Book review: IT HAPPEN IN INDIA

KISHORE BIYANI

•Kishore Biyani: New face of Indian retail, 52, is CEO, Future Group, which is designed to cater to the entire Indian consumption space. 

•After graduating in commerce, Biyani joined the family textiles business. Five years later he launched the first branded  ready-made trouser, called Pantaloon, marketed through The Pantaloon Shoppe. 

• Food Bazaar, a supermarket chain, “Indian bazaar with western

hygiene”  •The Future Group operates through six verticals:-

Future Retail , Future Capital, Future Brands, Future Space, Future Logistics and Future Media.

DIPAYAN BAISHYA

•Dipayan Baishya is a business writer, and has been

associated with the Economic Times and Business

Today.

•His articles have also appeared in Media, a Hong Kong

based fortnightly and Knowledge at Wharton.

•He was awarded the Don Sheehan International

Journalist Fellowship by the Wharton School in 2005.

Made in India

• This Chapter is all about KB way of understanding Indian

retail market!

• There are couple of emotions that determine shopping

behavior which includes greed, altruism, fear and envy.

•Predicting Indian consumer behavior becomes important in

retailing

• India is a consumption-led country. The most interesting

thing about our country is that our growth will be based on

ideas and solutions rather than physical assets.

*REWRITE RULES, RETAIN VALUES*

KB is inspired by Sam Walton. KB strongly

believes that consumer is always right!

Retail is like riding a bicycle up the hill,

if you stop pedaling, you will slide down .

Made in India

•KB believes in 3C theory : Confidence and Changes

bringing in an unprecedented era of Consumption.

•He used to observe people coming in his stores, to know more

about their demands.

•He maintained the balance between confidence in making

choices and humility in learning.

•Always believed in doing new things, process is :

“LEARNING, UNLEARNING ,AND RELEARNING”

•if someone asks him about his competitors, he said that with

each step higher, he climbed, he saw a little further and built a

little further.

Made in India

Built from scratch

•He had the attitude of challenging and was keen observer from very beginning.

•He had this attitude of pursuing with his own ideas, and never had expected any support from the family…..there his entrepreneurial journey began!

•KB quotes “I created my own ‘mental’ mentors, studied various subjects and eagerly sought knowledge. I strongly believe that there is a hard and arduous journey that one has to undertake alone.

•KB has organized a DISCO DANDIYA festival in his

society ,that is first of its kind in South Mumbai at the Age of 18

years ( 1979).

Built from scratch

Entrepreneurship is about thinking big , believing in your own ability and going ahead

with huge risks even if you are aware that some of the ventures not be successful.

It’s also about making decision, leadership, and about making your colleagues believe in

your DREAM

Defying the odds

•This chapter is about KB’S struggles and success story of

pantaloons.

•He came up with the brand WBB, went on for advertising worth

few lakhs, and also hired an ad agency, which was new and

innovative in that time and then established the brand.

•One day, inspired from Italian fashion for ready made

garments .He had explored into this business of ‘Manz

wear’(which came to be known as Pantaloon)

•He emphasized in the popularity of pantaloons.

•First franchise shop: in Goa called as Pantaloon Shoppe.

• In 1992 to raise more fund KB approaches the stock market and

announced IPO and he raise 225 lakh rupees by diluting his 60 %

holding.

•Then he came across the idea of making pantaloons a one-stop

destination for all apparel products for men: shirts, ties, trousers

etc.

•And this way, he moved ahead with pace.

Defying the odds

•Kb always updates himself with knowledge of fashion and

fabric by visiting the NIFT.

•He realized the need to scale up all these successful

businesses.

•Finally, his business was enjoying the goodwill, even over the

Raymond's, but for that he had to defy many odds.

•ITS DUE TO HIS AMBITION, POSITIVE ATTITUDE,

CREATIVITY, and STRONG DETERMINATION he has

become SUCCESSFUL.

Defying the odds

The new, new thing

Despite all the difficulties, all the frustrations, there is a joy in

having done something as well as you could and better than

others thought you could.

J.R.D. TATA

•Kb decided to design Pantaloon Shoppe in the provided large space

in Kolkata.

•Some important points about retailing are as follows:

Fashion for the matter of retailing, is not selling products, its selling

of ideas.

Customers wants to experience everything when they shop rather

than just wasting money in shopping.

The crucial aspect in retailing is to make customers

relate to every product that are being sold.

Store environment also matters.

Kb had used the concept of visual merchandising

which enables a retailer to talk more to customers.

Fashion retailing includes trend, and understanding its

business viability.

Moreover it requires a deep understanding of local

tastes and preferences.

The new, new thing

•KB believes : CUSTOMER IS THE QUEEN

•Customers should be given a comfortable environment and personal shopping experience.

•For KB achievement was more important than money. he drive himself by what percentage of the consumer’s wallet he was going to attract!

•For him, Growth is important.

•Honesty helped him win the trust of investors.

He was the

only one in the

industry who

was betting on

the future,

rather than the

present

The new, new thing

For god, country & Big Bazaar

• KB’s philosophical thinking makes him

totally a unique personality.

•KB follows the Indian consumer with

passion and retail ,according to him is

about heart.

•Inspired from Saravana stores in

Chennai, KB had decided to open up a

hypermarket. Less profit, more

turnover.

•KB had given full liberty to his employees to take risk and move on

with business. KB explain “ Never fear of mistake ,if you have made

one get out of it fast .

“Never Put Bad Money after Good Money”

•Another successful model: food bazaar. It was established on THE PRINCIPLE OF NOT

SLICING THE CURRENT OPPUTUNITY, BUT GROWING IT FURTHER.

•BIG BAZAAR and FOOD BAZAAR, WERE THE GREATEST PART OF KB’s SUCCESS.

•However ONE question aroused, Would kiranas survive with the

arrival of modern retail outlets? It is not possible for Hyper mart’s to

serve like ‘Kiranas’.

•As kiranas have personal relation with customer .

“they know what a regular customers wants even before

she enters the store “

For god, country & Big Bazaar

Bollywood calling

• KB is always fascinated about advertisement on big scale.

Famous one liner are :

• “Channe ke bhaw me kaaju” ,“Is se sasta aur accha kahin

nahi”

•  KB explained about how he tried to enter into movie making in

the bollywood but could not produce a huge success there. The

movie was “Na Tum Jano Na Hum “

• What makes Film Making is more challenging is that no one get

a chance to correct the mistake.

•Well, what I have learned in this section is ACCEPTING THE

MISTAKE, And not losing hope. KB still wishes to be great

filmmaker in the industry.

Business @ the speed of Thought•KB is little hesitant about hiring people. He never expected anything from

those MBA’s. Not everyone can fit into his organization. He wants his employees are willing to go through the continuous process of learning, unlearning and relearning.

"As members of organizational for family, it becomes important for us to ensure that everyone who joins him, understands the soul of organization and he would help achieving him his potential".

•He finds the people first, and then the job. He wanted such people because a stable team ensures speed and continuity of the business.

•Wherever the big bazaar is established, it generates employment 200-300 of people. They are given training under the ‘Gurukul’ program.

•For Location , the team used to undertake a survey in the local markets/residential places to know about the product & taste of consumers.

•Then to the prices for land. KB did not bargain, he either said yes or no and due to this attitude, the dealers used to quote him the correct, reasonable price.

•Malls are new emerging face of Indian retail. However consumers feel difficult or inconvenient to visit each stores. So KB thought of establishing a mall without doors. There the concept of departmental store emerged.

•His business expanded @ a speed of thought. He came up with many such formats like destination mall, central mall, radio central, central outlets, gold bazaar, home solutions retail e-zone,  KB’s rural wholesale market for retailers etc.

•Then they created a group-Future group which is an umbrella entity which includes every undertakings.

Business @ the speed of Thought

The pantaloon way

•In the business the human capital and creative capital is as important

as financial capital. KB believes trained people may not be able to

generating new idea, you need to have creativity there.

•Being in fashion business, design is creative activity that connects the

dots initially seemed to be unrelated, connecting the emotions and

feelings of customers.

•KB believes that every big or small idea are given shape by idiom,

design group. This team doesn’t appoint market research, instead the

team spend time on streets and observe people. And then they engage

in collective idea-making.

The business of lifeFamily and friends-

“managing the family is no less important than managing the

business.”

•In their family there are a certain set of standards which no one

can cross it even him.

•One of the most necessary step they  took was to completely

separate ownership, governance and execution.

•Within organization their  family members mostly concentrate on

building and nurturing relationships with business partners and

providing an overall guidance to the business.• KB believes that missing a target, changing paths or trying

something new cannot and should not be treated as a failure.

“True failure happens only when individuals stop trying to achieve their personal best “

Who says elephants can’t dance?

• Creator Preserver and Destroyer

•Every three years they have destroyed their

existing organizational design.

•they started of as a garment manufacturer

and launched a few brands.

•The next step was to establish their own

retail chain for their fashion products and

slowly they built multiple retail chain.

•Reaching out direct to the customer

required a thorough understanding of

different customer segments.

The Past The Future

• Stability & Consolidation Speed & Imagination • Delegation Abdication• TQM ,Six Sigma Design Management

• Hierarchy Seamlessness• Mass Production Personalization • Technology Support Technology Drives

Changes Changes• Product and Service Experience &

Solutions• Case Study Scenario Planning • Power Point Presentation Storytelling • Transaction Relationships• Competition Collaboration• Only Men, Engineers, More Women,

MBAs Ethnographers, Designer

•

•This book is a winner from the word Go.•His views on Trust & Relationships is significant.•His quotes:

“If you approach your business with this framework in mind, then you shall see benefit in all interactions.”

“Most businessmen make the mistake of creating an environment wherein only then win. They see life only as a competitive arena & not a co-operative one. Relationships are built on principles, and not on the basis of power & position.”

•However, this is not as easy as it sounds. To get to that level, every person’s aspirations & dreams have to be understood & more importantly, addressed appropriately. Therefore, to build great relationships, sacrifices will have to be made. 

Thanks