New Bharti logo

Indian retail giant Bharti Retail has entered the Madhya Pradesh market with the opening of a 4,200m2 Easyday Market-branded hypermarket in Indore.

Bharti Retail COO Andrew Levermore said Madhya Pradesh was an important state for the company.

He added that the new hypermarket has provided quality employment opportunities to over 175 people, including housewives, differently-abled people, fruit and vegetable vendors, and school and college dropouts.

The outlet in Indore will offer a wide range of homeware and furnishings, an apparel range, a range of electronics and electrical appliances, books, food and groceries, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables.

The opening is part of an expansion push by the company, which plans to add 3,000-4,000 stores across all retail formats over the next three to four years, according to a recent report from Reuters.

'This will be part of US$6bn in investment that we had announced in 2006 for our retail plans,' said Bijou Kurien, president and chief executive lifestyle at Reliance Retail.

The group currently operates 1,000 retail stores in India across all formats.