SUMMARY
- Metavisio–Thomson buys a stake in New Shop, planning 120 flagship stores in India.
- New Shop acquires 24Seven stores, adding Thomson Electronics to its offerings.
- The partnership aims for 2,000 sales points in India within three years.
Metavisio–Thomson, a French consumer technology business that markets low-cost television sets, laptop computers, and tablets under the Thomson brand, is buying a minority share in the Indian convenience shop chain New Shop. This comes after Metavisio–Thomson and New Shop signed a strategic distribution agreement last week that calls for the two companies to open 120 flagship locations in India that cater to two- and three-tier markets.
“Major announcements are expected in the coming weeks,” Metavisio-Thomson had stated in a statement at the time of signing the distribution agreement.
Godfrey Phillips, who left the retail industry last month, is the owner of the 24Seven grocery and convenience store chain, which is currently being acquired by New Shop. Godfrey Phillips ran 40 24Seven kiosks and 90 full-format stores, which New Shop is gradually purchasing.
The Astha, Charak Almast, and associate Mani Dev Gyawali-led New Shop is a 24-hour convenience chain that presently runs 160 locations in 35 cities and offers over-the-counter medications, snacks, personal care, home care, pet food, and staple groceries. “We are serving 3 million customers monthly, and this partnership expands both our product portfolio and presence,” Almast stated about the distribution agreement. Within three years, the partnership hopes to sell at 2,000 points of sale. October is when the retail stores will open for business as usual. All acquired stores will sell groceries in addition to Thomson’s laptops, televisions, and tablets as per the terms of the distribution agreement.
Following the signing of the distribution agreement, Stephan Francais, CEO of Metavisio-Thomson, stated in a statement that “India is crucial for the development of Metavisio-Thomson.”
