Kishore Biyani-led Future Group is planning to open 30 more Big Bazaars in the next six months as part of its overall plan to create 5 million sq ft of retail space by 2011.
Going by conservative estimates of each Big Bazaar over 50,000 sq ft, the Future Group will create almost 1.5 mn sq ft of retail space under the value retail format in the next six months. Asked about expansion plans, Biyani said, ?We will have at least 30 more Big Bazaars in the next six months.?
The value retail format of the group, which consists of Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, is likely to have almost 8.5 million sq ft of retail space by 2011.
Biyani had hived off Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar into a separate company ?Future Value Retail from January 1 this year as managing a $1 billion business was becoming a challenge for the group. The market has been abuzz with speculation that Future will float an IPO for Big Bazaar.
While he did not rule out the possibility of an initial public offering, he said the company at present is not in any stage of IPO for Future Value Retail. ?We have other plans to raise capital,? he said.
Meanwhile, the Future Group is aiming at a turnover of $3 billion by 2011 from its value retail formats. ?We wanted Big Bazaar to develop its own balance sheet. We thought it is right to separate Big Bazaar, which caters to the mass market segment,? Biyani said.
The group has already set a target of achieving $2 billion turnover from the retail operations by June 2010. ?We have planned to create a total of 17 million sq ft of retail space by 2011,? he said. The group has 12 million sq ft of retail space at present.
Last year, Biyani said the group will add 18 million sq ft of retail space across various formats by 2013-14. ?We are in line with our 2013-14 target,? he said. Led by its flagship enterprise, Pantaloon Retail, the group operates in 73 cities and towns and 65 rural locations across India.