Grofers to convert 200 kirana shops into its branded stores

Gurgaon-based online grocery platform Grofers is reportedly working on converting dozens of grocery stores into its own branded outlets as it looks to broaden its distribution and push own label products to earn better margin.

According to media reports, Grofers has been working on the business model for the past few months and has already converted about 100 such kirana stores to Grofers discount stores in Delhi NCR region.

“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,” Yeshu Bansal, Vice-President and Head (Offline Business), Grofers was quoted as saying in a report.

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 in a report.

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 told PTI.

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