Creates first mover advantage in organised rural retail with its unique hybrid model
Suumaya Industries Ltd. (NSE Code: SUULD), an emerging diversified conglomerate group, through its 100% fully-owned subsidiary Suumaya Retail Ltd. has forayed into a unique hybrid model of retail business for rural India. In the pilot phase, the company has opened nine modern kirana stores in the name Suuvidham at Kaushambi and Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh.
Suuvidham retail chain is based on Company Owned Company Operated (COCO) and Company Owned Franchise Operated (COFO) business concept. The retail outlet offers wide array of products covering food and household utility items. It has become a go-to-store for every local villager as the company is providing quality goods at subsidised rates. All these stores are tech-enable and have simplified the shopping experience from placing of orders to processing invoices. Thereby, bringing ease into their day-to-day lives.
Mr. Ushik Gala, Chairman & Managing Director of Suumaya Industries Limited said, “We are delighted to launch our first set of nine Suuvidham stores as per schedule. Uttar Pradesh is a key market for us and with the current developments taking place in the state, it will only further drive our growth. Suuvidham is designed around customer centric approach and we aim to make Suuvidham as a ready platform to help home grown brands to expand their footprint as an enabler for local businesses. B-town consumers will hugely benefit from the access to various brands at economical price points. We believe in the humongous potential of rural India and Suuvidham will change the lifestyle of rural Indians by giving them right choice at the right time at the right price. We will play a catalytic role in enhancing their lives by offering them the advantage of urban living in terms of all the normal buying choices.”
Suuvidham retail business will strengthen Suumaya retail’s foothold in the value retail segment in the smaller towns. By launching stores across the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat in both online and offline model, the company will provide opportunities to franchisees and rural retailers to scale their business. The company has immense plans to come up as the power support of rural retail sector in India, and Suumaya is going to achive them with its strong vision. The group already has a strong foothold in agri supply chain which will give Suumaya retail a tremendous edge over other players. This new venture will create a solid presence for Suumaya in the Indian retail space with strong assortment of products and extensive geographical footprint in tier 2, 3 & 4 cities.
Suumaya Industries has a strong back-end and technology infrastructure to ensure seamless operations and boost the growth. The focus on smaller towns and talukas through the online and offline market has huge potential. The company is expecting good footfall due to strong assortment of products offered at optimal prices and well calibrated store positioning. A high footfall conversion rate can be leveraged to expand Suumaya’s market penetration. The model is likely to significantly empower rural entrepreneurs and is likely to boost rural economy.
Suumaya Retail’s hybrid model of operations will play a significant role wherein the company will provide them with goods, basic infrastructure, technology and supply Chain whereas the franchises will run the operations at the store level. Under the pilot phase, Suumaya Retail will be establishing its presence through “Suuvidham” retail chain in 30 plus villages of Uttar Pradesh. The company plans to gradually scale up its retail chain rollout in the coming year across pan-India.
