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Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd
is keen to expand its non-petroleum businesses. From the current
turnover of Rs 550 crore, it plans to touch Rs 1,500 crore by 2011.
BPCL is also planning to take non-petroleum revenue to a new level
by setting up highway fuel station integrated with cinema halls and
restaurants. The company has set up 400 ‘In and Out’ convenience stores at its
fuel stations, which offer a wide variety of services like ATMs, music
stores, cafeterias and grocery retail stores. From the current turnover
of Rs 200 crore, the company plans to increase it to Rs 500 crore in
three years.
‘Beyond LPG’, which offers household appliances, kitchen utensils
and even tea and pickles, through LPG dealers network has even more
ambitious target of achieving Rs 1,000 turnover by 2011 from the
current Rs 350 crore, a company spokesperson said.
Introduced as a value-added service by BPCL in 2003 for its LPG
customers, Beyond LPG has spun out into a profitable unit. Branded
products are home delivered to BPCL customers using the existing
delivery system for LPG cylinders. The customers have to place orders
over the phone.
In the coming months BPCL will be launching digital cinema halls with
200-seat capacity integrated with motorway service stations at Halol near
Godhara and Bareja near Ahemdabad.
Talking to local media, Mr Keshav Shenoy,
General Manager (MSA Retailing) of BPCL, said that construction and
beta testing of the digital cinema halls would be completed in two
months. Digital films would be beamed to the fuel stations. The company
has tied up with Cinemata, a film distribution unit of Sony
Entertainment Television, to source the films. Since cinema is in a
digital format there is no fear of piracy, he said.
Mr Shenoy said that the company chose Gujarat for the pilot project
as it has a sizable NRI population located in the villages. Studies
have shown that urban dwellers in Gujarat spend their weekends at water
parks, restaurants and cinemas, he said.
“Our aim is to take entertainment to the villages and to give more
options to our customers at our fuel stations. It would be
entertainment on wheels,” Mr Shenoy said.If the pilot project is
successful then by 2010, about 300 fuel outlets would have such cinema
halls across the country.
PetrolWorld 100408
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