The Rs 1200-crore Emami group has decided to consolidate its retail business, spread over three group companies, under one arm. While the consolidation will include the business of developing retail space, it excludes the arm that has forayed into other real estate projects.
The Emami group, owned by the Agarwals and the Goenkas of Kolkata, has its retail business carried on by three companies–Emami Retail Pvt Ltd, Real Value Projects Pvt Ltd and Frank Ross Ltd.
The group now proposes to merge Emami Retail and Real Value Projects with Frank Ross to make the latter, which owns a chain of drugstores, the group’s flagship retailing arm, sources close to the development said.
While Emami Ltd, the group’s flagship company, is a listed one, the group privately owns the three other companies.
Emami Retail manages the sprawling 15000-sqft Emami Landmark store in Kolkata, and following the exit of the Landmark group, its 50% joint venture partner for eight years, in January 2007, the name of the company has been changed. Now, it is known as Starmark.
Emami Retail now plans to open three new stores–at the City Centre in Salt Lake, a large format store in the South City Mall and another likely at VIP Road. These will be developed jointly by the Diamond Group and Kshitij, the venture capital fund of The Future group.
Emami has plans of rolling out up to 10 stores in the eastern region over the next 18 months with a targeted area of 80,000 sqft.
While Starmark is owned and managed by Emami Retail, the property, Emami Shoppers’ City, on whose third floor the store is located, is owned by Real Value Projects.
While Real Value plans to stick to development of retail properties, Emami Realty Ltd, a recently formed company, will be in charge of other real estate foray. It has already identified 10 projects comprising four IT parks, three shopping malls and residential complexes in Kolkata, Coimbatore and Hyderabad spread over 50lakh sqft.