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Future Group’s food and grocery convenience store chain Nilgiri’s is on rapid expansion mode this fiscal.
Acquired by Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd (FCEL) in 2014, the ₹800-crore convenience store chain with an established footprint of 180 stores in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh will add 200 new stores at an investment of ₹43-45 lakh per store.
“We are adding 50 stores in Bengaluru and 35 in the various districts of Karnataka; 70 stores in Tamil Nadu and 45 stores in Kerala by March 2018, which will take the total store count to 380. The new stores will be set up at an investment of ₹86-90 crore, which will be borne by our franchisee store partners,” M Venkateshwar Kumar, CEO – South, Future Retail Ltd told BusinessLine.
FCEL will invest in brand development, technology upgrades, training staff, marketing and promotions to enable business growth for its franchisee store partners.
Stating that same store sales registered double-digit growth Y-o-Y, Kumar said, “Nilgiri’s branded product sales grew by 25 per cent compared to last year and contributes ₹200 crore to the overall turnover of ₹800 crore. We would like to grow the Nilgiri’s brand share from ₹200 crore to ₹2,800 crore by 2021.”
Next-generation store
To match the changing customer needs, the company opened its first next-generation store with a new look, experience and assortment in Bengaluru’s Old Airport Road. The 4,000-sq-ft store stocks garden fresh fruits/vegetables and interesting nuggets of information on the Nilgiri’s brand journey.
Selfie spot
“The 4,000-sq-ft Nilgiri’s store is our master store, aimed at capturing the imagination of the millennials with plenty of choices and value added products. It offers 14,500 SKUs across dairy, bakery and staples; of which 4,000 SKUs are international products. We have installed a 5-1/2 feet statue of a Jersey cow painted white with the Nilgiri Blue Mountains painted on its flanks at the store entrance, giving millennials the perfect spot to click selfies with the cow,” said Nikunj Biyani, Director, Future Group.
New product mix
New products like flavoured milk (Belgian chocolate) and yoghurt (Greek yoghurt), cold coffee, focaccia and pita breads, flavoured lavash crackers, peri-peri idli mix, besan laddoo mix, and so on, are on sale. A wine cellar and an in-store machine to grind coffee beans for customers who buy them at the store, are the other highlights of the store. Plans are on to roll out 20-30 next-generation stores at premium catchment locations by March 2018.
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