Will announce e-commerce partner soon, says Biyani

To reveal own omni channel strategy after Diwali

A day after taking on e-commerce sites such as Flipkart for undercutting prices, Future Group chief executive officer Kishore Biyani said he would announce his “exclusive e-commerce partner” soon.

Biyani agreed he met Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, in Delhi last week, lending credence that he would partner with Amazon to sell its private labels.

“We discussed many things like the macro environment, the prime minister and so on,” Biyani told Business Standard.

According to sources in the group, Biyani is expected to meet other e-commerce players for a tie-up.

“We can learn a lot of things from e-commerce players regarding their supply chain and logistics, sourcing and so on,” Biyani told Business Standard.

Under a tie-up with an e-commerce portal, Biyani said the group would first take its fashion products online, followed by FMCG, general merchandise, food and others.

While tying up with e-commerce portal is a ‘brand strategy’ Biyani said, the group’s own omni channel strategy, set to go live after Diwali, is a retail strategy or extension of his physical stores. He said the group's omni channel strategy will work simultaneously along with retailing on e-commerce partner.

“Tie up with e-commerce portals will enable us to sell more of our own brands,” he said. Future group has private labels in apparel, FMCG, food among others.

Future Group recently announced a tie-up with SAP company ‘hybris’ for its omni channel strategy that allows the group to converge its digital and physical channels.

As part of the omni strategy, the group’s electronics format, Ezone, is expected to go online first, followed by premium food chain Foodhall and hypermarket chain Big Bazaar, a group executive said.

“You can log-in and order from anywhere and take deliveries wherever you want under the omni channel strategy,” Biyani said.

However, he criticised e-commerce portals such as Flipkart, which had huge discount sale on Monday, saying these portals sold goods below cost price, incurring huge losses.

Though Biyani’s group is also holding a shopping event, he said: “We never sell below cost price. It is against the law of the land.”

“Somebody should foot the losses if you sell below cost price,” he said.

IN SEARCH OF MORE FORTUNES

• Meeting with Amazon chief
  Kishore Biyani met Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, in Delhi last week and “discussed many things like the macro environment and the prime minister”
   
• Prospective tie-up with an e-commerce portal
  Under a tie-up with an e-retail portal, Biyani said the group would first take its fashion products online, followed by FMCG, general merchandise, food and others. He termed the tie-up a ‘brand strategy’
  

 

Omni channel strategy
The group’s own omni channel strategy, set to go live after Diwali, is a retail strategy or extension of its physical stores. The omni channel strategy will work simultaneously along with retailing on e-commerce partner. As part of the omni strategy, group’s electronics format, Ezone, is expected to go online first, followed by food chain Foodhall and hypermarket chain Big Bazaar, said a company source
 

Roping in hybris
Future Group recently announced a tie-up with SAP company ‘hybris’ for its omni channel strategy that allows the group to converge its digital and physical channels