Infiniti Retail, which runs the Croma chain of electronics stores, is adopting an omni-channel approach ? opening kiosks and ramping up online presence even as it boasts of sizeable brick-and-mortar store volumes. At the opening of the chain?s 101th store, managing director Ajit Joshi spoke to Vaishnavi Bala on the intense competition in the online market and the company?s plans to generate funds for future expansion now that it is in its eighth year of operations.

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How does your expansion pipeline look like?

We will set up 10-14 stores this year, but only at strategic locations in cities we are already present in. Expansion in Chennai and Hyderabad are foremost on our radar. Both the cities are expanding rapidly. The management had set a target that in every city we enter, we must get 20% CDIT (consumer durables & IT) share and we are working towards that.

How are you coping with the stiff competition from online sellers?

There is intense competition from e-commerce websites, especially in terms of pricing. But we are ramping up our online presence ? our website cromaretail.com delivers R1-crore revenue for us per week, although it is still negligible in terms of total revenue. We are now adopting an omni-channel strategy wherein we are developing online presence and looking at having kiosks in crowded places.

How much revenue increase did the company see last year?

In FY14, we would have grown by 24-27%. That is an increase on a turnover of R3,100 crore in the previous year. We are always working towards breaking even. All I can say is, this is a defining year for us.

What kind of investments has the business seen?

Tata Sons has invested about R700 crore in Croma since 2006. That has come in stages. We do not intend to ask for any more funds. We are now in our eighth year, and we have to start generating our own funds for future expansion. When one opens 14-15 stores, depreciation hits the profit & loss account, but we need to create a turnover that covers that.

Croma has also been focusing on its private labels. How much do they contribute now?

Our private-label brands, which are 10-15% cheaper than the nearest brands, are growing fast. For example, we crossed R180 crore of turnover from our private labels in FY14, from R120 crore in the previous year. Our target share for private labels is 12%, but we are not close to it.