Talwalkar Pantaloon's Fit & Active in Noida; plans 6 more

19 Mar 2009

Talwalkar Pantaloon Fitness Pvt Ltd, a JV between Pantaloon Retail and Talwalkars Better Value Pvt Ltd, has opened its fifth outlet Fit & Active gym at The Great India Place mall, Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The company will launch more such outlets this year to carry the figure to 11 in the next two-years, including the one in Siliguri in West Bengal to be operational in the next few weeks, informed Kishore Biyani, founder and CEO, Future Group.

Speaking to IndiaRetailing, Biyani said, “We have projected 11 gyms in two-year period and we are on track.”

When asked about the expansion plans of his other formats, Biyani elaborated, “We have downsized our targets to 2.5 million square feet for next year, which was earlier at 4 million square feet. For the proposed expansion, we require around Rs 8 billion, out of which around Rs 4 billion will come from internal accruals and rest from the equity and debt.”

“By 2010 June, we will be adding around 10 Pantaloon stores, 8 Centrals and 35 Big Bazaar outlets across the country,” added Biyani.

Clarifying the JV exits from Alpha and Etam, he said: “There were several reasons for these exits. But at the same time we have brought some international brands like Celio in India and are looking at 2-3 more opportunities. We have signed JV with HighDesign and will be launching our products in May this year. The products will be retailed through departmental stores, Future Group outlets and independent stores across the country.”

Sharing his expectations about the annual financial results amid slowdown, Biyani concluded, “We should end up with 30 per cent revenue growth this fiscal.”

— Sarimul Islam Choudhury