Croma to launch 7 stores this year

Chennai, Sept. 17:  

Despite the slowing economy, consumer electronics and durables retail chain Croma plans to expand its retail footprint and private label product kitty.

The six-year-old retailer posted a turnover of over Rs 2,500 crore in 2011-12, representing 30 per cent growth over 2010-11. “We hope to post a similar growth in 2012-13 too,” said Ajit Joshi, Managing Director and CEO of Infiniti Retail Ltd, which owns Croma.

The 93-store strong chain from the Tata group plans to add seven stores during the current financial year, besides expanding its reach through its e-commerce platform. The seven large-format stores will come up in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. Croma’s one-year-old online venture now reaches 293 cities and towns, and keeps expanding its reach. Currently, Croma has retail outlets in 16 cities across the country. “Our plan is to consolidate our presence in these cities, before we step into other cities,” he said.

On its private label products, Joshi said Croma will introduce more innovative personal care and IT products. It currently has a whole gamut of personal care products from hairdryers to body massagers, and technology products and accessories including flat panel TVs, tablets and mobile handsets, and durables ranging from washing machines to air-conditioners. “With close to 10 per cent share of our top line, our in-house brands are doing extremely well, and we would like to introduce more innovative products across categories.”\

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mukesh kumar 

pgdm 3rd