Reliance Autozone launched in Hyderabad

Reliance Autozone, the automotive retail arm of Reliance Retail launched its first automotive retail store in the south India in Hyderabad. This is the sixth outlet of Reliance Autozone in India; Others are in Gurgaon, Jaipur, Jamnagar, Mumbai and Ghaziabad.

In Hyderabad, the Reliance Autozone is located at Janaki Nagar Colony, Tolichowki Main Road and is spread over 2,200 sq ft of retail area, matching the global auto retailing standards. The product offering of the store includes car and bike accessories, Tyres and Batteries.

Announcing the opening of the new retail store, Arun Dey, chief executive, Reliance Autozone said, “Hyderabad is a focus market for us. The customers are looking for products matching global standards. The new store at Tolichowki would offer them amazing range of world class automotive products and services with wide choice at best prices.” He also added that the company would be adding four more standalone stores by March 2010, including two in Andhra Pradesh, besides scaling up its shop-in-shops in the group’s hypermarket format Reliance Mart, from the present three to 10 during the same time frame.

Reliance Autozone,s also planning to introduce its private labels in select categories. “Once it builds some kind of a critical mass in the next one-and-a-half to two years,” said Reliance Retail’s chief executive officer (automotive services), Arun Dey.

“The plan is still in the initial stage and we are in the process of identifying the products and manufacturing companies. Our idea is to introduce private labels, especially utility items, during the next financial year when we will be adding another 10-15 stores to our chain,” Dey told reporters on the sidelines of inaugurating the outlet, adding, “Each of the standalone stores will typically have a carpet area of between 2,000 sq. ft. and 3,500 sq. ft. and will reach an optimal level when the sales touch Rs. 25-30 per sq. ft. a day. We expect each of these stores to achieve breakeven in one-and-a-half years from the launch.”