With an investment of Rs7 crore per store, the company plans five new stores by March 2010 and another seven to nine in the next fiscal year

Tata group company Trent Hypermarket Ltd, which owns Star Bazaar, plans to open two to five more stores by March 2010.
 
“We are planning to add two to five more retail stores by the end of this financial year. The investment per store would be Rs7 crore,” said Gordon Reid, chief operating officer, Trent.

“We are rapidly expanding and thus plan to add seven to nine stores by the next financial year,” Mr Reid added.

The new stores will come up at Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, Mr Reid said, adding that the company will over the next one year, focus on the southern and western regions.

The retail chain has four stores in India. Star Bazaar’s first hypermarket store was started in Ahmedabad in 2004. It has another two operational stores in Mumbai and one in Bengaluru.

The company has shortlisted Ahmedabad and Bengaluru for opening two of its planned stores.
 
On Star Bazaar's revenues, Mr Reid said that same-store sales grew by 41% this fiscal (for nine months) as compared to the same period last fiscal.

"We have done well in all categories of products; FMCG and general merchandise have been extremely good," he said.

Star Bazaar offers a wide arrange of apparel, sourced from different parts of the country, under a number of private labels.