V-Mart looks at omnichannel route to expand

NEW DELHI: Value fashion and lifestyle products retailer V-Mart Retail, which primarily operates in smaller towns, is evaluating a omnichannel (offline and online retail) strategy to expand business and reach its customers. The company is also looking at investing Rs 100 crore next fiscal to open new stores and setting up a new warehouse.
V-Mart primarily operates in tier II-IV and follows a cluster-based model approach to expand and has a set a target to invest Rs 300 crore to double store count and treble its turnover to Rs 3,500 crore in the next five years. “We are considering an omnichannel strategy and plan to get into online retail to reach our customers. It may happen by end of next year,” said Lalit Agarwal, chairman and managing director, V-Mart Retail.

V-Mart operates about 185 outlets in over a dozen states in India. The company plans to add more than 200 stores in the next five years to create a network of 400 outlets. In 2017-18, the company had reported a revenue of over Rs 1,200 crore. It also plans to invest Rs 100 crore next fiscal to open new stores and set up a new warehouse.

“We are looking at setting up a new warehouse to service our stores. It will come up in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar,” Agarwal said. About 75% of V-Mart's stores are located in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Bihar.