As a result, the cumulative losses of the 156 retail outlets and 26 mobile vans operated by Super Bazar will cross the Rs 5-crore mark. Addressing a press conference today, Super Bazar chairman, S.S. Dhuri said this was mainly due to frequent market interventions to bring down prices and delays in payments by government agencies.

Dhuri also said that various government agencies owed them crores of rupees and these credit supplies had badly affected their financial position. Moreover, a hike in salaries and over-staffing had added to the mess. Dhuri said that against a requirement of 700, Super Bazar has a 2,300-strong staff.

He added that they had forwarded a Voluntary Retirement proposal and were awaiting a response from the government. He said the Bazar planned to open more outlets.

He said it was mainly because of superior quality of pulses sold by his chain of shops. He also pointed out that they had their own laboratories to check the quality of the products and that also added to their overhead expenses.

He also announced that despite the losses, Super Bazar planned to open more outlets in the city, besides extending its operations to other states.