Bull in an India shop

If Kishore Biyani has used retail as a foundation to foray into financial services, it’s quite the reverse for the Indiabulls Group. It started with financial services, then moved into real estate, and then arguably synergistically into retailing.

Indiabulls Retail Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indiabulls Real Estate, over the next 12-18 months will set up a chain of groceries, lifestyle and wholesale stores. The company has already spent nearly Rs 400 crore in its retail venture.

For starters, there are the Indiabulls Marts, which are smallformat stores, in the range of 4,000-5,000 sq. ft and stock groceries and general merchandise; Indiabulls Mega Stores, medium-size lifestyle stores, will follow; and Indiabulls Wholesale will be on the lines of the cash-and-carry format similar to Costco in the US.

Says Ikroop Singh, CEO, Indiabulls Retail Services: “Currently we have 35 Indiabulls Marts; these will go up to 100 stores. There will be 10 large-format wholesale stores. All these stores have been planned to come up over the next 12-18 months.”