Future Group's Kishore Biyani bets big on small stores

These would help sell goods worth Rs 1 lakh annually to 10 mn households by FY21

Future Group founder Kishore Biyani recently cycled from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, in Rajasthan — a distance of 280 km. It was part of his itinerary to visit a dozen small towns last month.

These were not pleasure trips but a sort of business recce, as Biyani gets his group ready to meet an ambitious target of selling goods worth Rs 1 lakh crore annually by 2020-21. He plans to do so by selling groceries, apparel and electronics worth Rs 1 lakh every year to at least 10 million households. 

These trips are helping him meet and understand the needs of