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Shoppers' Stop to unveil virtual store this month
Nitya Varadarajan
Chennai: Retail chain Shoppers' Stop which is expanding in a big way on the brick and mortar front, is working to set up its virtual store which would much more than just an apparel shop. The store to be available on the Net sometime this month will hawk apparel, gifts, toys, furniture, flowers and other SKUs (stock keeping units) which will be of interest to all family members. The advantage that the virtual store will have over the real one is on the space front to display the variety of goods. The brick and mortar stores currently have SKUs largely restricted to apparels with a ``home'' section recently opened to project itself as a retail chain for the family.The virtual store will be used more for gifting purposes by browsers, company officials explained. Initially the virtual store's presence will be allied with its brick and mortar centres - that is goods can be purchased from the portal only in places where Shoppers' Stop has a physical presence. Gradually it will network across the country. The brick and mortar stores will also have display kiosks within, allowing consumers a direct experience and access to the site with the facility of placing orders. Shoppers' Stop is currently tying up with support service providers to tie up the logistics of delivery, payment gateways and other back-end operations. While the virtual store is not expected to have a dramatic impact in terms of sales turnover initially, the portal is expected to gain in popularity with growing use of the Internet. An early beginning in the segment is expected to give it better brand awareness. Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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