Mukesh takes retail plunge; opens first store in Ascendas IT Park

S Gopikrishna Chennai, Sep 14

Chennai-based Mukesh Infoserve, an up-and-coming system integrator, is
planning to open a chain of retail stores in the city, in the next one year. In
fact, retail store concept is getting popular among all solution providers and
recently, we saw companies such as Veeras Infotek, Quadsel Systems and Precision
announcing their projects. “Retail is a sure shot bet. And Mukesh is planning
big in the retail space. We just opened our first store in Ascendas IT Park, on
IT corridor, and are planning to open five more in the city,” said B Mukund,
Director, Mukesh Infoserve. Mukund claims Mukesh is the first channel partner in
the city to open a retail store in an IT park.

The company chose Ascendas IT Park to have its retail store for various
reasons: people with high disposable income work there; it is a popular
commercial center with facilities such as gymnasium, food court and coffee
shops, and is a centrally located place. “The center already attracts a huge
audience (from Ascendas and outside) and we had a great start in the first week
of opening the shop. We have named our shop - Archis, which means
light/brightness in Sanskrit. 'Archis' will be promoted as a brand for all
our retail activities in the city,” he informed.

The company presently offers only HP Pavilion range of desktops and laptops
in Archis. “We have just started and are in the process of adding more brands.
Archis will be positioned as an IT and entertainment superstore offering wide
range of products such as desktops, notebooks, mobile devices, handheld
products, wireless solutions, bluetooth, headsets, mics, speakers, TFT monitors,
projectors, IT gadgets and other accessories. We are also setting up a game zone
and tying up with Microsoft for their Xbox,” detailed Mukund. Archis would
display products from brands like HP, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, NetGear and APC,
to name a few. It primarily targets the home customers, besides SOHO and
corporate in a small way.

Mukesh expects to add more value to its business through retail, as it is
opening new doors to customers. “We are aiming at Rs 1 crore from retail in
the first six months. And in the next couple of years, it will become a Rs 5
crore business unit,” he mentioned.