Retail majors cashing in on sub-letting to other brands

BUSINESS STANDARD, KOLKATA, 26.06.2007

Big retailers like RPG Group's Spencer's Retail, Kishore Biyani's Pantaloon Retail and the Rahejas' Shopper's Stop have opened a new revenue stream by selling space within their shops to other brands. "It is an emerging business model. This source of revenue is significant as all retailers are trying offer all sorts of discounts to customers," said Sanjiv Goenka, Vice Chairman, RPG Enterprises, whose Spencer's store has 125 outlets today. Goenka, however, said there was no fixed formula and each contract for sub-letting was decided on a case by case basis.