Retail arm of RPG Enterprises, Spencer’s Retail Limited, is all set to increase the share of private labels on its shelves by the end of this year. Talking exclusively to IndiaRetailing, Vineet Kapila, president, Spencer’s Retail Limited says, “Currently, private labels constitute around 15 per cent of our annual sales. By end of this year, we are looking to increase the share of private labels to 30 per cent and for this purpose we will launch new labels.”
The company is also focussing on increasing its retail presence by the end of FY 2011. Spencer’s currently has 220 stores, out of which 30 are large format stores. Kapila talks about future expansion plans, “Spencer’s will open 15 large format stores focussing on tier II cities and the each store will cover an area of 15-30,000 square feet.”
Further, commenting about the current Indian retail market Kapila says, “The last decade saw the nadir and zenith of the retail industry. For most of the years, the Indian scenario portrayed an impression of exponential growth, which led to unbridled expansions by the industry players. However, the correction was equally quick, maybe quicker, with players scampering to align and rationalise growth plans, as recession hit.”
“However, things have started looking up as the economy is reviving and consumer spends are inching back to previous levels, though this not an easy situation. We are excited about the future, have a clear roadmap on the geographies, formats, merchandise and capabilities required to the take the organisation and the industry to the next level,” adds Kapila.
Seeking the support from the Indian government in the forthcoming Union Budget, Kapila says, “It is always a challenge to draw up budgets, particularly when deficits and inflations are high. There is a simultaneous need for allocations on social and infrastructure sectors. Given this situation, my suggestion would be to draw up a budget that allows Indian entrepreneurship to flourish and add fuel to the economic growth. This would mean increased deregulation, ease of FII and FDI in sectors such as retail and structural changes around food economics to keep the food inflation in check.”
— Diwakar Kumar
