Future Group to give small town fair price shops a facelift

Even as Kishore Biyani’s Future Group gets ready to give a facelift to almost 5,000 traditional ration stores in Rajasthan by the end of September 2016 as part of a public-private experiment, India’s retail baron has already set sights on similar tie ups with other states.
“We are already operating in 50 cities in India. Over the last five months, we have successfully created 5,000 fair price shops in Rajasthan. We also created 250 SKUs to be supplied in these fair price stores,” Biyani said on the sidelines of the India Retail Forum 2016.
The 250 FMCG products include personal care products such as talcum powder, hair oil, shampoo, creams, razors, toothbrushes and sanitary napkins, and home care products such as phenyls, toilet cleaners, mosquito repellents and stationary products.
According to a report in The Economic Times recently, Future Group is planning on foraying into Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh next.
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The report stated: Future Group has already held talks with some states including Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to not only revive and rebrand their ration stores but also to supply FMCG products, train the manpower, and computerise the outlets.
Though Future Group has already captured a sizeable chunk of the urban market with Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Nilgiris, Easy Day, KB Fair Price, and its very latest acquisition Sangam Direct, it’s just beginning to scratch the surface as far as small town penetration is concerned.
“We as marketers have served only 10 per cent of India’s market and the next 20-30 per cent of consumption is set to come from these small towns. The potential is huge and we are striving to serve that,” he said.
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The company who has exclusively created 250 SKUs for these small towns sees a lot of demand for its packaged goods in these areas.
“Sale for our toilet cleaners are really high here.Ketchup sales are also increasing. This shows that the demands are high but they have just not got the consistent supply of goods. With our offerings, we are ensuring that the supply remains consistent,” said Biyani.