RPG to pump Rs 2,500 cr into retail unit’s expansion

Buoyed by increasing retail activity in the country, the RPG group plans a Rs 2,500 crore expansion of its retail venture, Spencer’s, which includes the setting up of 1,000 stores across the country by 2009. The company launched its eight hypermarket in Gurgaon on Thursday and plans to open three more similar stores by the end of the month.

The RPG group plans to increase its foothold across the nation and expand the Spencer’s retail chain in two phases. The first, to be completed by 2009, would see an investment of Rs 1,000 crore to take the number of Spencer’s shops to 1,000 from the existing 125.

“We would invest Rs 1,000 crore in expanding Spencer’s, which would become our flagship retail brand, in the next two years. The company is also planning to invest an additional Rs 1,500 crore between 2009-11 to further expand retail operations,” RPG Enterprises Vice-Chairman Sanjiv Goenka told reporters. He said that the company would raise funds for the planned expansion through a mix of resources, which include private placements and internal accruals.