Indian tobacco company plans 10,000 more 24Seven Stores

Indian tobacco company Godfrey Philips is planning to open 10,000 of its 24Seven convenience-store chain nationwide.

The company plans to treble its network between now and March next year to 170 stores, and expand into new markets from its current National Capital Region base. The first 24Seven store in Mumbai is scheduled to open in April and the company is eyeing early growth in Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune, in the west.

A further 200 stores are scheduled to open next financial year, which starts on April 1 with a target of 10,000 stores within five years.

Despite its rapidly rising ranks of middle-class consumers and a proliferation of fresh-food stores, India’s convenience-store network is relatively immature.

Under a longer-term plan revealed in an interview by Godfrey Philips board member Samir Modi, the company will separate the 24Seven operations into a standalone business once it reaches 1000 stores. The expansion will be funded from internal reserves and use a  franchise business model.

24Seven stores are typically about 75sqm in size, although some newer flagship stores are nearly double that and the company is looking to larger stores to broaden its product range.

Modi also revealed plans to boost the number of imported lines on sale in its stores. Confectionery and biscuits, for example, would grow from about 90 lines at present to more than 350.

Godfrey Philips opened its first 24Seven outlet in 2004. The stores look similar to those of 7-Eleven and, until recently, the company had a group of  former 7-Eleven executives consulting to it.