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.
