Biyani’s Future Group buys out Nilgiris supermarket chain

Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd, an arm of Kishore Biyani's Future Group, today announced the acquisition of southern India-based supermarket chain Nilgiris for an undisclosed sum.

"Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd ((FCEL) on Friday completed the acquisition of the Nilgiris convenience store chain in the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu," the company said in a statement.

Future Group chief executive Kishore Biyani said, "FCEL's acquisition of Nilgiris, a leading food and grocery convenience store chain in South India having a unique portfolio of food brands supported by its own manufacturing facilities for dairy and bakery, is another step towards building a robust convenience store network in India.

"This acquisition is synergistic as it enables strengthening and expanding convenience stores through franchises in an asset light model as well as brings in new manufacturing capabilities and brands within the company."

Nilgiris operates a franchisee-operated convenience store chain with 140 outlets in key urban centres in the four southern states and it also owns a portfolio of brands in dairy, bakery, chocolates and staples along with their manufacturing facilities in Bangalore, the statement said.

A select product range of the brand is also retailed through general trade along with in-store bakeries in few stores.

The company manages the back-end operations including procurement, logistics and IT for the stores and operates 8 distribution centres along with a fleet of vehicles, including refrigerated ones that cater to the supply of its own dairy, bakery and chocolate brands to its outlets.

This acquisition by FCEL will lead to geographical expansion of the convenience store network in southern India, as presently its existing footprint is primarily concentrated in north and west India, the company said.

Nilgiris' branded bakery and dairy products will also be channelised across Future Group's existing channels, including Big Bazaar, Foodhall and Aadhaar and also extended to other modern retailers, the statement added.

Similarly, the FCEL's existing portfolio of brands, including Sunkist, Tasty Treat, Golden Harvest, Premium Harvest, Sach Ektaa, CleanMate and CareMate will be chanellised through Niligiris store network.

Additionally, Nilgiris' expertise in running a successful franchisee network will be leveraged to expand the existing footprint of convenience stores via a franchisee model.