IOC eyes tie-ups in retail biz

NEW DELHI: Fortune 500 company Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is looking at big retail chains for a tie-up to cash in the retail rush to prime-up loss-making fuel business and is open to setting up a separate vehicle for the purpose.

"We are open to setting up a separate vehicle for the retail foray," IOC Chairman Sarthak Behuria told reporters.

The idea IOC is toying with is to tie-up with a major retail chain and open co-branded petrol pumps-cum-retail plazas.

"We are looking at enhancing our non-fuel sales," he said.

Simultaneously, IOC, lured by the footfalls at retail hubs, plans to set up petrol pumps at multiplexes.

IOC is loosing Rs 100 crore per day on sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene as the Government has not allowed it to raise prices in line with rising crude oil cost.

Tapping the evident shopping spree would help increase IOC's non-fuel revenues and bridge some of the losses, he said.

Modalities for the operation of these retail outlets would be decided jointly with the mall developers and Board's approval will be sought separately for specific cases.

Organised retail is growing at over 30 per cent annually but yet accounts for merely 3.3 per cent of the total retail market estimated at Rs 1,050,500 crore.

Already, 220 malls have sprung up with 50 in Delhi and the NCR, 37 in Mumbai and its suburbs, 10 in Hyderabad and 15 in Bangalore. Real estate developers like DLF, Unitech, Ansals, Omaxe, Rahejas and Future Group have set up some of these malls and have announced ambitious plans to develop more.