Spencer's Retail to acquire Nature's Basket for Rs 300 crore

KOLKATA/MUMBAI: RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s retail arm Spencer’s Retail has acquired food and grocery retail chain Nature’s Basket from Godrej Group in an all-cash deal of Rs 300 crore. This will give Spencer’s an all-India footprint as the Godrej retail firm has a strong presence in Mumbai and Pune. As of now, the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group outfit has no footprint in those two cities. Nature’s Basket is a wholly owned subsidiary of Godrej Industries.

Operating since 2005, Nature’s Basket is a neighbourhood convenience store format grocery retailer that sells products like fresh fruits & vegetables, fish, meat, artisanal breads, FMCG and staples. It posted a turnover of Rs 338 crore in 2018-19 and has 36 stores in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru.

Spencer’s Retail is a multiformat retailer providing a wide range of products across categories such as food, personal care, fashion, home essentials, electrical & electronics, gourmet, wine and liquor. Around 36% of revenue of Spencer’s comes from non-foods businesses.

Lodha Capital Markets was the adviser for the deal.

RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group sector head (retail & FMCG) Shashwat Goenka said Nature’s Baseket will be a subsidiary of Spencer’s. Although Nature’s Basket was making losses, Shashwat was confident of a turnaround. Meanwhile, Spencer’s Retail has posted a Rs 2.8-crore net profit in the fourth quarter of 2018-19 compared to a loss of Rs 6.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2017-18.