After the Bharti-Wal-Mart tie-up, the $2-billion Kishore Biyani-spearheaded Future Group will soon foray into the cash and carry (wholesale operations) market with a foreign partner, a top official of the company said.

"We are developing the cash and carry model with an overseas partner," Future Group's CEO Kishore Biyani told PTI here, without giving details.

Biyani will also be entering garment manufacturing for the first time with his group company, Pantaloons, in a joint venture with the National Textile Corporation.

NTC will be holding 51 per cent stake, while Pantaloons would hold the remaining 49 per cent, he said, adding that the details of the project will be known by December-end.

For this purpose, two of NTC's mills in Mumbai will be modernised for garment manufacturing and designing. The fabrics will be outsourced, he said, adding that the garments would be sold through the group's retail outlets.

Buoyant over his retail business, Biyani said the group aims to more than double its retail business turnover to $4 billion by FY 09 from the expected $1.5-2 billion this fiscal.

"Our retail business turnover this fiscal should be around $1.5-2 billion, which we plan to more than double to $4 billion by FY 09," he said.

"The year 2007 was an interesting year but 2006 was eventful. I think 2008 will bring in positive trends for retailers with all the asset classes growing. We expect consumer spends to increase next year," Biyani said.

Claiming that the group's popular Big Bazaar store is going through the fastest-ever expansion of the Hypermarket format in the world, Biyani said that the Big Bazaar store network presently stood at 75 and covering 4 million sq.ft, having gone up from 35 stores in June 2006.

"By June 2008, we expect to have 120 Big Bazaar stores," he said. There are now 35 Pantaloons outlets and by June 2008, it would be increased to 47, he said.

The network strength of the group's large format store, 'Central' will increase from the present four to seven by June 2008, he said.

"We are planning to have two more Centrals in Mumbai, one at Goregaon and the other at Vashi," Biyani said.

The other format 'Home Town' will go up from five to 10 by June 2008, he added.