IndiaRetailBiz

Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd, the lagest listed retailer of India, a part of the Kishore Biyani led Future group, has awarded an IT outsourcing contract to the country’s leading Bangalore-based IT player, Wipro Infotech.

The contract according to a Hindu Business Line report is worth Rs 200 crore ($50-million). The contract, which will be effective for five-years, will entail offering infrastructure management and application support services, managed security services and data centre hosting, operations and management services, across all Pantaloon outlets.

Pantaloon Retail, operates multiple value and lifestyle retail formats across the country, including, Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, e-Zone, Depot, Shoe Factory, Brand Factory, Fashion Station, aLL, Top 10, mBazaar and Star and Sitara. The company also operates an online portal called futurebazaar.com.

Pantaloon Retail has already transferred around 250 people to Wipro which has begun working on the project.

Pantaloon’s existing outlets are expected to be covered in three to six months’ time, according to Ushir Bhatt, Executive Board Member, Pantaloon Retail. The company has over next five years planned to scale up its presence by opening 2,500 outlets across formats offering a range of private labels, up from 1000 outlets in 50 cities currently.

“Wipro’s leadership in technology and service delivery innovation coupled with our innovative strategies will redefine the retail landscape in India. This partnership is valuable to all our stakeholders, including customers and employees,” said Kishore Biyani, Pantaloon Retail, Managing Director.