Gaining domain knowledge was my biggest challenge: Nadeemahmed D. Jafri of Hearty Mart

Ahmedabad-based Nadeemahmed D. Jafri, the founder and Chief Mentor of Hearty Mart supermarket chain speaks about setting up and growing a supermarket chain with no prior experience either in food and grocery or as an entrepreneur

Mumbai: Nadeemahmed D. Jafri, the founder and mentor of Hearty Mart quit his job in media to start a supermarket. Gaining domain knowledge was his biggest challenge, said the first-generation entrepreneur who was not only new to the business but also new to entrepreneurship. Today, he successfully runs 15 stores across villages and towns in Gujarat. Jafri speaks about his challenges, achievements, and seeking help from the Cheliya Community who have expertise in the grocery retail business to survive and thrive.

I enjoy being in Retail because Being in retail is the best learning experience as it teaches consumer psychology with practical insights. Customers are the best teachers anyone can have since they consume the products which a retailer sells, their knowledge helps us in offering better products and upgrading our services. They provide us with profound consumer insights and knowledge which isn’t accessible otherwise.

The biggest professional challenge I face is: I am a first-generation entrepreneur with no business experience. When I forayed into retail after working in media and advertising with no food grocery domain expertise, I found myself facing the biggest challenge of gaining domain expertise simultaneously with growing my business. And in order to fight this challenge, I brought a community on board in my business, which had ample food grocery domain knowledge since it is into the restaurant business and farming. It is predominantly known as Cheliya Community.

To achieve their full potential, Indian retailers must: Indian retailers have started becoming more and more organized now. Even we find mom & pop stores employing the best of the organized practices in their small shops. There are some who have introduced their own white-label brands in their store. This momentum needs to be continued. Also, a small online presence and usage of social media promotions might help them sail through and compete with larger retail chains efficiently.

My key professional accomplishments are: Hearty Mart has been successful in creating a unique franchise-based rural retail chain. Our business model has helped various rural retailers own an organized retail supermarket in their village set-up. We provide them with a back-end retail ecosystem and hand-hold them and make their store grow and become profitable. Under our business model, there are 15 stores that are operational in villages and towns of Gujarat. Our model is a part of academic case studies in B-Schools like IIMA and globally with the European Case Clearing House (ECCH). A dedicated book has been published in our business model by Academic Foundation. For these two economists did thorough research with all our stakeholders and came up with this work.