Trent, a Tata Group owned retail chain with various retail formats, is spending Rs 150 crore to launch its own mass market apparel stores and expand into West Asia.

Trent is launching its first private label standalone store, Zudi, in Bengaluru. Which will be a mass market apparel brand in the value format and the first private label to be spun off as a separate store.

“We will have a separate store under Zudi, a mass market value brand, and the first store would be in Bengaluru, measuring 5,000-10,000 sq. ft.,” Trent chairman Noel Tata said at the company’s AGM.

“Besides, we have also identified the countries and will surely set-up international stores in the coming year,” he added when informing about the West Asian foray.

“To begin with, we shall have two-three stores and we will later decide on scaling up operations in those markets,” he added.

Currently, Trent manages Westside with 95 stores, Star with 26 stores under Star Daily, Star Market and Star Hyper in a joint venture with Tesco, while Landmark has five stores.

The retailer also has a joint venture with the Inditex Group of Spain, under which the joint venture operates 18 Zara stores and a single Massimo Dutti store.

-Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel