Aditya Birla group enters retail with Trinethra acquisition

Mumbai: The Aditya Birla group is making its entry into the retail arena with the takeover of Andhra Pradesh-based Trinethra Super Retail Ltd, which operates a chain of over 100 food and grocery stores in the southern metros and mini-metros in India. The financial details of the acquisition are not available.

The Rs.170-crore Trinethra has 26 stores in Bangalore, 15 in Chennai, and 83 stores in the state of Andhra Pradesh; and it has a few stores coming up in Kerala. The group has also been planning to enter several tier-II cities in the south.

The group operates its stores under the brand name Trinethra in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and as 'Fabmall' in Karnataka. It also has a format called 'Quality First' for commodities such as rice, wheat and pulses.

India Value Fund, managed by GW Capital, has a majority stake in Trinethra.

The AV Birla group has big plans to enter the retail business, and it has put Sumant Sinha, group financial officer, in charge of the venture. The group has also been doing some intense hiring on this front, and has recently recruited executives from Pantaloon's Food Bazaar and other retail ventures.