Late last December, we had written about Future Group acquiring 28% stake in Sankalp Retail – master Franchisees for Dollar Stores in India. Future group now wants to leverage on the expertise and retail experience of MyDollarStore in India to setup Imported Bazaars as a shop-in-shop inside Big Bazaar selling the same product line as MyDollarStore.
Future Group has already opened 2 Imported Bazaars in Hyderabad. Two more will be opened in Bangalore very soon. Mr. Ghatak of Sankalp Retail said,
There is a huge appetite among the Indian consumers for the segments we are looking into. It is going to be a destination store for all customers who have an eye for international brands.
With this Imported Bazaar venture, Future Group is all set to expand and strengthen its Value Retail business while the share of Lifestyle business is continuously shrinking. Further due to the cross holding in Sankalp Retail, we expect it to be merged into Big Bazaar before Big Bazaar’s IPO.