Mahindra Group, India’s top utility vehicle and tractor maker, is yet another deep-pocketed company to get fascinated by the retail boom.
The company is set to diversify and enter the retail sector and will roll out a chain of multiple-format lifestyle stores across the country, in a year’s time.
The company already holds licenses to distribute kids’ apparel, toys and furnishings of companies such as Walt Disney, Mattel, Lego and Woolworths Plc’s Ladybird in India.
The retail venture will be a Mahindra Group business, although the company may consider taking on strategic investors at a later date.
As of now, the company is moving ahead through self-funding, but it is also looking at the option of taking on strategic investors, say industry sources.
In recruitment advertisements in newspapers on Wednesday, Mahindra Retail claimed that it will operate in the premium lifestyle space, selling international and private labels.
Mahindra’s flagship Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd is India’s top utility vehicle and tractor maker. The group also has interests in infrastructure development, telecom, financial services and information technology.