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Purvita Chatterjee

MUMBAI, April 3

MR SUBHASH Chandra of the Essel Group is planning to get into lifestyle retailing. This venture will be spearheaded through his group company, E-City Retail, floated a year ago to launch branded stores at its family centres (Fun Republic). The Group is now taking its stores outside these centres to Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.

To begin with, its department store brand `Hours' will soon come up on Brigade Road in Bangalore. Bagging almost 20,000 sq ft of leased out retail space, it will also stock the group's private clothing labels for the first time.

Speaking to Business Line Mr Atul Goel, Chief Officer- Business Development, E- City Entertainment (I) Pvt Ltd, said, "Yes we are taking our branded stores outside the fun centres to malls and high streets in metros."

`Hours' which exists as a three-level departmental store at its family entertainment centre in Ahmedabad, already stocks a host of branded apparel and non-apparel brands. Now for the first time, the Essel Group will introduce its private clothing labels at its departmental stores both inside and outside these family centres.

With brand names such as Alaap (for ethnic wear), Orange Street (for casuals), Insignia (for formal wear) and Pampam (for kids), these will be in-store brands developed by the Group as it makes its foray into lifestyle retailing.

Besides `Hours' will stock a host of household accessories, all sourced from various manufacturers across the country.

Apart from introducing `Hours', the group will also foray into music and books retailing through its other two store brands - `Sonic State' and `Book Bay'.

The former is an interactive retailing store with a collection of almost 500 titles in different languages while Book Bay houses more than 50,000 books on display along with educational and entertaining CD Roms for children, soft toys and lifestyle products such as crockery sets for kids.

Besides, there would be some amount of cross-selling through group companies. For instance, store brands — Book Bay and Sonic State — would set up kiosks at the 15 outlets belonging to the group company, Agrani Convergence Ltd. Set up nearly two years ago, the company retails switches, telephone instruments and computer accessories.

Adds Mr Goel, "We would be seeking smaller distribution channels and set up shop-in-shops in addition to selling through our flagship store brands. Small kiosks have already been set up at the Agrani stores."

Meanwhile, the Rs 26-crore E-City(I) Entertainment, the company under which its family centres (Fun Republics) exist, intends branching out to countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in addition to setting up 14 Fun Republics within the country. This would include taking its branded stores that presently exist within its family centres to these countries.

Highlights Mr Goel, "We are looking at joint ventures to enter these countries. At present there are no family centres of this kind in these countries."

Scouting for partners from its own international client base in other group companies (such as Essel Packaging), the purpose is to locate players based in these countries to start such family entertainment centres.

"Some of our existing clients based in these countries have already evinced interest in this project. These are our erstwhile clients of Essel Packaging, with whom we might partner in the future,'' says Mr Goel.

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