Big Bazaar – India’s Real Retail Story

Big Bazaar , the flagship retail chain of the Future Group, is on the verge of achieving a unique milestone in the History of World Retail – by being the first hypermarket format in the globe to rollout fastest 101 stores in a short span of seven years.

Currently, Big Bazaar has 98 stores in the country, including the recently opened store in Mysore on September 26^th 2008. Further to this, Big Bazaar will be opening three more stores in a single day – i.e. 30^th September 2008, which will take the eventual count to 101 stores in the country. These three stores opening shortly in Pune (Kalyani Nagar), Cuttack (Darga Bazaar) and Delhi (Rajouri Garden).

Big Bazaar’s journey began in October 2001, when the young, first generation entrepreneur Kishore Biyani opened the country’s first hypermarket retail outlet in Kolkatta (then Calcutta). In the same month, two more stores were added – one each in Hyderabad and Mumbai, thus starting on a successful sojourn which began the chapter of organized retailing in India.

Speaking on this momentous occasion and remembering the days of conceptualising the hypermarket idea Mr. Kishore Biyani said, “We initially decided to name the format as “Bazaar” because we had designed the store keeping the Indian mandi style in mind. Since the size of the hypermarket was big than an average mandis, the thought came to name it as “Big Bazaar”. However, we had freezed on the punch line “Isse Se Sasta Aur Achha Kahi Nahi” much before we met the creative agency to design the final logo of Big Bazaar.”

Though, Big Bazaar was started purely as a fashion format including apparel, cosmetics, accessory and general merchandise, the first Food Bazaar format was added as Shop-In-Shop within Big Bazaar in the year 2002. Today, Big Bazaar, with its wide range of products and service offering, reflects the aspirations of millions of Indians.

The journey of Big Bazaar can be divided into two phases – one pre and the other post January 26^th, 2005, when the company rewrote the retail chapter in India, with the introduction of a never-before sales campaign “Sasbe Sasta Din”. In just one day, almost the whole of India descended at various Big Bazaar stores in the country to shop at their favourite shopping destination.

Further, what followed was the time and again rewriting of the Indian Retail experience, wherein understanding of the Indian consumers reflected in the products and services offered, creating innovative deals, expanding in the tier II and tier III towns, tying up with branded merchandise to offer exclusive products and services to its customers.

Big Bazaar is present today in 59 cities and occupying over 5 million sq.ft. retail space and driving over 110 million footfalls into its stores. The format is expecting the number of footfall in the stores to increase by over 140 million by this financial year. Over the years, Mr. Biyani for his vision and leadership, and Big Bazaar for its unique proposition to its customers’, have received every prestigious consumer awards both nationally and internationally.

Says Rajan Malhotra, President, Strategy & Convergence, Big Bazaar, “What is important in our journey is not the number of stores, but the customers’ faith in us. It’s the India and the Indians, which have helped us, reach this feat in such a short time span and today our country is creating a history in the World organized Retail.

Rajan Malhotra, who is also the first employee of Big Bazaar, joining the organization in early 2001 adds, “Since beginning, we have kept Big Bazaar as a soft brand, which reflects the India and the Indianess. We believed in growing with the society, participating and celebrating all regional and local community festivals, giving customers preferences above everything else.”  

Every Big Bazaar is a small family by its own and the head of the family – Karta – is the store manager. Kishore Biyani, the CEO of the Future Group, has a vast understanding of the consumer’s insight, has inculcated the habit of ‘observing, understanding  customers’ behaviour’, in every employee of the group.

Future Group is confident of the Indian Retail Story. The Group has not slowed down its expansion plans despite the fiscal woes in the economy present today. Future Group plans to have 300 stores and is expecting revenues of Rs 13,000 crore by year 2011.  

Sourced From: Brand Comm