Westside plans to expand operation in 37 cities

Mumbai: Tata's retail venture Westside plans to expand to 37 more cities through franchises as a part of its next phase to spread its reach across the country.

As the current economic boom in India spreads to tier-II and tier-III cities and towns, reaching out to prospective consumers in these cities is high on the agenda of most retail companies. Hence, the market presence in these cities and towns is key to Westside's growth and profitability.

Westside started with the franchise model in 2007 in Mysore on an experimental basis. Buoyed by the success of the model in Mysore, Westside decided to go all out with the franchise plan and spread across the country.

Westside has identified cities on the basis of investment potential of the business community, consumption trends and spending potential of the consumers.

Among the short-listed cities are Allahabad, Patna, Guwahati, Dehradun, Madurai, Kolhapur, Jammu, Bareilly, Aligarh, Kochi, Puducherry, Thiruvananthapuram and Salem. The stores would be spread across 8,000-12,000 sq ft and will be set up with an initial investment of Rs 1.5-2 crore. Westside is in the process of inviting franchise proposals from the prospective franchisees in the short-listed cities.

Neeti Chopra, head, marketing, Trent, said, 'We believe that there is huge business potential in Madurai market. Consumers in the city are well informed about the latest trends and are willing to spend. But unfortunately, they do not have any access to fashionable apparel. Hence, through this business model, we aim to reach out to them and give them a world-class shopping experience at affordable prices.'

During the set-up period, Westside will help the franchisees in the recruitment of staff, give marketing and promotion support to boost sales, replenishment of the stock, IT and merchandise support and project assistance for the store fit-out. Westside will also invest in training the franchisees and the store workforce to adhere to its brand philosophy and standards.