Spelling out the details, M Chellayan Raja, Director, Nilgiris, said that under the five-year plan, 14 new retail outlets would be opened by 2001-02, followed by one outlet every month starting 2003. As a result, the company will have 50 new retail outlets in place by 2005.

Ninety per cent of the expansion planned by the company in the retail segment would be on a franchise basis and the balance 10 per cent would be company owned outlets. Currently, the company has a total of 17 outlets, of which six are company owned and 11 are on a franchise basis. By March 2000, the company plans to put in place another six stores, taking the total upto 23, following which the new five-year plan projections will take thetotal upto 50.

The company intends to invest Rs 2 crore in setting up a large supermarket on an area of 10,000 square feet, to be owned by the Nilgiris group. The possibility of opening similar large supermarkets on a franchise basis is also under consideration. The first franchisee Nilgiris supermarket has recently been opened in Chennai.

Most of the retail outlets planned by the company over the next five years would be mid-sized super markets and small retail outlets. The mid-sized outlets would be built on an area of 5,000 square feet, involving an investment of around Rs 75 lakh to Rs one crore, besides the land and building costs. The small sized outlets, on an area of 3,000 square feet, would involve investments to the tune of Rs 60 lakh. Nilgiris, which already has a strong presence in the South, will now concentrate on expanding its presence in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, to be followed by an entry into the Western region starting with Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad. The company is also gettingenquiries from interested parties in Mumbai for opening Nilgiris superstores.

Nilgiris is also engaged in talks with leading departmental stores in the US for creating Nilgiris store in stores. At a later stage, it will also consider opening its own chain abroad. Nilgiris products have already been introduced in Singapore and Malaysia. After a modest beginning in 1905, the Nilgiris brand today is a quality name in dairy, bakery and confectionery products. Besides supermarkets and departmental stores, Nilgiris has also diversified into the hotel business and has opened a series of hotels under the name `Nilgiris Nest' at Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore.