Trent's chairperson Simone N Tata who was in Chennai to flag off the opening of the new swanky department store Westside at Spencer Plaza, said that after the entire cosmetics business under the Lakme brand, its factory and offices were sold off to Hindustan Levers for a consideration of Rs 200 crore, retailing was identified as a thrust area.

So the company opened a department store in Bangalore last year, followed it up with another in Hyderabad which was opened in mid-December last year and the Chennai outlet is the third to be opened in a series of 10 such department stores planned to be established by year 2000.

Simone Tata told presspersons that the concept of department stores or supermarkets was very new in the country and still evolving. Theretailing business had huge potential and has made a beginning in the country with smaller stores. But the business is getting a momentum and the company plans to expand in this segment in a big way in the coming years.

The Chennai store carries an investment of Rs 2.5 crore and has 20,000 square feet of space offering a variety of clothing for men, women and children in three separate floors connected by an escalator. The store also has a costume jewellery section, a gift shop, and a `home beautiful' department. A coffee shop is to be opened soon.

According to Simone Tata, the company makes its own designs and ensures quality production from a number of Tata group companies as well as outsiders. The company, she said, will be building its own brand and sell the goods at affordable prices. "We are not competing with established brands," she said.

The company is planning to open a retail outlet in Mumbai within the next two months. The response from the Bangalore store has been very good, she said, with500 to 600 buyers visiting the store daily.