Godrej Agrovet to open 1,000 retail chain

Ahmedabad, June 23: After successful test launch of ''Aadhaar'' retail outlets in Maharashtra and Punjab, Rs 900-cr Gujarat Agrovet Ltd has decided to open 1,000 'hub-n-spoke' centres across the country in rural and semi-urban areas in the next five years.

Briefing reporters about future plans here today, company executive vice-president R S Vijan said that 250 multi-purpose ''Aadhar'' centres are proposed to be opened during the current year alone.

He said these centres would be funded and managed by the company itself for which it has earmarked Rs 750-core as it plans to train technical as well as marketing staff too.

The hubs would cover about 10,000 sq ft and spokes 3,000 sq ft, each costing about Rs 75-lakh and Rs 30-lakh respectively. The company will prefer to buy property (or land) or take it on lease he added.

While the stress will be on agro products like seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, they will also sell a wide range of food, grocery, apparel, footwear, home appliances, furniture, kitchen appliances and hardware.

As the name applies, he said, ''Aadhaar'' is planned to be the base of new rural economy. These hub-n-spoke centres will also provide technical consultancy to farmers on all aspects of farm management, including soil micro-nutrient analyses.

Mr Vijan was in the city in connection with the opening of two ''Aadhaar'' centres at Prantij (Sabarkantha district) and Umreth (Anand) yesterday, its other centres in the state being at Kim, Kamrej and Asodar.

Godrej Agrovet, belonging to the Rs 6,500-cr Godrej Group has been a key player in farm sector with large presence in cattle, poultry feed and such fields. Its focus would be now the retail chain.

UNI