Vishal negotiates rent reduction for 50 stores

29 Dec 2008
New Delhi-based supermarket chain Vishal Retail has successfully negotiated rentals of about a third of its stores across the country, reports Business Standard.Out of the current 178 stores across India spreading across an area of 29,61,400 square feet (approx.), Vishal retail has been able to negotiate lower rentals for at least 50 stores. This has helped the retailer to bring down rentals by as much as 35 per cent. “We told the store owners that we will relocate our stores to other places if they don’t bring the rentals down. We managed to get rentals down between 20 and 35 per cent,” said Ambeek Khemka, president, Vishal Retail.“Today the market situation is exactly the opposite of what it was a year ago. Supply of retail space far exceeds the demand and we have an upper hand,” Khemka added. The company plans to increase the number of stores from 178 to 200 in the next three months.