Pantaloon Retail eyes small food cos

MUMBAI: The Future Group-owned Pantaloon Retail is looking at acquiring small foods companies in India to bolster its portfolio in the category. ‘‘We are in talks with several small companies in the foods domain. These are Indian companies and have a clearly demarcated role to play,'' said Kishore Biyani, founder and CEO, Future Group.Though Biyani refused to divulge the names of companieswith which the group has initiated talks, industry sources said that it could bean existing third-party supplier from whom the group sources products.‘‘With an existing supplier, the group would already be aware of thepitfalls involved in the company,'' said a source.Future group hadembarked on a strategy to boost its private label brand business which hasachieved a scale in excess of Rs 100 crore. It plans to more than double itsprivate labels business in foods. The move comes in sync with the large thrustgiven to its private labels FMCG business.