Croma to increase store count to 200-plus outlets by 2019-20

Tata-owned Infiniti Retail, which owns and runs the Croma electronics retail chain, has received Rs 250-crore equity infusion from Tata Sons to undertake rapid expansion with the goods and services tax (GST) regime allowing it to set up a single store in a market, against its earlier strategy of cluster-based expansion to set up multiple stores in a city which can be serviced by a distribution centre. Infiniti is setting up 25 new Croma stores this fiscal alone which is its highest in a single year, and has plans to increase the store count to 200-plus outlets by 2019-20. Currently, there are 117 Croma stores which make it the second-largest consumer electronics retailer after Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Digital that has over 200. Infiniti’s Croma network expansion plan is a new business opportunity for the signage companies whose expertise involves in in-store projects.