According to company sources, a wide range of garments, cosmetics, toiletries, food products, toys and fashion jewellery will be available in both the premium and economy segments.

The garment category will include shirts, T-shirts, ties and jeans while tea and basmati rice will be offered under the category of food products. The range of toiletries include soaps, detergents, toothpastes and shaving creams.

``To start with, we will outsource the entire range of products with a strict benchmark on quality. We will not compromise on quality. Any producer who wants to supply an item has to comply with the benchmark,'' said Ranaj Dasgupta, the regional head (east) of Sahara India.

According to him, Sahara will first target the customers of its financial services division. The company's marketing force, which currently markets financial products, will directly sell the domestic consumer goods. There will be no intermediaries, said Dasgupta, who claims that this will be one of the biggest direct selling exercises taken up in India.

``The marketing will be based on one-to-one interaction. Our boys will approach nearly two crore people who are already in the Sahara fold. This would also help to keep prices at a reasonable level as the absence of intermediaries rules out the possibility of price hike in the form of commissions to distributors and retailers,'' Dasgupta said.

A top-ranking Sahara official feels it will be a win-win situation. While the company's marketing people will get handsome incentives for selling the products, clients will get quality products at their doorsteps at affordable prices, he said.

According to sources, the proposed venture aims to strengthen the presence of the Sahara brand. Another reason that may have triggered off this initiative is the Reserve Bank of India's recent directive preventing non-banking finance companies from paying incentives beyond a stipulated level to their marketing people. With the new initiative, the Sahara marketing team can now expect to see a rise in its total incentive package.

The Lucknow-based Sahara Group has wide interests ranging from real estate, media, airlines and international trade--all diversifications, which are believed to have been bankrolled by the Group's flagship business of parabanking. The Groups'--which claims a turnover of greater than Rs 6,000 crore--reach is believed to be particularly strong in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Sahara claims to employ 150,000 people in its corporate family.