Mulls IPO after FY24, Retail News, ET Retail

Hyderabad: Mobile handset, electronics retailer Big C announced on Friday that it would invest Rs 125 crore over the next two years to open 250 new outlets focused on tier four and five cities. The chain of stores has hired Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu as the brand’s new ambassador, a press release said on Friday.

“Right now, we have stores in cities of over 70,000 people in Telugu states and Tamil Nadu. Our next 250 stores will be in cities of 30,000 or more. We will also open 10 additional new stores in Tamil Nadu in addition to making a foray into the Karnataka market, ”said Balu Chowdary, President and CEO of Big C.

Big C will consider exploiting the capital markets via IPO (Initial Public Offering) after reaching Rs 2,000 crore in turnover during FY24. The company, which has a 30 percent market share in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, currently employs 2,000 people and is also engaged in online sales, the statement said.

The company plans to break through the Rs 1,000 crore mark in the current fiscal year, hitting pre-Covid levels, and is targeting Rs 1,500 crore in the next fiscal year.

Big C, which opened its first store in Vijayawada in 2002, currently operates 250 stores in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The new stores will increase their number of outlets to 500. The company will invest Rs 50 lakh in each new store, which will create eight to ten jobs, he said.

As part of its plans to move beyond retailing mobile phones, the company will soon introduce laptops in addition to expanding its audio portfolio.