Big Bazaar Direct: Will it be a revenue churner for Biyani?

With the worst of his debt crisis past him, retail baron Kishore Biyani has begun to step on the gas pedal again. The company has now rolled out Big Bazaar Direct across India, a direct- selling platform that will allow customers to shop at their convenience through Big Bazaar's direct selling agents, which also promotes entrepreneurship, reports CNBC-TV18's  Farah Bookwala.

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The man of firsts has done it again Kishore Biyani is raising the shutters of a new service that he hopes will be the future of retailing in India.
"Big Bazaar Direct" is a first of it's kind, direct-selling model by a large retailer in India that will allow customers to shop by ticking deals off a catalogue.
The catalogues will be brought directly to customers by Big Bazaar's franchisee partners, who will display the catalogue on a Big Bazaar Direct tablet.
Across tier-I, II and III markets, 1 lakh franchisee partners will serve as point-of-sales, offering customers a limited brand mix of apparel, accessories and packaged products delivered from Future Retail's warehouses to their homes within 7 days.
Big Bazaar Direct is a technology-driven model. Franchisee owners will not only place customer orders on a tablet but will transact with Future Retail using credit-topped virtual wallets.
The scheme also promotes entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs pay Rs 3 lakh to become a franchisee partner and anybody can apply to become one.
The service's rollout has been announced with an eyeball-grabbing media campaign one that distinctly reiterates Biyani's departure from his pro-FDI stance.
Harish Bijoor, chief executive officer, Bijoor Consultants, says, "It shouts from the rooftop that we are India's largest retailer and we can operate without foreign intervention. It is bit of a bold statement being made."
While sources say no internal revenue targets have been set, this model has the potential to become a major revenue churner.