Spencer’s launched its first All-Women Store

In a historic move, Spencer’s Retail, part of the RPSG Group launched its first All-Women operated store at Mahamayatala in Kolkata on International Women’s Day, furthering its commitment to induct and empower more women in the workforce.

It is the company’s first such store in Eastern India which is totally operated and managed by women employees and is a first of several initiatives the company plans to take in bolstering its mission to foster diversity and ensure meaningful opportunities for all. This store caters as a neighborhood store to its customers in & around Mahamayatala and Garia with its uninterrupted supply of daily need products, great offers and exclusive shopping ambience.

Every employee, from the store manager to sales associates to support staff, is a woman; that’s about 12 women who will be entailed in end-to-end operations at the stores & ably lead by Store Sales Manager – Ms. Salma Khatun. Many of these women employees are freshers, making this an excellent stepping-stone for them to start their professional career with a highly respected brand like Spencer’s. This Store would focus on developing skills to female employees to take on more store leadership positions and set new standards in customer service.

For Spencer’s, it’s a proud beginning of a new & bold chapter by opening our first all-women store in India that puts women at the front and center of action; thereby making the brand one that not only advocates gender equality and inclusion but also demonstrates it in an equally strong manner.

Back in the 90s, RPG Group’s flagship venture Foodworld was the first organised grocery retail chain in India. The Kolkata based conglomerate from Tyres to Tea to Grocery Retail and Power Transmittion was split between the two brothers Harsh and Sanjiv Goenka, with the iconic CEAT Tyres going to the former and the prestigious Retail business to the latter. Shashwat Goenka joined Spencer’s a decade back and has driven the business thus far. He has experimented various formats over the years, by which the retail chain has penetrated deeper in the Eastern Indian market.

Foodworld began operations in Chennai in 1996 and slowly spread to neighbouring states along with music & leisure chain “Musicworld” and the beauty products retail chain “Health & Glow”. In 2003, a large hypermarket format, the “Giant” was opened in Hyderabad, which had limited succes. After the JV with Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm International (DFI) was over in 2006, the company eventually moved the grocery business’ headquarters to Kolkata and started to focus on mid-large format stores and with the new name “Spencers”.