 "Spencer's is open to foreign partnership: Shashwat Goenka")
Shashwat Goenka, son of the vice-chairman of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and its retail sector head, is redoing the food section in select hypermarkets of the chain in question, Spencer’s. Branding it Epicuisine, the 23-year-old Wharton graduate in economics talks to Nivedita Mookerji on this and other plans. Edited excerpts:
What is the idea behind Epicuisine?
We wanted to offer something experiential and different to customers. Epicuisine served the purpose as a combination of epicure and cuisine. We are looking at young people living alone, nuclear families and those who don’t have the time to cook. It doesn’t make sense to order from restaurants every day, so we decided to look at the home meal replacement (HMR) concept.
While some of these products are made and packaged by Spencer’s, for others we have tied up with vendors such as Moet, Sushiya, Culina Mundi and Fortune Gourmet. The rebranded food centre will offer anything from gourmet to speciality meals, dairy, fresh fruit, bakery and frozen stuff. Also, expect to see sushi, Russian salads, kebabs and biryani. We are clear that it’s not a fine dining option but people can take home something different and healthy to eat.
Which hypermarkets are you targeting for the new food section?
Initially, we are going for Gurgaon and Kolkata. We will look at the metros and some of the other big cities. I think 10-15 per cent of our stores will have this concept.
What’s your total number of hypermarkets?
There are 29 and we plan to take the number to 80 in four years.
Will Epicuisine be a part of Spencer’s business plan be hived off separately?
It is a part of Spencer’s Retail. It’s just that the food segment is getting rebranded with new offerings.
How much is the investment in this?
The one-time investment towards Epicuisine per store is around Rs 1.25 crore.
How much are you involved in the overall business of Spencer’s Retail?
Since April, I have been officially involved with Spencer’s. But even before that, dad always used to discuss ideas with me and my sister, who’s now looking at the café business of the group.
Do you remember anything you told your father earlier that was useful for the business?
That question is for my dad. I don’t remember.
Is Spencer’s planning to tie up with any foreign chain? Players like Walmart and Carrefour are perhaps scouting for Indian partners.
We are open to anything.
Have you got feelers from any of the foreign chains for a partnership?
I think everyone has got feelers and teasers.
Would you prefer to partner with an American or a European chain?
We have no such preference.
At Spencer’s, what is the plan of action?
The most important goal is to attain profitability. We hope to be out of the red soon. Our sales stood at Rs 1,400 crore as of financial year 2012-13.
On the whole, what’s your view on the (government’s) multi-brand retail policy? There’s been so much criticism against it.
I think it’s a well-drafted policy, that has kept different factors in mind. No policy can be customised for specific companies.
In the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which according to you are the most attractive and futuristic businesses?
It is an evolving group and none of what we do is yesteryear business. We want to grow all our businesses.
Why has Spencer’s Retail been in the red for so long?
We did not start with hypermarkets. That happened much later. We changed strategies many times. Now, we are focused on growing the hypermarkets, with focus on compact stores of, say, 30,000 sq ft, not the large outlets. The largest for us is in Kolkata, at 50,000 sq ft. Also, we are looking more actively at non-food, apparel and general merchandise, while retaining the flavour of a food-first retailer. The margin is a lot higher in non-food.
Has Spencer’s ventured into e-commerce yet?
We only have a website, there’s no e-commerce. We want to be a profitable retail chain first, and will then explore the online space.
What is the idea behind Epicuisine?
We wanted to offer something experiential and different to customers. Epicuisine served the purpose as a combination of epicure and cuisine. We are looking at young people living alone, nuclear families and those who don’t have the time to cook. It doesn’t make sense to order from restaurants every day, so we decided to look at the home meal replacement (HMR) concept.
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Where are you sourcing the products from?
While some of these products are made and packaged by Spencer’s, for others we have tied up with vendors such as Moet, Sushiya, Culina Mundi and Fortune Gourmet. The rebranded food centre will offer anything from gourmet to speciality meals, dairy, fresh fruit, bakery and frozen stuff. Also, expect to see sushi, Russian salads, kebabs and biryani. We are clear that it’s not a fine dining option but people can take home something different and healthy to eat.
Which hypermarkets are you targeting for the new food section?
Initially, we are going for Gurgaon and Kolkata. We will look at the metros and some of the other big cities. I think 10-15 per cent of our stores will have this concept.
What’s your total number of hypermarkets?
There are 29 and we plan to take the number to 80 in four years.
Will Epicuisine be a part of Spencer’s business plan be hived off separately?
It is a part of Spencer’s Retail. It’s just that the food segment is getting rebranded with new offerings.
How much is the investment in this?
The one-time investment towards Epicuisine per store is around Rs 1.25 crore.
How much are you involved in the overall business of Spencer’s Retail?
Since April, I have been officially involved with Spencer’s. But even before that, dad always used to discuss ideas with me and my sister, who’s now looking at the café business of the group.
Do you remember anything you told your father earlier that was useful for the business?
That question is for my dad. I don’t remember.
Is Spencer’s planning to tie up with any foreign chain? Players like Walmart and Carrefour are perhaps scouting for Indian partners.
We are open to anything.
Have you got feelers from any of the foreign chains for a partnership?
I think everyone has got feelers and teasers.
Would you prefer to partner with an American or a European chain?
We have no such preference.
At Spencer’s, what is the plan of action?
The most important goal is to attain profitability. We hope to be out of the red soon. Our sales stood at Rs 1,400 crore as of financial year 2012-13.
On the whole, what’s your view on the (government’s) multi-brand retail policy? There’s been so much criticism against it.
I think it’s a well-drafted policy, that has kept different factors in mind. No policy can be customised for specific companies.
In the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which according to you are the most attractive and futuristic businesses?
It is an evolving group and none of what we do is yesteryear business. We want to grow all our businesses.
Why has Spencer’s Retail been in the red for so long?
We did not start with hypermarkets. That happened much later. We changed strategies many times. Now, we are focused on growing the hypermarkets, with focus on compact stores of, say, 30,000 sq ft, not the large outlets. The largest for us is in Kolkata, at 50,000 sq ft. Also, we are looking more actively at non-food, apparel and general merchandise, while retaining the flavour of a food-first retailer. The margin is a lot higher in non-food.
Has Spencer’s ventured into e-commerce yet?
We only have a website, there’s no e-commerce. We want to be a profitable retail chain first, and will then explore the online space.