New Delhi, Apr 8 (IANS): Express Stores plans to expand its network both in tier 1 and 2 cities along with a growth in revenue in 2021.

Apoorv Jain, Co-Founder & CEO at Express Stores said that the company plans to strengthen its presence across the National Capital Region (NCR).

"We have multiple partner stores across Gurgaon and Delhi. We aim to have our presence strengthened across Delhi/NCR in the next 1-2 years," he said.

With a plan to open more than 300 stores in 2021, the company will focus on opening of stores in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.

"With our explosive growth, we plan to grow our revenues by more than 10x in 2021," Jain said.

On the growing competition to tap the neighbourhood retail store segment, he said that there will be multiple formats and many companies who will build large businesses in grocery and the modernisation of 'Kiranas', a segment which continues to be largely unorganised.

Consumers need modern shopping experience in their neighborhood while retailers need hassle-free, profitable business operations, he added.

"Future holds great neighbourhood omnichannel shopping experience for consumers and effortless retailing for Kiranas. Express Stores, with its 360-degree solution, aims to lead this change and wants to be the most preferred and first choice of daily needs store for the neighbourhood," Jain said.

Express Stores aims to build a branded Kirana chain for in the tier-2 cities.

"We believe there's a huge delta that an organised player can add to the lives of consumers and retailers in Tier 2 geographies. With this focus, we plan to expand our reach in many tier 2 cities in the future," he said.

Noting that the company recently raised seed funding of Rs 8 crore, Jain said that the funds are being utilised for product-market fit, initial growth, team, supply chain and technology.

The company is looking to raise a follow on round this year, he added.