Portugal’s largest retail group Sonae has announced that it hopes India will be a “key growth driver” for its sports store Sport Zone after it opened the chain’s first store in Bangalore last week.
“India has the potential to rapidly become one of the most important platforms of Sport Zone’s accelerated growth,” administrator Paulo Simões told Reuters.
The new store, opened in partnership with Trent, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, was the first Sport Zone outlet to open outside the Iberian Peninsula.
By the end of 2014, Sports Zone had over 110 stores throughout Portugal and Spain, accounting for 17% of Sonae’s non-food specialised retail business and 4% of total sales, explained Simões.
Sales in the segment rose nearly 7% last year to €1.29 billion, he added.
Sonae has an agreement with Trent to open six stores in India by the end of 2016.
Where it opens next, says Simões, depends on Bangalore’s results.
