Shoppers Stop and Hyper City are partners
General merchandise powerhouse Home Retail Group is to export its Argos fascia to India after forming a joint venture with local retailers Shoppers Stop and HyperCity, both controlled by K Raheja Corp.

Home Retail will also take a 33 per cent stake in Irish homewares specialist Home Store + More.

Confirmation of the Indian deal, revealed exclusively in Retail Week (January 12) means a business will be launched later this year under the HyperCity-Argos brand. Potential store numbers were not disclosed, but the first outlet will be in Mumbai.

In a statement, Home Retail Group said: 'Argos will be providing its brand, catalogue and multichannel expertise and IT support. It is envisaged that the offer will be based largely on the existing Argos multichannel proposition.'

In Ireland, Home Store + More has two out-of-town shops in the Dublin area. Home Retail will invest£7 million to fund expansion. Home Retail also intends to develop a 'homewares format in the UK in due course'.

Home Retail chief executive Terry Duddy said: 'These two ventures provide an exciting, but cost-effective, opportunity to leverage our skills, sourcing scale and capabilities over time. However, our core focus continues to be driving the organic growth opportunities within Argos and Homebase.'

Topics