| Pantaloon Retail, the country's biggest listed retailing company, owned by Kishore Biyani's Future Group, and tobacco, hospitality and food major ITC have joined hands to work together for food and grocery business, reports NDTV Profit. Food is among the fastest growing retail segments in the country.
ITC will manage front-end retail for some of the Food Bazaar stores, owned by Pantaloon. It is already managing them in Pune, Hyderabad and Ambala. Food Bazaar is already sourcing food stuff from ITC. It is now expected to be extended to many more products including processed foods and stationery. Sections of Food Bazaar stores to be managed by ITC will be known as Choupal 'Fresh.'
ITC has been involved with agri-business for a long time through its agri-initiative 'Chaupal Sagar' and has a strong network of 'Chaupal Sagar' hubs in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. ITC may even explore retail opportunities in rural India with Pantaloon.
The alliance between ITC and Pantaloon is a win win situation for both the business groups. While Biyani lacks rural presence and linkages for farm products, ITC needs to quickly expand its foot print in urban India . Biyani's Future Group, when the retail story was still unfolding, has cornered a large chunk of prime property at reasonable rates in big and small cities across the country.
Source: www.indiaretailbiz.com
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