Kishore Biyani

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Kishore Biyani (since 1983)
Born
H.R. College
OccupationCEO of Future Group

Kishore Biyani is an Indian businessman who is the Founder & CEO of

Big Bazaar
.

According to Forbes magazine, he had a net worth of US$1.78 billion in 2019.[1]

Retail career

Rise

Known for a thrifty approach to running his businesses, with precepts such as modest corporate travel and hospitality arrangements,

Pantaloon Retail employed over 30,000 people and had over 12,000,000 square feet (1,100,000 m2) of retail space across 1000 stores in 71 cities. Turnover in 2008 was 47 billion rupees.[3]

Biyani, who has admitted to making "whimsical decisions", had ignored the prevailing opinion of modelling retail businesses on those in the West and had instead concentrated on concepts that were familiar to India. His method of communication with both the media and financiers had been perceived as poor, as were his staff recruitment choices. Considered at first to be an extravagant risk-taker lacking in worthy business connections, and shunned by his peers for all of these reasons, Biyani's success with Big Bazaar had turned him into a revered figure in the Indian retail sector and a magnet for media attention. He was running the largest retailer in the country and was named as retailer of the year by the National Retail Federation, which at one earlier point had refused even to admit him. He was, however, facing a threat from the much larger resources of conglomerates such as Aditya Birla Group and Reliance Industries, both of whom had signalled an intention to move into the retail sector.[3][4]

Decline

In addition to the threat posed by the conglomerates, the 2008 economic downturn affected Biyani's business and his methods. There were postponements in planned expansion and downsizing in some areas.[3] Unlike other Indian retail chains, such as Shoppers Stop, that used a small amount of short-term borrowing and then financed growth through cash generated internally from sales, he had relied heavily on short-term borrowing for expansion and also diversification into numerous retail areas, including book-selling and salons. Pantaloons Retail had a debt-to-equity ratio of 3:1. Business journalist Samar Srivastava said of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 that

The crisis that followed blew a hole in Future group's portfolio. Sales plunged; bankers who until then had queued up at his offices started to call in their loans; mutual funds that had invested in his companies buckled under redemption pressures and decided to get out; sources of foreign capital dried; his market capitalization plunged two-thirds in a matter of six months, and Biyani who had invested way ahead of the cash flows from his network found himself trapped.[4]

Biyani reacted to the crisis with measures such as a considerable reduction in the numbers of his mid-level management staff and a restructuring of his corporate interests. He appointed a cousin, Rakesh Biyani, more methodical and patient than himself, to take over his responsibility for the retail business and in particular to resolve issues with the poor

McKinsey and Company for assistance and also divested control to senior staff who had been recruited from large businesses such as PepsiCo. Things appeared to be improving after the initial shockwave of 2008.[5]

Nonetheless, by April 2012, Biyani's business empire, including the non-retail elements, was performing less than its competitors and there were concerns raised about its debt levels. He announced that there were plans for a further restructuring of parts of the business to enable it to become debt-free by March 2013.

Aditya Birla Nuovo Ltd in May 2012 in a complex deal involving a demerger of the business from the wider group, and there were subsequent further dilutions of Biyani's involvement in the business.[7][8] In 2016, it was renamed as Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd.[9]

In April 2024, Biyani sold his oldest SOBO Central Mall, Mumbai to K Raheja Corp at a settlement of Rs. 476 crore.[10]

Other business interests

Through the

Wal-mart.[2]

Biyani has also had a foray into

Bollywood, underwriting the critically panned box-office failure Na Tum Jaano Na Hum and Chura Liya Hai Tumne that were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively.[3]

Books

References

  1. ^ "#80 Kishore Biyani & family". Forbes.
  2. ^ a b Rai, Saritha (22 January 2009). "The Wal-Mart of India". The Global Post. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ligaya, Armina (15 October 2009). "The making of India's retail King". The National. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Srivastava, Samar (14 September 2010). "Pantaloon's Retail Redo". Forbes.
  5. ^ Srivastava, Samar. "A Person of the Year: Kishore Biyani". Forbes. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b Kamath, Raghavendra (7 April 2012). "Pantaloon's woes: High debt, slow sales". Business Standard. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  7. ^ D'Souza, Sharleen (16 April 2015). "Future Group's Kishore Biyani looking to offload stake in Pantaloons". The Financial Express. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  8. ^ Layak, Suman (27 May 2012). "Friendly takeover". Business Today. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Pantaloons changes its name to Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail". The Economic Times. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Kishore Biyani Settles Debt with Canara Bank by Selling Iconic SOBO Central Mall". Bru Times News.
  11. ^ Vijayraghavan, Kala (16 August 2010). "How Kishore Biyani hooks India Inc's top talent". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Retailer Kishore Biyani: 'We Believe in Destroying What We Have Created'". Wharton Business School. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2017.

External links

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