Pantaloon Retail to open small local stores

Mumbai: Kishore Biyani chairman Pantaloon Retail will soon launch new small sized stores branded as Fairprice Value Stores (KBFVS), a no-frills, deep discount format, sometime in August this year. The stores built on the lines of Subhiksha a convenience store format will look to address the daily shopping needs of customers.

Sources say KBFVS is a radically different concept and services model, which is based on a German no-frills discount format, LIDL (owned by Schwarz). Pantaloon will open a cluster of stores in a particular area and would set up 1,500 stores over 18 months across top cities.

The non-AC, basic format stores will offer limited stock-keeping units with massive discounts, but will not compete with kirana stores. The company has already tied up the real estate for the formats, sources said. Food Bazaar, Pantaloon''s large food format did not get the kind of volumes needed to be successful in the low-margin foods business since consumers visit the store for their monthly purchases and not for daily requirements.

The first cluster of stores is understood to have been test-marketed in Delhi. The launch is also the result of consumer learning that Indians prefer fresh supplies and proximity of stores in residential areas to make frequent purchases.

The project is based on the research that, Indian consumers do not have access to good roads, cheap fuel or large storage space to stock up the big volume purchases.