Piramyd Retail, which owns the Piramyd megastore and Pyramid True Mart outlet chain, will open its first branch in Gujarat in the third week of June.
To be spread across over 90,000 square feet at Abhijeet VI, near Parimal Garden in Ahmedabad, the megastore will also house the Jammin entertainment zone, a True Mart and a food court.
K N Iyer, director and CEO, Piramyd Retail, said Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) has been spent for purchasing the property. Another Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) would be spent for the merchandise. "We have gone for an outright purchase of the property and hope to break even in the first full year of operations," he added.
Piramyd Retail is also looking at properties in Vadodara and Surat for opening megastores.
"There is no Shoppers' Stop in Gujarat and retailers such as Pantaloons and Westside have a relatively small presence. We believe this is the right time to enter Gujarat, especially Ahmedabad which is considered one of the most lucrative markets for organised retailing in the country," Iyer said.
Bipin Gurnani, chief operating officer, Piramyd Retail, said the company expects about 5,000 footfalls a day at its Ahmedabad store on weekdays, and 8000 on weekends.
"With 90,000 square feet of space, this will be the largest megastore in the city. The store will be a full-line departmental store -- it will have lifestyle products, accessories, electronics goods, entertainment zones, a true mart and a food court," he added.
Piramyd Retail is hoping for a surge in revenues this fiscal. "We are looking at achieving revenues of Rs 220 crore (Rs 2.20 billion) this fiscal. We will increase the number of our megastores from three to five and our True Marts from five to 21 by the year end," Iyer said.
The company posted a revenue of Rs 69 crore (Rs billion) for the financial year ended March 2005. Over the next three years, the company aims to open 16 megastores across the country.
