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| Indian retailer defends expansion |
| The head of one of India's fastest-growing retail firms, whose activities has sparked violent protests, has defended its expansion.
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| INDIA
, 15-October-2007
2:9:23 AM |
| Gunender Kapur, chief executive of Reliance Retail, told the BBC he wanted the firm to have stores "all over India" and sales worth $25bn (£12.2bn).
Its outlets in West Bengal and Utter Pradesh were shut after being attacked by activists opposed to big business.
Mr Kapur said he wanted to reopen them but only if staff safety was ensured.
Political pressure
Reliance has become a magnet for concerns about the growth of large Indian and foreign retailers and their perceived threat to small traders.
Although Reliance's Western-style grocery stores have been well received by consumers, it has put its expansion plans on hold in certain states after some of its stores were vandalised.
In August it shut its outlets in West Bengal following a spate of attacks on properties while the authorities in Uttar Pradesh had earlier closed Reliance stores after they were ransacked.
One of the parties in West Bengal's Communist-led government has criticised Reliance's growth, calling the closure of its stores a "victory for the working class".
Mr Kapur told BBC World's India Business Report that the protests were "limited" in their scope and insisted that his business was a force for good in India
"Organised retail will not replace the current retail structure in any way," he said.
"The organised retail industry will create millions of jobs and this will be in addition to the number of people who are currently employed in the current retail structure."
There should be no "no-go areas" for Reliance in India, Mr Kapur said, while pledging to talk to people concerned about the firm's intentions.
"We expect that if we carry out a legitimate business then our property and our people will be safe," he said.
"When we can ensure that our property and our people will be safe then we are happy to go back and open our stores."
Reliance Retail is owned by Bombay-based industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
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