Biyani himself is an ardent student of human behaviour, though I doubt he will ever agree to describe himself because, despite the thousands of people that he employs for his retail group and despite the fact that he hobnobs with the captains of Indian industry, he remains a very shy person who prefers mostly to keep to himself.
Biyani began his audacious journey to become one of the country’s most celebrated businessmen with a simple decision to step away from his own Marwari family’s conservative way of conducting their family business and set out on his own. The journey took him through the bustling, crowded by-lanes of Mumbai’s trading localities where he went from shop to shop selling stonewash fabric to small shopkeepers. Later, he manufactured his own fabric from a ramshackle warehouse in suburban Mumbai and took to selling readymade trousers. When retailers refused to stock them alongside the imported brands that they sold in their stores, he was so miffed that he set up his own retail shop. Somewhere along the way, when modern retail and large retail malls made their appearance in India, a large mall developer declined to give him space within its mall for the Pantaloon brand. That one snub led Kishore Biyani into the business of setting up a fund that would invest in developing malls for retail, not just for in-house brands but also all the big retail ones as well.
If there is possibly one thing that Biyani is most known for, it is for being the brains behind ‘Sabse Sasta Din’, the day when millions of middle-class Indians patiently wait for the doors to open at Big Bazaar, one of India’s largest supermarket chains, to shop for all range of goods, including big-ticket purchases such as televisions and refrigerators, at rock bottom prices. Biyani gave most Indians another reason to celebrate January 26, the day of the sale. He allowed us to convert our junk into productive commodities by inviting consumers to exchange these with new products at his stores. Who does not like a freebie or a good deal?
Biyani’s business empire is rooted in his belief in the Indian way of doing things and in his complete refusal to look towards anyone or anything for endorsement of his ideas. At the age of 10, he remembers visiting the annual animal fair at Nagaur, near his tiny village of Nimbi on the border of the Thar desert. The little boy saw that while the villagers struck smart deals trading oxen, cows, and horses, they also had lots of fun watching camel races, cock-fights, and puppet shows, eating street food, buying jewelry from local artisans, and dancing to the tune of folk music. Biyani’s own retail brands today reflect his memory of that village fair he visited decades ago, which is why his retail outlets don’t just sell commodities, they also give the consumers a place to socialize and have fun.
Biyani’s success mantra in business as well as in life has been to question established norms, rewrite the rules, and redefine them. In doing so, his biggest role model has been Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton who set up the phenomenally successful retail model which is the average American’s retail mecca. He also looked upon Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of the Reliance group, as his original inspiration, a man who so fascinated him during his college days that he would often hang around outside Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel to catch a glimpse of the businessman who visited the health club at the hotel.
The boy whose horoscope predicted unusual amounts of good luck eventually proved that prediction correct, setting up an empire that sells everything from goods, groceries, consumer electronics, furniture, cosmetics, to books, insurance, and entertainment. Not to forget dreams.
Here, he writes a note to his two daughters, Ashni and Avni, with whom he shares a relationship that is more in the capacity of a friend than of a father with his children. Ashni is director of Future Ideas, the innovation and incubation cell of the group and uses her complex understanding of mythology, anthropology, and sociology to understand consumer behavior before the group rolls out new businesses. Younger sister Avni, an inveterate traveller, has backpacked through amazing, diverse corners of the world and picked up their culture and habits. After graduating in sociology from an American university, Avni is home now and is the brain behind Foodhall, the group’s new gourmet chain.
Dear Ashni and Avni,
This is unlike anything I have ever done before in my life, including the years we have grown up together. But here are a few thoughts that I want to put on record, not for just the both of you, but for whoever thinks they can benefit from it.
Ashni, you are trained to be a thought designer. And from you I have learnt that the source of everything is in thought. Thought creates idea and belief. These in turn shape our behavior, life, and business. Both you and I have been firm believers in involving the study of humanities in business. We like to delve into anthropology, sociology, mythologies, and the cultural diversity of India and like to be inspired from these areas in developing the strategic thoughts in our business. Avni, you too are trained in liberal arts and in the study of social science, societies, and politics. I believe that your education and your interests give you a unique strength in developing new ideas and executing these in business.
Many times over the last few decades, I have been asked what is the key to my success, what has made me the person I am, and what are the secret business mantras I have adopted that helped me to establish our large business group.
To everyone I have just this to say. Everything I learnt about business, and about life itself, I learnt in the huge joint family that I grew up in. I learnt everything about people and interpersonal dynamics from observing
