Bharti Retail may offer telecom, insurance services too
By Our Corporate Bureau | 20 Feb 2007
New Delhi: The Bharti Group's retail venture may well provide insurance and telecom services along with groceries.
The Group, which has interests in telecom (Bharti Airtel) and insurance sectors (Bharti AXA Life Insurance) is looking at servicing end customers of the group's various activities under a single roof once the stores are opened next year.
Vinod Sawhny, Bharti's retail head, told reporters that there was a thinking in the group "to synergise activities of group companies, which relates to direct interaction with customers."
Bharti Airtel already has a sales and distribution network of over 4.9 lakh outlets across the country.
Similarly, the retail venture could also provide a platform for the group's life insurance business Bharti AXA Life, which is aiming to be volumes player.
Bharti AXA Life Insurance CEO Nitin Chopra is reported to have said that the company intends to be a mass-market player with a multi-channel distribution network. The company has launched the agents, corporate and broker channels, while it evaluates bancassuarance tie-ups.