retail sector: Great Eastern Retail supports 15 stores of Delhi-based retailer Sargam Electronics

Kolkata-based consumer electronics retailer Great Eastern Retail has taken over the location of 15 stores from Delhi-based retailer Sargam Electronics by settling rent owed for more than six months, discussing hand labor and paying a cost for store fixtures.

The deal, almost similar to Reliance’s takeover of Future Group store locations, will allow Great Eastern to make inroads into the Delhi-NCR markets. Great Eastern will invest around Rs 50 crore in these stores for rent deposit, stock and other operational expenses, director Pulkit Baid said.

Great Eastern did not take on the stock, brand and company, so it is exempt from Sargam Electronics liabilities which have increased over the past two years of Covid. She took charge of the pitches by paying the unpaid rents.

“We are exploring options to take over the location of the remaining 13 Sargam stores that are operational, provided they are able to work out such agreements with the owners,” Baid said.

Sargam’s average store size is around 8,000 square feet and Great Eastern expects to restart stores in around 15-20 days. Great Eastern currently operates 85 stores in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Baid said Delhi is the country’s largest market and about half of the market is retail-oriented, with sales occurring in smaller stores. “It’s an opportunity for us to gain market share because there’s no big regional electronics distribution chain,” he said.