The Aditya Birla group is believed to be preparing a blueprint for claiming a share of the Indian retail sector. According to senior group sources, the metals-to-BPO conglomerate is exploring options of entering the retail space to leverage on the growth in its branded garments division and is also talking to mall developers to block space, reports Business Standard.

The Rs 380-billion group is India's largest branded apparel company in revenue terms. Details are yet to be worked out, but the group has started hiring people for the retail venture.

"About 100 to 150 people have already been recruited," the sources said. Talent is being tapped from major consumer goods companies such as Godrej Industries and ITC. When contacted by the newspaper, the group's spokesperson declined to comment.

The options that the group is currently exploring include a joint venture with participation from a global retail chain for a B2B (business-to-business) partnership, the sources said. With the government reluctant to lift the restrictions on FDI in retail, global retail chains are getting into B2B tie-ups with Indian companies: the local company will look after the distribution and be the public face of the venture, but the back-end operations will be the foreign partner's responsibility. The Tatas have a similar arrangement with Woolworth, the international retail chain based in Australia.

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