Future Group's retail unit Future Retail has signed a master franchise agreement with Japan's 7-Eleven to develop and operate stores within India.

CNBC-TV18 first reported on February 26 that the board of Future Retail was likely to meet and consider the deal.

The first 7-Eleven store is expected to open in 2019, which was brought to India by a master franchise route. The new master franchise plans to build new stores as well as convert existing stores to 7-Eleven brand.

The tie-up for these 24x7 stores will be on a revenue-sharing model and will involve some amount of technology transfer as well.

This deal is in line with Future Group's small store strategy. The company has about 1,500 small stores at present and plans to scale this up to 10,000 stores over the next few years.

According to the earlier report, the licensing arrangement will be for the long term or for at least 70-80 years. The 7-Eleven stores are likely to have several product categories but the big focus will largely be on food. The Seven & i Group owns 7-Eleven among other retail formats.

First Published:Feb 28, 2019 1:04 PM IST