Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Mahindra Group To Enter Retail Sector

Mumbai: Mahindra Group is entering the retail industry, newspaper advertisements showed on Wednesday, becoming the latest deep-pocketed, family-run Indian company to enter the fragmented but fast-growing market.

Mahindra Retail will be a "multi-format, specialty chain in the premium lifestyle space", selling international and private labels, a recruitment advertisement in newspapers said.

No other details were mentioned.

Mahindra's flagship Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd is India's top utility vehicle and tractor maker. The group also has interests in infrastructure development, telecom and information technology.

India's retail industry is estimated at about $350 billion and forecast to nearly double by 2015.

Large companies including Reliance Industries Ltd, the Tata Group, the RPG Group, Bharti Enterprises and the Aditya Birla group are tapping the market.

Foreign multiple-brand retailers are allowed wholesale, licence or franchise operations in India, the route taken by Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Germany's Metro and Shoprite Holdings.

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