Spencer’s to focus on hypermarkets and private labels to improve profitability

Food and general merchandise retailer Spencer’s is to focus on hypermarkets and private labels in an attempt to improve profitability.

The retailer, which is owned by Indian conglomerate RPG Group, will invest INR1bn (£12m) in rolling out 10 hypermarkets and 15 small-format stores this financial year. It also wants to double its in-house private labels in two years.

The retailer shut 150 stores last year, leaving it with about 250 outlets, and has integrated its back-end processes to help reduce losses. “We will break even in 2012,” said Spencer’s Retail marketing vice-president Samar Singh Sheikhawat.