Pantaloon Retail plans to invest Rs1,000 crore in Kerala

Mumbai: Pantaloon Retail India Limited will invest up to Rs1,000 crore in Kerala in the next 12 months, a top company official said.

Pantaloon, which recently opened a store in Palakkad, in North Kerala, will open 12 stores in nine more cities in the next financial year, Atul Takle, head of corporate communications, Pantaloon Retail (India), said.

The homegrown retailer has identified Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kasargod, Thalassery, Gudalur and Guruvayur, for opening new stores, he said.

Pantaloon, he said, is developing a mall of more than 4,00,000 square feet in Kochi, at an estimated cost of Rs170 crore. It will be completed in the next 18 months, he added.

Pantaloon, which started operations in 1987 as a manufacturer and distributor of men's garments, went public in September 1991. Pantaloon launched its first branded retail store in Kolkata in 1997. This was followed by the launch of 'Big Bazaar' in 2001.

With the Pantaloon and Big Bazar brands, the company has a presence in food, fashion and footwear, home solutions, consumer electronics, books and music.