The Hindu Business Line : Shoppers' Stop opens new outlet in Bangalore for home dressings

HOME Stop, Shoppers' Stop's first exclusive home dressings outlet, has been launched here. Apart from the entire range of home needs including furniture, soft furnishings, kitchen appliances, crockery, lighting accessories, heath equipment, the 30,000 sq.ft. store offers customers advanced retail experiences such as interior designers assisting in home design, creating virtual homes on PCs, etc.

"We can create a customer's home here based on what he or she chooses so that they get the feel of it before they make the actual purchase," Mr C.K. Nair, Customer Care Associate and Business Head, Home Division, Shoppers' Stop, told Business Line on Friday, adding, "We want to make it a concept store rather than just a retail outlet."

In fact, Home Store has taken the concept store idea further and tied up with ICICI Bank to offer home finance for approved projects at the store. "They even offer financing options for customers for hire-purchase of any product from here," Mr Nair said.

The country's home products market is currently worth about Rs 60,000 crore, with just about 3-4 per cent taken up by the organised sector. Home Stop, Bangalore, a pilot project for Shoppers' Stop, is expecting a turnover of Rs 25 crore during the first year.

Real estate for similar projects have been identified in Mumbai and Delhi and the company expects to roll out plans for these cities in the next six months, according to Mr Nair.