Today’s Stationery Mart, a wholly owned subsidiary of Today’s Writing Products Limited, has made its entry into the business of retail through Offix, a stationery retail store, in Malad, Mumbai.
“The sheer size of the market and the absence of organised players prompted us to look at the market. We want to be a dominant player in the segment,” Amit Mohta, chief executive, Today’s Stationery Mart, said in a statement.
Offix will be present in three store formats: express, in the range of 500 to 1,000 square feet; medium, in the range of 1,000 to 2,500 square feet; and large, extending above 5,000 square feet. All these formats will retail nearly 4,500 products in 20 categories including calendars, cartridges and office automation.
The company is planning to open nearly 80 stores in western India by 2008. “We have already identified properties and will sign most of them soon,” said Mohta.
The company has also tied up with Essar Group’s mobile retail chain The Mobile Store, RPG’s music retail chain Music World, and digital printing solutions company Printo to occupy space in their stores on a revenue-sharing and rental basis.
Today’s expects that the new format of stores will boost up their sales nearly 30 to 40 per cent annually.
