IndiaRetailBiz

Westside, the flagship department store format, lifestyle retail chain of Noel N Tata-led Trent Ltd, one of the two retail arms of Tata group, which currently operates 36 stores, recently opened its new store at Nashik in Maharashtra. The new store occupying a retail space of 24,000 sq ft is located in the Untwadi area of the growing commercial city.

“We are very proud to bring the Westside experience to the discerning customers of Nashik. The residents have been exposed to fashion and we hope to enhance this with our superior merchandise, service and an international shopping experience,” said Smeeta Neogi, Head- Marketing, Westside, on the occasion.

Westside, which specialises in deriving most of its business from private labels, is present in 21 cities across India. Of the 37 stores being operated by the company across the country as many as 6 are located in Mumbai alone.

The company, which achieved a sales turnover of Rs 499 crore ding 2007-08, is planning to expand operations of Westside retail chain by opening 10 new stores during the current financial year 2009-10. The new stores are likely to come up in the metro and growing cities of Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kochin, Faridabad, and Guwhati, among others.

High quality, latest in-style products, international shopping experience and value for money pricing have created a loyal following for Westside’s own brand of merchandise. While being trendy they are also individualistic. Almost everything at Westside is exclusively designed for Westside.

‘Westside,’ was founded by Simone Tata in 1998 out of sale proceeds of cosmetics brand ‘Lakme’ to HLL. Trent Limited, the brand’s owner, has now grown into also operating new retail chains under the brand names of ‘Star Bazaar’ and ‘Landmark.’ While, Star Bazaar is a hypermarket format retail chain, Landmark is a books, music, and leisure products chain. Star Bazaar has recently entered into an agreement to set up 50 hypermarket format retail stores in collaboration with the world’s third largest food & grocery retailer Teisco plc of the UK.