Future Group to take Nilgiris supermarket store count to 1,000

Kishore Biyani-led Future Group is planning a major expansion of its southern supermarket chain Nilgiris by adding more products and taking the store count to 1,000 in the next three years.

Nilgiri's is also one of the oldest supermarket chains in India with origins dating back to 1905 and its products are sold under the brand name of "Nilgiris 1905". Also, unlike almost all other supermarkets and grocery shops in India, Nilgiris sells its own products among other brands.

Future Group, which acquired the Bengaluru-based chain in 2014, plans to launch new products in bakery and strengthen its portfolio.

In fact, it was through Nilgiris that the Futures Group entered dairy and bakery segment, said Biyani.

"We have a target to have at least 1,000 shops in southern India gradually in next three years," PTI quoted Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani as saying.

Nilgiris is operating 160 stores in South India and has sales of around Rs 800 to Rs 900 crore.

"We are revamping the chains and opening new stores. We are expanding Nilgiris capacity. We are also launching new products as in bakery segment," he further added.

The company is looking at the franchisee model for expanding Nilgiris chain, which would need minimum investments, reports quoted Biyani as saying.

Nilgiris is operating 160 stores in South India across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala, and has sales of around Rs800 to Rs900 crore.

Future Consumer Enterprises acquired 98 per cent share of Nilgiris from Actis Capital and other promoters on 21 November 2014 and made a fully owned subsidiary.

Originally promoted by the Mudaliar family, Nigiris entered Actis' portfolio when the latter bought a 65 per cent stake in 2006 for $65 million and subsequently increased its stake. Actis has been looking to exit the investment since 2012.

Future Group recently launched the group's first mega food park in the country and has signed two more properties for similar projects in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. The group is also investing in overseas entities and in different products.

In 2012, the company had acquired the Delhi-based Express Retail, which operates the Big Apple chain of supermarkets, for an undisclosed amount.

Future Group also has rural retail outlets called Aadhaar and Aadhaar Wholesale, which come under its joint venture with Godrej Agrovet.