Grofers set to convert 200 'kirana' stores into branded grocery outlets

Online grocery platform Grofers is working on converting about 200 brick-and-mortar stores into its own branded outlets over the next few months as it looks to expand its business and push its private label of products.

The SoftBank-backed company has been working on the business model for the past few months and has already converted about 100 such 'kirana' outlets.

"We have converted several grocery stores into our own branded offline stores, around 100 kirana stores in Delhi-NCR have been a part of this effort that started somewhere in November last year. Our target is to have 200 such stores in the coming few months," Grofers Vice-President and Head (Offline Business) Yeshu Bansal told PTI.

Grofers is also keen on expanding this network to southern markets such as Bengaluru, he added.

Maintaining that this model will have no "adverse effect" on its online sales, Bansal said these stores are more focused towards the base of offline buyers that is different from the already existing and growing online consumer base.

"Using our forecasting tools and data science, we help the offline stores understand what items are selling more and what should he stock for. We are taking our experience and tech to the offline store," he said.

He added that Grofers will also provide training to these stores about how to handle point-of-sale, and retention and loyalty schemes, among other areas.

"We are entering kirana stores in residential areas that has middle and the lower middle class population. The goal is to help the retailer scale up his business by getting more footfalls, and for us, it helps push their homegrown brands (private label products) as well," Bansal said.

The company has also launched a toll-free number for the prospective partners from Delhi-NCR to reach for enrolment.

Grofers already has a network of more than 6,000 partner stores (Grofers service partners) that help it in delivery of grocery items to customers.

It aims to double its sales to Rs 5,000 crore this fiscal and is also gearing up to hit the capital market with initial public offering (IPO) in the next three years.