Pantaloon Retail has plans to own about 30 million sq. feet by 2010 and increase its revenues from the Rs 2,000 crore per year to Rs 2,500 crore per month, reports www.myiris.com , the web site of the Investment Research and Information Service.

As part of this expansion, the number of Food Bazaars, one of many retail formats owned by Pantaloon, will go up from 43 to 110 by next year, said Prashant Desai, Pantaloon's Head, Knowledge Office, at the Indian Equity Show organised by IRIS Business Services.

Desai said modern retail was still in its infancy in India, even though it was growing around 40% a year, compared with the 6% upward movement clocked by traditional retailing. He quoted Pantaloon's owner, Kishore Biyani, as saying: "Consumers in India are more ready than we are as retailers." Pantaloon's 2,50,000 sq. feet hypermarket,  Central, will be opening shortly in Mumbai.