Friday, August 24, 2012

Mohit Khattar

Managing Director, Godrej Nature’s Basket, talks to b&e’s angshuman paul about the peculiarities of the industry and the company’s future plans

B&E: Don’t you think the Godrej Group has been too late in recognizing the potential of retailing?
MK: I can’t comment on other businesses of Godrej group but regarding Nature’s Basket, yes. Five years back, the group didn’t have any intention to foray into retail. But during the last two years, the group has moved on and we are exploring all possible opportunities for growth; and one of the biggest opportunities in recent times is in the retail industry.

B&E: Ernst & Young claims that organised retail accounts for an approximate 4% of the total retail sector market, and players are in an inordinate hurry to capture the retail sector. Is this the reason that propelled you to join the retail bandwagon?
MK: We are not into the trading business and we don’t believe in doing something just because other players are doing it. Our retail brand was an initiative to offer everything that the Indian consumers’ palate would require. Most of these are gourmet retailing, which Indian consumers have never seen before. That was the reason we rolled out Nature’s Basket.

B&E: Gourmet retailing already has brands like ‘Le Marche’ functioning. Given that, how do you think your brand is unique?
MK: We are tying up with many foreign brands and will be providing a wide array of products related to food and beverages. Moreover, we have our own food products [of the company]. We started operations in 2005 and in five years, we have done our market-research, set up our logistics and supply chain. We are fully prepared to expand our presence now and we know we won’t come across a situation where we will have to shut down a store once we’ve opened it. We have ten stores while Le Marche has just eight.

B&E: Yes, you have ten stores, but the first store was rolled out in 2005. Do you think the pace at which you’re growing is relatively slow?
MK: The type of format that we are offering [in fine dining] is very exotic and we did not want to roll out stores unless we have done our ground work. Our conscious steps have paid off; we did not have to shut down our stores like other brands had to do in Mumbai. Nature’s Basket is different in terms of the products, offerings and services that are offered. Our target audience are the people living in metros and we can’t be expanding in every nook and corner of the country.

B&E: But then, even in metros, you are present only in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Will you continue to follow this retail penetration strategy in the future too?
MK: Not really. Of course, we didn’t expand in all cities across India as we didn’t believe in going places where we don’t have a market. And then there’s no point in opening stores unless you are financially or logistically prepared for the same. In gourmet retailing, we don’t have much competitors and we are the only one having presence in two metros. We will be rolling out Nature’s Basket in other metros too by the end of this year.


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