While India’s bigger players including Aditya Birla Retail and Pantaloon are scaling down their networks – Shoppers Stop, which operates large format department stores, home stores and specialty stores – is detailing its expansion plans.

Shoppers Stops, whose network counts 49 stores in 22 cities, will invest a total of Rs300 crore (around US$65 million) in opening 24 department stores during the next three years.

“Our main focus is to expand our department store and hypermarket formats. However, we keep on expanding other formats as well. We are adding eight stores each in the department store format in next two years, Hypercity and Homestop will add two stores every year,” said Govind Shrikhande, customer care associate and MD, Shoppers Stop.

Retail analysts have given Shoppers Stop’s fast track expansion strategy a tick, arguing it will capture demand once the market revives, at a time when competitors are scaling back their expansion.

“One has no clue when will demand come back. If you are not ready, then you will not be able to capture demand when it revives,” said Abneesh Roy, associate director, institutional equities- research at Edelweiss Securities.

“Shoppers Stop can tap the demand once it is back.”

Shoppers Stop also franchises specialty stores including Mothercare, MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder and Crossword in India.

GB