RPSG Group confident of making consumer biz vertical profitable: V-C
Goenka Group vice chairman Shashwat Goenka said the group is confident of turning profitable its consumer business comprising retail stores such as Spencer's Retail, Nature's Basket and the FMCG business within 2-3 years.
The financial turnaround will be achieved by reducing debt through a mix of restructuring and repayment of loans, exiting loss-making stores and categories, and entering a new high margin retail format through world-class luxury gourmet stores, said Goenka in an interview.
The group, meanwhile, continues to hold talks to sell a minority stake in Spencer's Retail and plans to list the FMCG business at the «right time», said Goenka.
He didn't elaborate.
The new luxury retail format-- Nature's Basket Artisan Pantry--will be housed under Nature's Basket, and it will offer luxury gourmet food products with several first of its kind products in the Indian market and higher share of imported products.
These stores, set up over 8,000-12,000 square feet as compared to the usual 2,000-3,000 sq ft for Nature's Basket, will not only generate more revenues but add 1-2 percentage points to gross margins.
The first Nature's Basket Artisan Pantry store opened last weekend in Mumbai's Palladium Mall.
He also said a second store will open in Mumbai while Kolkata will get its first store by next month, and 3-5 stores next fiscal including in the National Capital Region and Bengaluru.
«These stores are globally comparable only with Harrods Food Halls in London.
These stores will breakeven in 2-3 months of their starting operations and contribute much higher to the topline,» he said.
Last quarter, the group closed 22 highly loss-making stores of Spencer's, leading to an exit from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There are
