Bangalore: Chennai-based discount retail chain Subhiksha will open 60 stores in Bangalore and Mysore over the next 12 weeks entailing an investment of Rs. 55 crore, setting the stage for intense competition in retailing in the two cities.

Though smaller in size compared to hypermarkets and malls, Subhiksha outlets plan to lure shoppers with "sharply lower prices" and by setting up stores at multiple locations in a neighbourhood to provide easy access and convenience, its managing director, R. Subramanian, told presspersons here on Wednesday.

Typically, a Subhiksha store in Chennai caters for a small neighbourhood in a 1 to 1.5-km radius. "We sell all branded products significantly below the maximum retail price by offering discounts ranging from 10 per cent to 15 per cent to customers. These discounts are not part of a sale or a seasonal offer.

We offer discounts on a consistent basis throughout the year," he said.

Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd., in which ICICI Ventures has invested Rs. 50 crore for a 24 per cent stake, has 30 stores already operating in Bangalore on a trial basis.

"We are now ready for a commercial launch, which will hit the market in the next 10 to 12 days," Mr. Subramanian said. According to plans, there would be 55 outlets in Bangalore, which would be ready in 12 weeks, and five in Mysore, he said.

The success of embedded and mobile technology lies in its utility for the common man, Swami Manohar, CEO Picopeta Simputers Pvt Ltd, stated here on Thursday.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day International Conference on Embedded Systems, Mobile Communications and Computing, organised by the PES Institute of Technology here.

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