Tata Group to acquire GrocerMax

The Tata Group is buying out the management team and technology infrastructure of Gurgaon based GrocerMax to enter the online grocery business as consumers increasingly place orders for their supplies over the internet.

The new team will help set up the online platform for Trent Hypermarket, an equal joint venture between Tata and British retailer Tesco that will rival Amazon and Bigbasket in the nascent yet rapidly growing segment. GrocerMax will shut down its business in Gurgaon because the Tata group's grocery business is not present in North India. The Tata Group runs three formats under the Star Banner – Dailies, Market and Hyper and has around 42 stores.

For Tesco, the world’s third largest retailer has nearly 6,800 stores globally, its online business earns roughly 3 Billion in sales and is one of the rare such ventures that’s profitable. But the opportunity offered by the $500 Billion retail market is attractive for any player, foreign or local. Food and grocery account for almost 50% of the overall retail basket in India, although general merchandise, personal and home products fill up a bulk of the retailer’s profit pool.

Experts feel omnichannel retail offers consumers more ways to shop and interact with a retailer. GrocerMax is a hybrid platform for grocery that keeps only 10% inventory, sourcing the rest from supermarkets and provisional stores in real time. The online grocery space in India, which has seen a minor shakeout over the past year, has attracted more players as well. While LocalBanya and PepperTap suspended operations, Grofers shut in multiple cities.