Are the new store openings more realistic?
Pandey: At a go we never opened stores together. It is now, because we are making the most of the situation. Tarkas: The truth is some people have shut stores; there is no denying that, but the sector as a whole is doing tremendously well. Gupta:Those who have shut down are the people who came into retail only with the business model around IPO (initial public offering), it was never around retail. Pradeep Hirani: So why didnt they instead of shutting, think of controlling costs and negotiating rents? We negotiated rents across board and got 50% discount. Gupta: These are the people who came in and changed the game of retail. They started paying Rs 300-400 per square feet. When we said Rs 80, they said Rs 400. Mature retailers are still scaling up. As on date, we have signed 50 new properties and in maximum three months these will be operational. A lot of noise is being made about presence in tier 2 and 3 markets… Gupta: We will give consumers apparels and accessories at a discounted
