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| Kumar Mangalam vows to provide world class retail | | | Dev Chatterjee And K Raghavendra Kamath / Mumbai May 19, 2007 | | | |
| Even as Kumar Mangalam Birla, 39, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, makes headlines across the world with his acquisition of Novelis, he has identified retail as the next big target, with plans to invest over Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 9,000 crore in the next few years. Though neutral on the question of allowing foreign direct investment in the Indian retail sector, he opens up while talking about his foray into the same. Soon after unveiling his retail chain brand, Kumar Mangalam Birla spoke to Dev Chatterjee and K Raghavendra Kamath on his vision about the retail venture. Excerpts.
| | | | There are many restrictions on the Indian retail sector as far as foreign direct investment is concerned or raising funds abroad either as debt or equity. What are your views on this? Are these restrictions a handicap for raising funds overseas?
| | | | These are policy issues which needs to be decided by the government. Actually, I wouldn’t like to comment on the financing or policy issues. We intend to offer world class services to our customers so that it matches the shopping experience a customer gets anywhere in the world. We are not facing any handicaps while raising funds for our retail venture.
| | | | What are the targets and vision of your retail venture?
| | | | I don’t have any specific targets for rolling out the stores. But our vision is to focus more on quality, providing more value for money, and a world class shopping experience for our customers.
| | | | What excites you about the Indian retail sector which is now on the verge of a take off with the entry of some well known brands from across the world and India?
| | | | The fact that it is a completely new sector which is opening up in India. The fact that it gives us a chance to interface directly with the consumers makes this venture very interesting. We would keep on adding more products under the private label of “more”.
| | | | The real estate is turning out to be the biggest problem for the retail companies while rolling out their stores. How are you tackling this issue? Will you develop the now closed Century Mills (owned by Kumar’s grandfather B K Birla) in Mumbai as a retail venture?
| | | | I am not commenting on the Century Mills plans. As far as real estate is concerned, we know it is tough. But we have to go out and procure real estate for our stores. We do not have any plans now to set up a real estate fund.
| | | | You have been hiring a lot of expats to set up your retail venture. What is the idea behind your HR sourcing?
| | | | Yes, we do have many expats working for us. But at the same time, we have a mix of both expats and Indian professionals working on the retail roll out plans. There are certain competencies that are not available in India, so we had to hire those competencies from abroad. | | |
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