New IPO On The Shelf: Tristar Retail

India's growth story rests to a large extent upon its own consumption. In recent times, we have been witnessing an emergence of India’s retail industry. Betting on India's consumption story, Tristar Retail (TRL) is one such company that is looking to raise funds from the capital market. The company is planning to raise Rs 25 crore by issuing equity shares through initial public offering.

TRL operates mainly in tier III and tier IV cities. It is mainly into the retailing and distribution of national and international lifestyle, sports and fashion merchandise through its chain of Exclusive Retail Outlets (EBOs) spread across various cities in India. As of January 31, 2012, the company has a total of 166 retail outlets across 50 cities in 9 states of India and distribution warehouses located in Pune, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Bhopal.

The company's subsidiary, Tristar Brands, operates multi-brand outlets under the name of “Tri Mart” for fashion and lifestyle merchandise and “Tri Time” for watches and accessories.  Its diverse portfolio of brand EBOs include Reebok, Levi Strauss, Signature/Denizen, John Players, Titan, Titan Eye Plus and Nokia. The company is the largest retail operator of Reebok in India, with the first retail outlet in Bhopal in the year 2002. It is the largest franchisee of Titan Eye Plus and also one of the largest master franchisees of the Signature/Denizen brands in India in terms of number of stores.

TRL intends to use the IPO proceeds to fund its working capital requirements upto Rs 13 crore, as well as for expansion of EBOs of brand Denizen for a sum of of Rs 5.85 crore and investment in its subsidiary Tristar Retail Concepts for expansion of EBOs of brand Nokia for a sum of Rs 1.14 crore. However, the company has not yet declared the number of equity shares offered and the price band for the same. Watch this space for updates on the same.