Tag: Kishore Biyani

Big Bazaar: From Retail Giant to Financial Struggles

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Who doesn’t love to buy good products at affordable rates? Undoubtedly, we all love discounts! What if there was only a single store in the city or town providing discounts? It would be very difficult for people to reach their destination and do their shopping before it gets overcrowded. Fortunately, with Big Bazaar’s shopping experience, you don’t have to feel the same way. This is because its online and offline stores are available in different parts of India.

Big Bazaar is an Indian retail chain of hypermarkets, discount departmental stores, and grocery stores. The company provides the best offers on groceries, food items, kitchen appliances, personal care products, and more. Big Bazaar provides a platform to do your shopping with big discounts. In other words, Big Bazaar is another name for big discounts.

The Future Group subsidiary has been in the news regularly for the dire conditions that it was in, which prompted Reliance to acquire the same, almost suddenly, undermining the Amazon 2019 deal, when the Bezos-led company infused around $200 mn in a unit of Future Group. This court fight triangle involving Amazon-Future Group and Reliance has ultimately marked a victory for Amazon.

Read the Big Bazaar success story below to know more about Big Bazaar, Big Bazaar’s history, Big Bazaar’s branches in India, the owner of Big Bazaar, and more.

Big Bazaar Introduction

Company Name	Big Bazaar
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Industry	Retail
Founder	Kishore Biyani
Founded	2001
Website	bigbazaar.com

About Big Bazaar
Big Bazaar – Startup Story
Big Bazaar – Founder and Team
Big Bazaar – Tagline, Slogan and Logo
Big Bazaar – Business Model
Big Bazaar – Revenue Model
Big Bazaar – Growth
Big Bazaar – Financials
Big Bazaar – Challenges
Big Bazaar – Competitors
Big Bazaar – Future Plans

About Big Bazaar

Big Bazaar is a company that operates a chain of departmental and grocery stores offering vegetables, fruits, dairy, personal products, garments, etc. Big Bazaar is also the parent company of Fashion at Big Bazaar, eZone, and Food Bazaar. It is one of the largest and oldest chains of departmental stores in India, which is owned by Future Group.

In 2020, Big Bazaar was acquired by Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, as part of a ₹24,713 crore ($3.36 billion) deal for the Future Group. However, the acquisition was canceled on 23 April 2022 after creditors of Future Retail (FRL) voted against proceeding. Following this, Reliance Retail introduced its new retail format, Reliance Smart Bazaar, to cater to consumer needs.

Big Bazaar – Startup Story

Kishore Biyani, the owner of Big Bazaar, had big dreams for his business as he was from a business family. Biyani’s grandfather owned a clothing business, which is why Kishore was into the business from a very early age, as was his family, all involved in their clothing business. However, what separated Biyani from the other members of his family was his big dream of doing something unique for himself and others. This is what led him to design a retail store that would have everything under one roof. Big Bazaar resulted from his brainstorming, dedication, and hard work. Biyani had already made Pantaloons a big hit as a fashion and retail store since he founded it in 1997. Now, after Big Bazaar was founded in 2001, he took the retail industry by storm.

He opened his first departmental store in Kolkata after renting and converting the place into a 10,000-square-foot store, which was twice the size of any store in Kolkata back then. Within the next 22 days, he opened more than 2 more stores in the city, and within a year, Biyani successfully opened over 50 stores all across the country. Big Bazaar started spreading across the country, and with the warm reception that the brand has seen, Biyani’s Big Bazaar stores surpassed the 100-mark by 2009.

The idea for Big Bazaar came from ‘Saravana Stores’, which is the largest family-owned retail store in India. Biyani mentioned Saravana stores’ shopping as an “experience”. Thus, this store inspired Kishore Biyani highly, as mentioned by Biyani in his autobiography. Biyani has also been quoted saying that Saravana Stores is “India’s No.1 retail store in one locality.”

Big Bazaar – Founder and Team

Kishore Biyani

Kishore Biyani is an Indian businessman, an organizer, a trader, and also a failed filmmaker. He is better known as the Founder and the CEO of the Future Group, which is one of India’s biggest retail chains. Kishore Biyani is also the founder of companies like Big Bazaar and Pantaloons. He was born on 9th August 1961, in Mumbai, to a family that has been involved in the business since the period of his grandfather. His grandfather had a clothes shop when it used to be known as Bombay.

Biyani graduated from HR College, from where he obtained a B.Com degree. Though he finished his college education, Biyani was not interested in studying and took delight in wandering and devoting his time and efforts to business. He started making trousers when he was 22. Biyani then started his work at Bansi Silk Mills. Biyani started his own business in 1983, in which he used to commission the manufacture of fashionable fabric for sale to garment manufacturers. Kishore Biyani eventually launched his new business called Manz Wear Private Limited, with which he also launched his brand that he called “WBB”, which implied “white, brown, and blue”, the basic colours of fabric for men’s trousers. This led to his launch of “Pantaloons”, which was named from “patloon”, the trousers as they are called in Hindi. Pantaloons went to be a big hit, after which Big Bazaar was launched, under Future Group, which made Kishore Biyani the retail king!

Big Bazaar – Tagline, Slogan and Logo

Big Bazaar Logo

Big Bazaar is currently operating with the tagline “Naye India Ka Bazaar”, which was decided on November 17, 2011, replacing the earlier one that said “isse sasta aur accha kahin nahi!”.

Big Bazaar – Business Model

Big Bazaar operates on a B2C business model. It offers numerous products on a single platform to its consumers. It is considered to be one of the largest departmental stores in India. The company provides awesome discounts and offers to the customers. This is the only factor that attracts all sorts of people to Big Bazaar.

Products like home and furniture, electronics, jewelry, toys, sporting and fitness, grocery, clothing, movie and music, footwear, craft and party supplies, stationery, kitchen appliances, etc., can all be found under one roof. This is the specialty. The principle of the company is low margin and high turnover. This is the only reason behind finding offers every time in the stores.

Big Bazaar – Revenue Model

Founded in 2001 with a single store, it had more than 400 stores in over 200+ tier 1, 2, & 3 cities in India as of 2024. The revenue model of Big Bazaar is very clear – just selling more products at their price by using the following tactics:

Bulk Purchase: Big Bazaar purchases all the items in bulk from the manufacturer at a low price, then sells them to the consumer after adding its margin price.
Product Bundling: Big Bazaar bundles the slow-moving products with high-moving products to clear its stock and provide them to customers at a discounted rate. This helps them in stock clearance. Also, product bundling can be witnessed from the manufacturer’s side as well. Sometimes, the manufacturers anticipate the wrong demand and produce the product in large quantities. To maintain the inventory, the manufacturer sells them at a discount. Eventually, companies like Big Bazaar purchase those products at discount rates and sell them at a profit.
Leveraging the products: The Companies like Big Bazaar leverage a particular brand’s product in order to increase its visibility in the store. The customer may find the product of any brand in a particular section of the store.

Big Bazaar – Growth

Being one of the oldest and largest chains of retail stores, Big Bazaar has been ailed for its wide variety of quality products at affordable prices. Founded in 2001, when Big Bazaar’s popularity started to skyrocket, the retail stores have also claimed to have served over 2 million customers each week. It has also been said that more than 300 million customers visited and revisited Big Bazaar in a year. However, since 2017, Big Bazaar’s struggle against debts became prominent, and by 2019, many of its stores were closed down. The pandemic outbreak happened in 2020, which wiped away even the sales that Big Bazaar was seeing. This led Future Group to sell Big Bazaar to Reliance Industries. It has previously missed lease payments to Reliance also, which was apparent as its website was also down.

All of these led Reliance Retail, the retail division of Reliance Industries, to buy out Big Bazaar as a part of the Rs 24713 crore ($3.36 bn) sale transaction of Future Group. However, this sudden acquisition was disputed by Amazon, and Future Retail Group’s (FRL) secured creditors, and eventually received a “no” from the Singapore Court. However, Reliance fraudulently started acquiring the Big Bazaar stores and has already acquired around 900 of its stores, when the Mukesh Ambani-led company said that they were paying rent for 9 months and couldn’t do anything more. These ended with the Supreme Court’s final verdict on August 6, 2021, when the apex court called off the Reliance-Future Group deal. The Future Group deal sprouted many controversies and facts about Future Group, the Jeff Bezos-led Amazon, which is now led by Andy Jassy, and Reliance.

Big Bazaar – Financials

Big Bazaar saw significant financial distress in FY21, with a sharp decline in revenue and a huge loss of INR 3,189.5 crore compared to previous years. The Future Group generated a total revenue of INR 5,116.76 Crores in FY 2024.

Particulars	FY21	FY20	FY19	FY18	FY17
Revenue	INR 6,560.9 crore	INR 20,418.4 crore	INR 20,355.7 crore	INR 18,489.6 crore	INR 17,098.9 crore
Expenses	INR 9,729.4 crore	INR 20,400.6 crore	INR 19,628.3 crore	INR 17,874.5 crore	INR 16,730.6 crore
Profit/Loss	INR -3,189.5 crore	INR 11.3 crore	INR 727.2 crore	INR 11.3 crore	INR 368.3 crore

Revenue in FY21 dropped sharply to INR 6,560.9 crore from INR 20,418.4 crore in FY20, while losses widened to INR 3,189.5 crore.

Big Bazaar Revenue Breakdown:

Particulars	FY21	FY20
Revenue from operations	INR 6,303.9 crore	INR 20,331.7 crore
Other income	INR 256.9 crore	INR 86.7 crore
Total Revenue	INR 6,560.9 crore	INR 20,418.4 crore

Revenue from operations fell by over 69% from FY20 to FY21, reflecting a major downturn in business performance.

Big Bazaar Expenses Breakdown:

Particulars	FY21	FY20
Purchases of stock-in-trade	INR 3,777.8 crore	INR 15,173.3 crore
Employee benefit expense	INR 575.6 crore	INR 977.5 crore
Finance costs	INR 1,471 crore	INR 1,025.8 crore
Depreciation & Amortization	INR 1,382.8 crore	INR 1,098.7 crore
Other expenses	INR 1,278.4 crore	INR 2,287.2 crore
Total Expenses	INR 9,729.4 crore	INR 20,400.6 crore

Major cost reductions were seen in inventory and employee expenses, but finance costs increased, reflecting rising debt burdens.

Big Bazaar Profit/Loss:

Particulars	FY21	FY20
Gross Profit	(INR 3,168.5 crore)	INR 17.8 crore
Operating Profit	(INR 3,168.5 crore)	INR 14.1 crore
Net Profit/(Loss)	(INR 3,189.5 crore)	INR 11.3 crore

Big Bazaar shifted from a profit of INR 11.3 crore in FY20 to a massive loss of INR 3,189.5 crore in FY21, indicating severe financial distress.

Quick Summary:

Revenue declined by 69%, showing a sharp downturn in business performance.
Expenses were reduced, but finance costs increased, indicating higher debt burdens.
A net profit of INR 11.3 crore in FY20 turned into a massive loss of INR 3,189.5 crore in FY21, reflecting financial instability.

Big Bazaar – Challenges

Though Kishore Biyani’s Big Bazaar almost seems to have smooth sailing, it has witnessed its own fair share of challenges. Rising debts and the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic were 2 main factors that marred the popularity of the retail chain. Big Bazaar’s rents were paid by Reliance, claimed a Reliance spokesperson when Reliance fraudulently acquired 900 Big Bazaar stores. Though Future Group wanted to sell Big Bazaar to Reliance, thereby getting rid of its debts, that didn’t happen because the Supreme Court decided to call off the Reliance-Future Group deal. The Big Bazaar and FBB stores are closing rapidly. Where more than 260 stores were earlier closed due to non-payment of debts, 300 Big Bazaar stores have been known as operational, as per the latest updates dated May 9, 2022.

Big Bazaar customers are left amused with their vouchers as they see the Big Bazaar stores closed day after day, while in some cases, the Big Bazaar employees also complained about not receiving their salaries.

Big Bazaar – Competitors

The top competitors of Big Bazaar are DMart, Bigbasket, Grofers now Blinkit, and Reliance Fresh.

DMart is the top competitor of Big Bazaar. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and was founded in 2000. DMart is the counterpart of Big Bazaar.
Bigbasket is one of the top rivals of Big Bazaar. The company is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, and was founded in 2011. The Tata-owned grocery company brings a wide variety of products, including grocery and essentials, poultry, meat, fish, and more.
Grofers (now Blinkit) is perceived as one of the top competitors of Big Bazaar. The company is headquartered in Gurgaon, India, and was founded in 2014. It operates in the grocery sector.
Reliance Fresh is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, which has been designed in a convenience store format that offers a wide selection of products to the customers.

Big Bazaar – Future Plans

Big Bazaar has earlier mentioned its potential expansion in the tier-II cities of India, especially those that are less impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and have greater aspirations. However, we are here now with most of the Big Bazaar stores closed, overlooking none less than a miracle after the calling off of the Reliance and Future Group deal. Whether Big Bazaar will be concentrating more on the expansion strategy or merging with any other companies is still undisclosed, but the Kishore Biyani-founded company cannot simply sustain the losses they have witnessed.

FAQs

What is Big Bazaar?

Big Bazaar is a departmental store that provides a shopping platform for groceries, food items, kitchen appliances, personal care products, and more at discounted rates. It caters to every need of your family.

Who is Big Bazaar owner?

Kishore Biyani is the founder of Big Bazaar.

When was Big Bazaar founded?

Big Bazaar was founded in 2001.

Who is Big Bazaar CEO?

Sadashiv Nayak was the CEO of Big Bazaar before he resigned, effective from March 31, 2022.

Where is the Big Bazaar head office?

Big Bazaar’s head office is in Mumbai.

What is Big Bazaar tagline?

Naye India ka Bazaar is the latest tagline of Big Bazaar.

March 28, 2025

Kishore Biyani: The Visionary Behind India’s Retail Revolution

Have you ever shopped at Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, or Central? Then you have heard the name of ‘India’s Retail King’, Mr. Kishore Biyani. He is basically the man who thought of it all and set up India to become one of the biggest retail powerhouses in the world.

The brainchild of the future group’s establishment, Biyani came up with the idea that you could purchase things in bulk. With an estimated net worth of over $1.78 billion, Kishore Biyani is known as one of the most influential people, especially where retail is concerned in our country. So let’s look into what his life was like and what we are up against today.

Kishore Biyani – Biography

Full Name	Kishore Biyani
Born	9 August, 1961
Nationality	Indian
Age	63
Residence	Mumbai
Education	HR College of Commerce and Economics
Profession	CEO, Future Group
Parents	Laxmi Narayan Biyani
Spouse	Sangita Biyani
Children	Avni Biyani, Ashni Biyani

Kishore Biyani – Early Life
Kishore Biyani – Family
Kishore Biyani – Career Highlights
Kishore Biyani – Challenges
Kishore Biyani – Other Ventures
Kishore Biyani – Awards and Recognition
Kishore Biyani – Facts
Kishore Biyani – Quotes!

Kishore Biyani: Early Life

Born in August 1961 in Rajasthan, India. From a young age, he knew that business was to be an important part of his life. He decided to study commerce at HR College in Mumbai, but he prioritized gaining hands-on experience in business instead of a formal college education.

He initially started his career by selling Stonewash fabric. This led to the birth of his first major business venture, which is now known as Pantaloons, the original men’s trousers brand that exploded in popularity.

Kishore Biyani – Family

Kishore Biyani always puts his family first and is currently married to Sangita Rathi, who he married at the age of 22. From the marriage, they have two daughters, Ashny and Avni both of whom have different interests, just like their father.

Kishore Biyani teaches his children to be flexible and experimental, especially with different aspects of life. And these are some traits that have helped drive his business success.

Kishore Biyani – Career Highlights

The brand Pantaloons, which is now known for its stylish and low cost clothing line in the country was started as a small trouser manufacturing company with humble beginnings. Who was the backbone who started it all? Yes, it was Kishore Biyani’s idea.

In 2001, he made a grand opening of the first Big Bazaar store in Kolkata. He brought the concept of all Indian street market shopping into modern urban supermarkets. Considering the cost and the variety of this everyday bazaar, people were immediately taken to it.

By 2009, Big Bazaar had over 100 stores that had dedicated themselves to the shopping requirements of millions of Indians. Kishore Biyani’s focus now was making his store authentically Indian rather than copying the Western version. After having major success with businesses such as Big Bazaar and Pantaloons, Kishore Biyani went on to head the Future Group and registered his properties all under one roof.

From the get-go, Future Group was instrumental in the whole range of sectors, from food to fashion, even to home goods as well. The company also entered the arena of financial services, logistics, and even the media. Some top brands included under Future Group were Central, Ezone, and Food Bazaar were done with the intention to reach its customers faster. Future Group even entered the online space with futurebazaar.com.

Kishore Biyani – Challenges

Biyani started facing threats posed by major conglomerates like Aditya Birla Group and Reliance Industries, both wanting to move into the retail sector.

The 2008 economic downturn affected Biyani’s business and methods of working. There were postponements in planned expansion and downsizing in areas like recruitment. But unlike other chains like Shoppers Stop which use small amounts of short-term borrowing and financial growth through cash generated internally, he borrowed heavily, especially for expansion, and also diversified into multiple retail areas, including salons and bookselling.

Soon, Pantaloons Retail had a debt-to-equity ratio of 3:1 and the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in September 2008 blew a hole in Future Group’s portfolio. Sales started plunging, bankers who were queuing up at his office to give him loans started calling in their loans, and mutual funds he had invested in buckled under redemption pressures and wanted to get out. Even his foreign capital sources had dried up, and his market capitalization had plunged two-thirds in a matter of only six months.

So Biyani reacted to this crisis with measures such as a reduction in the number of mid-level management staff and a total restructuring of his corporate interests. He appointed his cousin Rakesh Biyani, a more methodical and patient person than himself to take over the responsibility for the retail sector and to resolve issues with the poor supply chain and internal distribution logistics that they needed for rapid expansion.

He also rolled over his debt, converted it into loans that would mature in three to five years, and pulled out of joint venture deals with companies. In addition, he also reduced scope and concentrated on only four retail formats, fashion, food, general merchandise, and home, rather than 22 or more, which he had previously been involved in.

But in spite of all of this, Biyani had to turn to McKinsey and Company for assistance and also divest control to senior management who had been recruited from larger businesses such as Pepsico. Things slowly started to improve after the initial shockwave of 2008.

Sadly, by April 2012 Biyani’s business empire, including the non-retail elements, was not performing well and competitors were taking over their market share. He announced that they had plans for a further restructuring of the overall business to make sure it became debt-free by March of 2013. Again a controlling stake in Pantaloons’s retail was acquired by Aditya Builder Nuovo Limited in 2012 in a complex deal that involved the demerger of the business from the wider branch, and so subsequent dilutions of his involvement in the business continued. In 2016 Pantaloons was renamed as Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited.

2024 April saw Biyani selling his oldest SOBO Central Mall in Mumbai to K. Raheja Corp for the price of INR 476 crore.

Kishore Biyani – Other Ventures

Future Group attracted a lot of talented senior employees, especially from companies like Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. Under their influence, Biyani then started taking an interest in business sectors such as insurance and media.

He also had stakes in financial services such as Future Capital Business and even in the agricultural sector through Future Argovet as well as eZone electronics retailers. His concepts of cost-conscious consumer markets such as Big Bazaar and Future Bazaar were compared to the Walmarts and COSTCOs at the time.

Biyani even tried his hand at funding Bollywood movies and two box office failures in 2002 and 2003, Na Tum Jano Na Hum and Churaliya Hai Tumhe. He even co-authored a book with Dipayan Baishya, It Happened in India: The Story of Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central and The Great Indian Consumer, and was counted among the best-selling books in 2007. So far, the book has sold over 100,000 copies all across India.

Kishore Biyani – Awards and Recognition

He has been a leader in the retail industry in India as the founder and former CEO of the Future Group. He has been so well acclaimed as a contributor to the business and retail sectors that he has received numerous awards over the years. Here are some of his awards and recognition that follows:

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2006 – For being one of the most effective contributors to the Indian retailing sector.
CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards – Especially applauded for deciding to take on the challenge of heading Future Group, considered one of the most authentic retail brands in India.
Retail Leadership Award – Celebrated for pioneering the organization of the Indian retail sector.
India Business Leader Award given by CNBC-TV18 has been given for his outstanding acumen for business and leadership.
He has won the Most Admired Retailer of the Year, multiple times through retail innovation and a customer-centric approach for Future Group.
Golden Peacock Global Award for Corporate Social Responsibility – Demonstrated his commitment to inculcating sustainability and CSR in the operations of the group.

Kishore Biyani – Facts

He is the founder and CEO of the retail giant, The Future Group, with a revenue of over $4.6 billion.
It includes big brands such as Big Bazaar, food retailer Food Bazaar, and even convenience store chain Easy Day.
Biyani started out his career in 1987 with a trouser brand he named Pantaloons, but with an expansion, he had forced himself into debt and had to sell everything to pay back the bank loans.
The shares of Biani’s Future Retail surged after it was reinlisted in 2016.
In 2019, Future Retail signed a master franchise agreement to operate 7-11 stores in and across India.

Kishore Biyani – Quotes!

“We live in an imperfect world, and it is meaningless to strive for perfection. It is far better to strive for excellence.”
“A manager always fears making a mistake and that is where he differs from an entrepreneur.”
“I believe that we all come to this world to kill time. Therefore, we pick up some activity that we like doing and call it our profession. I call this the time pass theory.”
“We live in an imperfect world, and it is meaningless to strive for perfection. It is far better to strive for excellence.”

FAQs

Who is the CEO of Future Group?

Kishore Biyani is the CEO of Future Group.

What is Kishore Biyani net worth?

As of 2019, the net worth of Kishore Biyani is $1.78 billion.

What are the brands under future group?

Some of the brands under future group in the food category are Tasty Treat, Golden Harvest, Karmiq, Kara, Sunkist, ThinkSkin, Mother Earth, Kosh, Nilgiris. In fashion Brands are Lee Cooper, John Miller, CoverStory, Indigo Nation, Scullers, Knighthood, DJ&C, Bare, UMM, and flagship retail brand Big Bazaar is ranked among the most valuable Indian brands.

March 4, 2025

Future Group – Creating And Executing Future Scenarios In The Consumption Space

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Future Group.

Supermarkets in India are unusual in various aspects, owing mostly to the range of customers and, as a result, the retail sector’s different distribution strategies. The food business in India works throughout channels, from mom-and-pop shops to major supermarkets to online grocery stores.

We all have heard about the Big Bazar, one of the largest Indian retail chains of hypermarkets. All groceries, food, clothing, and retail stores are united underneath one rooftop. The retail chain of the company was founded by Kishore Biyani’s parent firm, Future Group, which is well-known in the Indian fashion and retail sectors.

Kishore Biyani founded the Future Group, an Indian firm headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. With prominent grocery chains like Big Bazaar, as well as lifestyle outlets like Brand Factory and Central, the firm is well-known in the Indian fashion and retail industries.

Future Group – Company Highlights

Startup Name	Future Group
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Industry	Conglomerate
Founders	Kishore Biyani
Founded	1987
Products/Services	Retailing, Insurance, Logistics, Integrated foods, FMCG
Website	www.futuregroup.in

About Future Group and How it Works?
Future Group – Industry
Future Group – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Future Group – Founders
Future Group – Startup Story
Future Group – Mission, and Vision
Future Group – Operations, and Subsidiaries
Future Group – Business Model
Future Group – Joint Ventures
Future Group – Competitors
Future Group – Controversies

About Future Group and How it Works?

Future Group, an Indian conglomerate, is well-known in the Indian fashion industries and retail, including prominent supermarket chains such as Big Bazaar, as well as lifestyle boutiques such as Brand Factory. The company is also well-known in the FMGC and integrated foods production industries.

Future Group is a business conglomerate that manages practically all of its operations through its several operational entities depending on target industries. For instance, its retail business segment, Future Retail Limited, operates retail hypermarket or supermarket chains Big Bazaar (now owned by Reliance), FBB, Food Hall, Food Bazaar, Hometown, and others, while its clothing and fashion outlets Central, Brand Factory, and Planet Sports are run by another one of its business units, Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited. Furniture is sold at HomeTown stores around the country as well as digitally.

The Future Group also advertises its style and sporting brands such as Indigo Nation, Lombard, Spalding Bare, and FMCGs such as Clean Mate, Tasty Treat, Fresh, Ektaa, & Pure, Sach, Premium Harvest, and others through these numerous retail boutiques and supermarkets. It has operational firms that handle internal financial concerns and consultancy for the rest of the company.

Future Group – Industry

Future Group is a conglomerate or a multi-industry company.

Retail:

The retail industry in India is expected to increase to $1.5 trillion by 2030, up from $0.793 trillion in 2020, due to social-economic reasons such as industrialization, rising incomes, urbanization, and the expansion of nuclear families. The Indian e-commerce market, on the other hand, is anticipated to reach $350 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 23%.

Financial Services:

India’s financial industry is broad and quickly increasing, both in terms of new entrants and the robust expansion of current financial services organisations.

The industry includes commercial banks, insurance companies, co-operatives, pension funds, mutual funds, and other smaller investment companies. The banking regulator has recently approved the establishment of new firms, such as payment banks, extending the sorts of entities that operate in the market. Nonetheless, India’s financial business is predominantly a banking sector, with commercial banks accounting for about 64% of the total capital in the financial system.

Future Group – Name, Logo, and Tagline

Company Logo of Future Group

According to the Future Group’s website, more than two million people visit their digital networks and stores every day to explore their product brands and collaborate with them in procuring, producing, and transporting items that meet the requirements and ambitions of a newer or future India. This is where their name is derived from.

Future Group’s tagline says, “Shaping India’s consumption journey.”

Future Group – Founders

Kishore Biyani founded the Future Group in 1987.

Kishore Biyani

Kishore Biyani, began his career selling stone-wash denim fabric in Mumbai in the 1980s. He is the CEO and creator of Future Group, as well as Big Bazaar and Pantaloon Retail, two retail firms. His ambition was to make something that only the wealthy could purchase available to everyone.

He planned to develop his own brands and commerce channels, and spend extensively on building the country’s top consuming ecology in the near future. Along the way, he invested in and mentored a number of other entrepreneurs and companies. He exemplifies the company’s motto, ‘Rewrite Rules, Retain Values,’ and believes Indianness to be the organization’s fundamental value.

Future Group – Startup Story

Kishore Biyani, the founder of Future Group, started working at his father’s, brothers’, and two elder cousins’ fabric-trading firm, “Bansi Silk Mills,” but was disillusioned and dissatisfied with the way they operated the company. Kishore noted that several of his friends used to wear “stonewashed” cloth pants at that time.

His first entrepreneurial breakthrough came when he discovered a local fabric producer who specialised in that type of cloth and marketed it to garment manufacturers and distributors in the city. In 1983, he established his own company, ordering the production of attractive cloth for sale to garment makers.

Pants were once known as “Patloon” in Hindi, from which they derived their brand name Pantaloon. Kishore later founded the Future Group to give his “Pantaloon” brand a new dynamic. Using a franchise concept, he developed the “Pantaloon” brand into retail. Afterwards, when, in 2001, the basis for Big Bazaar was established, Future Group added a slew of new brands, including Home Town, Ezone, Factory, Food Bazaar, Central, and Fashion at Big Bazaar.

Kishore listed 60 percent of his firm on the Indian stock market to acquire funding for retail upgrades, development, and advertising in 1992. By 1994, the Pantaloon franchise company had grossed 9 million rupees.

Biyani built his debut department store in Kolkata in August 1997, first renting and remodelling a 10,000 square foot space. This retail chain was much more than double the size of any other in Calcutta, and within three weeks, he opened 2 more such market stores. In 2001, he expanded his success by creating a network of retail establishments under the Big Bazaar nameplate. There were more than 100 Big Bazaar outlets around the country by 2009.

The Big Bazaar shops were purposefully built to seem chaotic, similar to the classic market stalls that his consumers were already used to. The Big Bazaar shops serve over two million consumers every week, while Pantaloon Retail employs over 30,000 people and has over 12 million square feet of retail space spread over 1100 locations in 75 cities. Every year, more than 300 million people, or one-fourth of the public, visit or return to the Big Bazaar outlets.

Future Group – Mission, and Vision

Future Group’s mission statement says, ” We share the vision that our customers and stakeholders are best served by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading to economic development.

We will be the trendsetters in evolving consumer brands and delivery formats and by making consumption affordable for all customer segments. We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition. We shall be efficient, cost-conscious and committed to quality in whatever we do.

We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility and united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful.”

The organisation shares the vision and belief that the best way to serve its customers and stakeholders is to create and implement future consumption scenarios that contribute to economic progress.

Future Group – Operations, and Subsidiaries

Financial Services:

Future Ventures
Future Generali India Life Insurance
Future Capital Holdings (for internal financial services)
Future Generali General Insurance

Retail:

Future Lifestyle Fashion Ltd
Swathi Tiffin Shop
Future Retail Ltd
Future Enterprises Limited
Foodhall
Future Consumer Limited

Other Services:

Future Brands
Future Innoversity
Future Supply Chains

Future Group – Business Model

Being in the industry of multi-brand retailing commerce is the company’s primary focus. There are roughly 20 small hypermarket easyday outlets and over 210 supermarket easyday stores available to the organisation.

Value business and home business are the two most common retail models. Food Bazaar, a supermarket; Big Bazaar, a hypermarket; Food Hall, a supermarket; FBB, a fashion destination; and Easyday convenience stores, are all part of the company’s revenue operation. eZone, a consumer durables and electronics chain and Hometown, a one-stop shop for home renovation, are two of the company’s home businesses.

Future Group – Joint Ventures

Generali Group

Italy-based Generali is an insurance firm that operates in India under the Future Generali Insurance brand. In India, Future Generali is represented by two legal entities: Generali India Insurance Co. Ltd. (Non-Life Insurance) and Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (Life Insurance).

Celio

Celio, a French fashion house, first entered the Indian market in 2008 in a 50:50 joint venture with Pantaloons Retail India Ltd, a subsidiary of Future Group (now Future Retail Ltd). Celio increased its interest in the joint venture to 65 percent in November 2013.

Clark

C&J Clark International Ltd. is accessories and footwear retailer established in the United Kingdom. The Future Group and Clarks Future Footwear Ltd have a 50:50 joint venture.

Staples Inc

Under a joint venture with Future Group, Staples Inc., a US-based office supplies store, has a presence in over nine cities in India.

FabFurnish

FabFurnish joined a Future Group company in April 2016.

Skechers

In 2012, Skechers entered India with a joint venture with Future Group. Skechers bought out Future Group’s 49 percent ownership in February 2019, bringing the joint venture to a close.

Future Group – Competitors

DMart, More, Spencer’s Retail Limited, Bigbasket, Reliance Retail, Star Market, Nature’s Basket, Mahindra, Hypercity, and Peppertap are the top ten competitors in Future Group’s competitive group.

Future Group – Controversies

Future Group and its founder Kishore Biyani are accused by the Jeff Bezos-led e-tailer of disobeying an interim decision issued by a Singapore arbitration court in October, which blocked the asset sale. Amazon has also urged an Indian court to imprison Biyani and has requested local regulators not to accept the Future-Reliance agreement while the arbitration is still ongoing. Amazon charged Future Group of violating provisions of a mutual agreement by publicizing an asset sale transaction with Reliance, the conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani, in early October 2021.
Drowning in debt, Future Retail Ltd (FRL) announced in April 2022 that it has missed the deadline for repaying lenders Rs 5,322.32 crore due to continuing lawsuits with e-commerce giant Amazon and other concerns. This pushed Reliance Industries’ retail arm, Reliance Retail Ventures, to seek an amendment of the agreement’s long-stop date in order to complete the agreement with the Future Group.
The halt on the arbitral process between Amazon and Future Group before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre was removed by the Supreme Court of India in April 2022. Future Retail’s request for a stay of proceedings before SIAC will also be heard on a priority basis, according to the Bench. According to the Supreme Court’s judgement, the interim motion will be sent to the Delhi High Court, where proceedings have already commenced, as agreed by both companies.

Future Group – FAQs

What does Future Group do?

With prominent grocery chains like Big Bazaar, as well as lifestyle outlets like Brand Factory and Central, the firm is well-known in the Indian fashion and retail industries.

Who founded Future Group?

Future Group was founded by Kishore Biyani.

Which companies do Future Group compete with?

April 9, 2022