It was a marriage waiting to happen. Goenka Group’s Spencer’s Retail basked under family business leadership
(156 stores across 50 cities with revenues of Rs 2,187.2 crore in FY19), whereas Nature’s Basket, which was not the
core business for Godrej Group (35 stores across 3 cities with revenues of Rs 338.28 crore in FY19) had a different
story. The Rs 300-crore acquisition is expected to add muscle to Spencer’s Retail in the western India market.(^2015201520162016201720182018) JAN ’19 MAY ’19
Spencer
acquired 100
per cent stake in
Meragrocer.com
to foray into the
online grocery
segment, giving
the merger an
omni-channel
presence. With
a merchandise
value of
Rs 5 crore,
Meragrocer.
com operated
in Delhi and
Gurugram.
Nature’s Basket acquired
online grocery platform
Ekstop.com for around
Rs 30-40 crore. The
acquisition led Nature’s
Basket to tap the online
demand for grocery
products via its website,
mobile-based app
and through Amazon
and Snapdeal. The
development allowed
it to keep 5000 SKUs
across 3,100 pin codes
pan-India.
Under the
supervision
of Shashwat
Goenka, the
company’s
EBITDA loss
reduced to Rs
30 crore from
Rs 300 crore a
few years ago.
Nature’s Basket
appointed
Avani Davda
as Managing
Director and
announced
Refresh 2020
strategy to
generate Rs
1,000 crore
revenues by
2020.
The brand made
a 180° turnaround
from being a
‘World Food
Store’ to being
a ‘Daily Food
Delights’ store,
focusing on being
a fresh quality
neighbourhood
store. The
products such
as Spanish Toast
Ham, Parmigiano
Reggiano Cheese
were redesigned
and Avani Davda
closed eight
underperforming
stores in Delhi.
Nature’s Basket acquired a
minority stake in Goa-based
grocery chain - Magsons
Group. It embarked on an
aggressive expansion in Tier
I and II cities. The company
reduced SKUs from 30,000
to 7,000, focusing more
on everyday items of
consumption, be it grocery,
tea, fruits or vegetables.
Company’s loss narrowed
in FY18 as it reported a net
loss of Rs 62.24 crore, down
from Rs 95.37 crore, from
previous year.
Spencer turned
profitable
for the first
time ever.
The company
announced
profit of Rs
7 crore in FY
2017-18 and
they revamped
their online
business by
adding new
features and
product range
which saw
about 60,000
orders coming
through.
Spencer’s Retail
gets listed as a
separate entity in
the stock market
after demerger
with its flagship
brand, Calcutta
Electric Supply
Corporation
(CESC).
RPG’s Spencer acquired
Godrej’s Nature’s
Basket. “We need to
pass on the torch to
owners who have the
relevant ecosystems to
take the business to the
next level,” says Tanya
Dubash, ED and Chief
Brand Officer, Godrej
Group.
JULY 2019 l ENTREPRENEUR l 47