Godrej’s gourmet retail venture, Nature’s Basket has plans to increase its store count to around 40 in the next two years. The company aims to add six new stores by the end of this fiscal, taking the store count to 22.
Elaborating on the future expansion plan in an exclusive interaction with Images Retail, Mohit Khattar, MD, Godrej Nature’s Basket (GNB), said: “Over the next two years, we aim to increase the store count to around 40. We have outlets across five cities (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR) and we are evaluating the market potential in other metro and tier I cities.”
“For opening a new store, we consider an area of 2,000 sq.ft., on an average. Recently launched Hyderabad GNB store is an exception because it is spread across an area of 8,000 sq.ft. with a live baking and pizza counter, a dedicated health section, and plans for a food court in addition to the regular SKUs,” he added.
Proximity to the target audience, availability of parking space, and prominence of the location are the key deciding factors for the retail chain while selecting a location for a new store.
Started in 2005 as a single fresh food store and transformed in 2008 as a gourmet destination, GNB has today morphed into a chain of 16 stores. Over the last three years, GNB has grown at a CAGR of around 60 percent. “The average bill size in our stores is Rs 700 (approximately). We have been leading most other food and grocery stores in India with a sales throughput, which is three to four times of most other store formats,” he added.
Talking about the changing trends in Indian market, Khattar said: “Indian consumers have gone through a sea change since 2008 when we first launched as a gourmet store chain. This evolution is well reflected in the trajectory of our own growth that is far above industry standards.”
Sourcing, training, and retaining the right talent pool coupled with effective management of supply chain are the major challenges facing gourmet retail business in India. Sharing details about the supply chain management strategy at GNB, Khattar said: “Keeping in mind the perishable nature of food that we retail as well as long supply lead time, we work with a large battery of 350 to 400 importers and ensure direct store delivery. In several categories, we work with multiple suppliers. For many products, we work with suppliers who source exclusively for us. Therefore, there is a multiple level structure that supports the business.”
-Juhi Sharma
