Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Essar Hypermart is a pioneering initiative of Essar Steel to make steel available to end users close to the user point. This has revolutionized steel marketing in the country. It has set up over 300 retail outlets across the country.

Essar Hypermarts caters to the customers in SME segment ranging from small manufacturers, local fabricators and general engineering firms to large corporations and construction companies. It offers a comprehensive range of flat and long steel products for a variety of applications. The outlet chain provides immediate delivery, transparent pricing, customized quantities and guaranteed quality to its retail customers.

Commenting on the plan, Mr. Vikram Amin, Executive Director (Sales & Marketing), Essar Steel, said, "It a win-win situation for everybody, especially SMEs. Customers will have direct access to the company products, without the intervention of any intermediaries, and without any restrictive terms and conditions. Essar Hypermart offers complete transparency in its dealings".

Essar Hypermart also arranges for channel financing thru banks to deserving customers. In fact, Essar Hypermart customers are assured of materials from an ISO 9002 and 14001 certified mill. Moreover, all the products are available with a quality test certificate. Essar Hypermarts have a strong pan-India presence. Sales from the Essar Hypermart currently account for 25 percent of Essar Steels annual revenues.

Mr. Girish Rao, CEO, Essar Hypermart said,"The rapid industrialization of Andhra Pradesh, offers great potential for growth of SME segment. We are happy to be a part of this growth through providing quality steel to this segment. We plan to further expand our retail network in the State."

Essar Steel has plans to further expand its distribution network through Expressmarts and the Expresspoints. Expressmarts and Expresspoints are dealer owned - dealer operated outlets and will offer Essar Hypermart products across all key steel consumption centres.

The distribution model is backed by world class Service Centre facilities and Supply Chain Management of Essar Steel and make available customized products to customers at their

door step. Customers can now buy steel as per their requirement with a guarantee for right price, excellent quality and timely delivery from within their town/city limits.

Notes to Editor

About Essar Steel

Essar Steel, global producer of steel, is a fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer-from iron ore to ready-to-market products. Essar Steel has an expanding global steel production capacity of 14 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Its products find wide acceptance in highly discerning consumer sectors, such as automotive, white goods, construction, engineering and shipbuilding. Essar Steel produces highly customised products catering to a variety of product segments and is one of India largest exporter of flat products to the highly demanding US and European markets, and to the growing markets of South East Asia and the Middle East. It has the country most extensive and the largest Service Centre capability with an annual capacity of 2.5 MTPA, and the largest network distribution channel with over 300 branded Essar Hypermarts. It has invested in downstream capabilities to evolve from being a product based company to becoming a value added service provider.