Kishore Biyani, arguably the foremost, most recognised icon of modern retail in India, has decided it’s time to turn the story on its head. In what can be seen as one of the most ambitious restructuring exercises in corporate history in India, Future Group’s founder and Chief Executive Officer has revealed his vision to rocket his conglomerate’s turnover to Rs 1 lakh crore by 2021 from the current Rs 18,000 crore. And this will be achieved via a focussed approach on ‘profitable growth’, not mindless expansion of the past, he said in an august gathering of his mentors and some of the industry’s biggest names.
On Friday last, Biyani converted the city of Mumbai into a ‘rebirth’ stage in the presence of his spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and management guru and mentor Dr Ram Charan. In riveting talks delivered by Vasudev and Dr Charan, attendees were treated to a rich display of corporate wisdom and life lessons, before Biyanis disclosure of Future Group’s new future course.
Future Group’s restructing will be fuelled by internal accruals without taking on debt, he said. The group has nearly Rs 6,000 crore of debt on its books, down from a peak of Rs 8,000 crore three years ago.
“Unlike in the past when we were chasing mindless growth, what we want now is profitable growth,” Biyani said at the event on Friday.
Other plans include ramping up his FMCG business from Rs 1,700 to Rs 20,000 crore, adding 4,000 small stores to his retail network of mainly hypermarkets, supermarkets and large-format specialised stores, and using data science to map new consumer trends.
The exercise will also see the group become a multi-channel retailer. Biyani is expected to launch his omni-channel retail strategy later this year.
“We have a plan – 50,000 online agents and our stores, assisted shopping, pay anywhere, pick up anywhere – the strategy will emerge slowly. Today, 60 per cent of the business in e-commerce comes from four cities. We want to tap 16,000-18,000 pin codes,” Biyani said.
In an ambitious push into the FMCG domain, Future Group is likely to embark on an inorganic growth route by signing joint ventures in ice-creams, chocolates and biscuits in the coming months, while also acquiring new food and non-food brands. The ball was set rolling recently with the acquisition of Aditya Birla Group’s brand Grasim’s personal care brands, Kara, Puretta, Handys and Prim.
Watch full FutuReborn here
Must Read
