Kishore Biyani - 'International Retailer of the Year'

Pantaloon group has done proud to the Indian retail industry. Kishore Biyani, head of India's largest retail group Pantaloon was honoured with the International Retailer of the Year Award by the US National Retail Federation at its annual convention. American retail industry registers a whooping 4.5 trillion dollars of annual sales. It’s for the first time that an Indian retail group has made to the top.Pantaloon Retail India Ltd has also informed BSE that Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) on January 17, 2007 has announced a joint venture with the Company and its new office products business unit, Future Office. The agreement establishes a platform for Staples to enter the $10 billion office products market in India and allows the Company to benefit from the industry expertise and sourcing network of the world’s largest office products Company. Staples Future Office will serve businesses of all sizes through delivery as well as cash-and-carry locations, offering a wide range of office products from core office supplies to printers to computers. Future Office, which recently acquired B-to-B online office products Company Officedge, will expand its delivery operations to include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore and Chandigarh.