How Grofers is roping in kirana stores in fight against hard discounters

Grofers will help the kirana stores with inventory management, using its insights from online retail trends and, in turn, leverage the trust these stores enjoy in the local neighbourhoods

An alliance between small kirana stores and a major online grocer — two competitors at extreme ends of the fragmented universe of Indian retail — will sound puzzling, more so when the former is trying to hold its own in the face of organised competition and the latter is trying to usurp their territory. But by branding 100 mom-and-pop stores already and aiming to take that figure to 1,000 by the end of this financial year, Grofers plans to take on a slightly underestimated piece of the puzzle — the hard discounters who swear by no-frills stores, limited assortment, and