Hyderabad, Apr 18 (IANS): Happi Mobiles, a leading multi-brand mobile retail chain, plans to open 150-200 new stores in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh during the current financial year and is also looking at expanding its footprint to western parts of the country.

With 50 stores in both the Telugu states in the first year of operations, Happi has become one of the fastest growing mobile retail chains.

Krishna Pavan, Chairman and Managing Director, Happi Mobiles, told the media on Thursday that they had set a target of Rs 500 crore turnover during 2019-20 against Rs 250 crore clocked during the previous fiscal.

He said after January 2020, the company plans to open stores in Maharashtra.

Happi Mobiles aims to capture 8-10 per cent of the mobile market share in the two Telugu states. The total market size is estimated to be Rs 8,200 crore, of which Rs 7,000 crore is offline market.

Kota Santosh, Executive Director, Happi Mobiles, said they created record of sorts by opening 22 stores in Hyderabad in a single day on June 8, 2018.

With 50 stores, 35 of them in Telangana, the retail chain has 5 lakh customers and it is selling a mobile phone every minute.

The company, who signed leading Telugu actor Ram Charan as its brand ambassador, is investing Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh in each store. Pavan said they a mix of equity by the promoters and debt from banks would fund the expansion.

With 600 employees, Happi Mobiles sells mobile phones of 12-13 top brands. It also plans to sell LED TVs, vacuum cleaners, CCTV cameras and other lifestyle products at its stores.

He said they could register high growth because of their attractive offers like 40 per cent savings on Paytm, price drop protection, one time screen replacement, two year warranty, exchange offers, EMI options and branded gifts.