in the physical stores.

“The online space is serving only 18-20 per cent. There is huge scope in the physical store space,” he said.

“After consolidating the 200 stores in two years, we will add 300 in the third year and 200 more in the fourth year,” he said.

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