Kishore Biyani | Business Upturn

List of companies owned by Kishore Biyani

Jennifer Philip — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 13:30:48 +0000

Kishore Biyani is the founder and Group CEO of Future Group, a major Indian conglomerate. Biyani is widely regarded as a pioneer of modern retail in India and is considered a mentor and role model for many entrepreneurs in the country. He is also viewed as a thought leader in Indian business circles.

Over the past two decades, Biyani has been the driving force behind the creation and growth of some of India’s most popular retail chains under the Future Group umbrella. These include Big Bazaar, Central, Brand Factory, Foodhall, and Fbb among others. The group has also acquired and integrated other well-known retail banners like Nilgiris, Aadhaar, Easyday, Heritage, and HyperCity over time.

Under Biyani’s leadership, Future Group has emerged as a major player in shaping the modern retail landscape in India through its pan-India presence across various retail formats and segments.

These are the various companies and brands under the Future Group:

Smart Bazaar

Smart Bazaar, previously known as Big Bazaar, is an Indian hypermarket, discount department store, and grocery store chain. It was founded by Kishore Biyani under the parent company Future Group, which has a major presence in India’s retail and fashion industries. Smart Bazaar offers a wide range of products across multiple categories, following a hypermarket and discount store format.

Brand Factory

Brand Factory was a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Future Group, one of India’s leading retail conglomerates. Headquartered in Mumbai, Brand Factory was launched in September 2006 to provide branded fashion and lifestyle products at discounted prices through its retail outlets.

Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd

Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited is an integrated fashion company operating in India. It runs multiple retail chains catering to different customer segments and product categories within the fashion and lifestyle space. Across these retail banners, Future Lifestyle offers a diverse portfolio of fashion brands and products spanning formalwear, casualwear, activewear, ethnic wear, denim, footwear, and accessories for men and women.

Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Ltd

Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited is an Indian public life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai. It operates as a joint venture between two parent entities – Generali Group, an Italian insurance giant based in Trieste, and Future Group, a major Indian conglomerate founded by Kishore Biyani with headquarters in Mumbai.

Future Consumer

Future Consumer is a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company that specializes in the food sector. Its focus is on building brands aimed at the rapidly evolving consumer preferences and aspirations of India’s younger, fast-moving consumer generation.
The company leverages data and insights to gain a deep understanding of Indian consumers’ food habits, beliefs, and changing needs.

HyperCity

HyperCity was an Indian supermarket chain that operated around 20 stores across the country. These hypermarket-format stores had a broad merchandise mix spanning three main categories – food, home products, and fashion.

Positioned as a one-stop destination for customers’ grocery, household, and apparel needs, HyperCity’s large-format stores aimed to provide a comprehensive shopping experience under one roof.

Joint ventures and associate companies

FabFurnish:

Originally launched in 2012 as an online furniture and home products retailer, FabFurnish was acquired by Future Group in 2016.

Staples Inc:

The U.S.-based office supplies retailer Staples has a joint venture partnership with Future Group, operating stores across 9 cities in India as of 2013, with Future Group holding a 60% stake.

Skechers:
The footwear brand Skechers entered India through a joint venture with Future Group in 2012, which Skechers exited in 2019 by buying out Future Group’s 49% stake.

Celio:
The French fashion brand Celio launched in India in 2008 via a 50:50 joint venture with Future Group’s retail arm Pantaloons (now Future Retail). In 2013, Celio increased its stake to 65%.

Clark:
UK footwear retailer C&J Clark International formed a 50:50 joint venture called Clarks Future Footwear Ltd with Future Group, opening their first store in Delhi in 2011.

Other Key Retail Chains under Future Retail include

FBB (Fashion at Big Bazaar), Central ( Large department store), Nilgiris 1905, aLL ( Plus-size clothing brand), Easyday ( Neighborhood convenience stores) Heritage Fresh (Supermarkets focusing on fresh produce and groceries), WHSmith ( Books, stationery and news/magazine chain), 7-Eleven (Convenience store), Aadhaar Wholesale ( Cash-and-carry wholesale chain)

Under the Future Retail umbrella, these diverse retail chains and formats cater to a wide range of customer segments across food, fashion, general merchandise, and convenience store categories in the Indian market.

Kishore Biyani resigns as executive chairman and director of Future Retail

Aryan Jakhar — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 16:42:57 +0000

Kishore Biyani, the creator of retail companies such as Pantaloon Retail and Big Bazaar, has resigned as the executive chairman and director of debt-ridden Future Retail Ltd., the company said in a regulatory statement on Wednesday.

Future Retail Ltd (FRL)’s resolution professional received notification via email on January 24, 2023.

“This is to notify you that Mr Kishore Biyani has tendered a letter of resignation from the position of “Executive Chairman and Director” of the Company, effective January 23, 2023,” the company stated.

“Mr. Kishore Biyani’s resignation letter shall be placed before the Committee of Creditors in accordance with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 read with the rules and regulations framed thereunder,” Future Retail stated.

Nothing in this document should be interpreted as an endorsement of the contents of Biyani’s resignation letter, including his arguments in the resignation letter regarding information transfer, the company told stock exchanges.

In an official letter to bankruptcy resolution specialist Vijaykumar Iyer, Biyani stated that he had continued to serve as chairman of the firm even after the beginning of the CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process) and suspension of the Board.

“As I understand it, I have completed all the required handholding within my capacity for you to takeover the entire control of the company and its assets,” Biyani said.

He also stated that he had completed the transfer of all information and data that the previous management had access to or that could be obtained from ex-employees or other parties.

Biyani went on to say that he had also shared with the resolution professional all of his insights regarding the business and operations, as well as the many challenges that the previous management had experienced.

Kishore Biyani and 15 others, including FRL and Future Coupons Private Ltd. (FCPL), are entangled in a legal battle with Amazon, a stakeholder in FCPL, over the Reliance agreement.

After defaulting on its debts, FRL was put into insolvency proceedings by its lender, the Bank of India. Its lenders rejected Reliance’s buyout of the 19 Future Group firms, including FRL, for Rs.24,713 crore, citing Amazon’s legal challenge.

Some of the top interesting and the unknown facts about Kishore Biyani

Shivya Kumar — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:54:53 +0000

One of the top entrepreneurs to be accounted in India, Kishore Biyani is the founding father of a textile been invested in textile. Which he later conjured to great heights and facilitated it to big markets. He is also a billion with alongside being one of the largest brick and mortar retailers. He started off with his business in the year 1987 and it was in the year 2001 he installed a chain of Big Bazaar.
As of now esteemed at more than $1.3 Billion, Kishore is the one who had taken the retail business by a tempest and presently has zillions of achievements recorded under his name and alongside that, he has additionally seen his portion of disappointments as well! The Future Group has in excess of 70 Million sqft of retail space in 90 urban areas and 60 country areas and is additionally in plans to include more than 9 Million sqft in the years to come.

Facts to know about Kishore Biyani :

Founder of India’s Retail field

Kishore Biyani is known as India’s coordinated retail area. As he began complex chains like Big Bazaar and Pantaloons.

Creator

Kishore Biyani co-wrote the book ‘It occurred in India: The Story of Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central and The Great Indian Consumer.

Contender of Aditya Birla and Reliance Group

Kishore Biyani’s corporate store made tempests in the Indian market. Kishore was acquiring immense benefits. Aditya Birla Group and Reliance Retail began their corporate store to rival Kishore Biyani.

These were a portion of current realities about Kishore Biyani.

Future Retail appeals against status quo order on Future-Reliance deal in Delhi HC

Devanshu Singla — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 07:34:57 +0000

Future Retail Ltd (FRL) today has filed an appeal against an order directing maintenance of status quo passed on Tuesday by the Single Judge bench of Justice Midha, on its Rs 25,000 crore retail stake sale deal with Reliance.

The appeal was brought up in an urgent mentioning before the bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh and will be heard tomorrow.

The appeal which was urgently mentioned by Sr. Adv. Darius Khambata has been preferred under O.XLIII of the Civil Procedure Code. Khambata prayed for the case to be heard today itself in the afternoon, however, the bench has said it will hear the appeal tomorrow.

Hearing Amazon Inc’s plea against the Future Retail Ltd (FRL) and Reliance Industries’ retail stake sale deal worth Rs 25,000 crore approved by a Board Resolution of FRL last year, the Delhi High Court yesterday granted interim relief to Amazon directing all authorities and parties to maintain status quo on the deal until a detailed interim order on the case.

The bench of Justice Midha also gave a strong prima facie view in Amazon’s favour that as opposed to FRL’s plea that the Award was a nullity, the Emergency Award is in fact enforceable under Section 17 (2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, and therefore directed FRL to bring on record all steps and actions taken by it towards the deal, after the award of the Emergency Arbitrator was passed on the arbitration on Oct 25, 2020.

SEBI grants approval to the deal between Future Group and Reliance Retail

Sarthak Yadav — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 17:32:02 +0000

Today, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granted approval to the deal between Kishore Biyani led Future Group and Reliance Retail, an arm of the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries.

Future Group chief Kishore Biyani was looking for regulators to clear Reliance Retail’s acquisition deal as soon as possible in wake of Amazon’s efforts with various bodies to put stay on the deal.

The $3.4 billion Reliance Retail Future Group deal has been in the balance ever since Amazon raised a petition in the Singapore International Arbitration Court (SIAC) last year. Biyani, had said last week that Reliance come in as a saviour for the company, its employees, and stakeholders after the tough year.

Amazon has approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to state its case against approving the merger of Future Group subsidiaries, which is a condition for the Reliance-Future deal, as per the terms stated by Reliance and Future in their filings. Amazon contends that it is not being paid a fair price for its stake in Future Coupons, which is a promoter entity for Future Retail.

Biyani earlier in an interview with Reuters said, that “The court has already given their view that every institution can take a view on the sale. So there is no reason why things should be delayed.”

Biyani has also revealed earlier that Future Group reached out to Amazon several times in 2019 and 2020 seeking support, but no help was provided.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has said that the deal is legal under Indian law, India’s courts have allowed Amazon to raise complaints with various regulators and stock exchanges in recent weeks.

Delhi HC seeks response from Future Group & RIL on Amazon’s plea

Ruchira Sonawat — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 08:47:00 +0000

The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, sought response of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) on Amazon’s plea challenging the observations by a single judge. The judge observed that the e-commerce giant’s attempt to control the Indian entity was violative of FEMA and FDI rules. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh heard the appeal.

The court issued notice to FRL, Reliance Retail and the Biyanis seeking their stand on the plea by Amazon against some of the observations by the single judge in a 21 December 2020 interim order.

Last month, the high court had rejected FRL’s plea to stop Amazon from intervening in the transaction with Reliance but also observed that the deal was lawful. It also noted that the arbitration agreement was between promoter entity Future Coupons Pvt. Ltd (FCPL) and Amazon, and not with FRL and conflating this to encompass all Future Group deals.

In January 2021, Amazon wrote to SEBI yet again, apprising the market regulator of the formation of the arbitration tribunal at SIAC while urging it to suspend the review of the Future-RIL deal.

The US e-commerce major has written a series of letters to regulators and the bourses, starting with its complaint on 3 October. This is the sixth instance of the e-commerce giant writing to SEBI on the matter.

Amazon’s argument is that Future violated the contract by entering into the deal with rival Reliance.

Future Group expects quick approval to $3.4 billion deal with Reliance

Devanshu Singla — Sun, 10 Jan 2021 09:55:44 +0000

Despite Amazon’s intense efforts Future Group expects quick regulatory approval of its $3.4 billion deal to sell its retail assets to Reliance Industries Ltd., Future and Amazon are at odds over the Future Group’s August deal with Reliance Industries Ltd. The U.S. giant alleges the Future-Reliance deal breached some of its pre-existing contracts with Future.

A New Delhi court in December dismissed Future’s request to restrain Amazon’s repeated attempts to get authorities to stall the deal. But the judge left the fate of the transaction with the regulators.

Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani told Reuters in an interview, “The court has already given their view that every institution can take a view on the sale, So there is no reason why things should be delayed.”

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the market regulator that has been reviewing the deal for months, did not respond to a request for comment. Amazon and Reliance also did not responded to Biyani’s remarks.

SEBI and India’s stock exchanges could still reject or take more time in approving the deal, which is critical for the survival of Future Retail, whose more than 1,700 outlets were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Future Retail has warned that failure to close the deal could lead to the company’s liquidation and job losses for more than 29,000 employees.

“We have restored businesses to a certain extent, but there are challenges,” said Biyani, dubbed India’s retail king for transforming the country’s retailing in recent decades.

The dispute’s outcome could define future of indian retail sector which is expected to be worth around $740 billion a year by 2024.

CCI approves Future Group-Reliance Retail deal

Divya Joyce — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 05:04:34 +0000

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday approved the Future Group-Reliance Retail deal.

In a brief statement, the CCI tweeted, “Commission approves acquisition of retail, wholesale, logistics & warehousing businesses of Future Group by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited and Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited.”

Commission approves acquisition of retail, wholesale, logistics & warehousing businesses of Future Group by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited and Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited pic.twitter.com/4WKdIrLHRP

— CCI (@CCI_India) November 20, 2020

Wholesale Undertaking is being transferred to Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited (RRFLL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of RRVL; the Logistics & Warehousing Undertaking is being transferred to RRVL.

Reliance Retail will now have access to close to 1,800 stores across Future Group’s Big Bazaar, FBB, Easyday, Central, Foodhall formats, which are spread in over 420 cities in India.

Earlier on August 29, 2020, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries had announced the acquisition of businesses of Kishore Biyani’s Future Group for Rs 24,713 crore.

The approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a setback for Amazon, which has argued that a 2019 agreement it inked with Future prevented the Indian group from selling its retail assets to certain parties.

Amazon, last year, had bought a 49 percent stake in one of Future’s unlisted firms, Future Coupons Ltd, with the right to buy into FRL after a period between three and 10 years. Future Coupons owned a 7.3 percent stake in Future Retail.

Along with this, Amazon even wrote to market regulator SEBI, stock exchanges, and CCI seeking a stay on the deal.

Later, Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail Ltd (FRL) on November 7 moved the Delhi High Court against Amazon.com for interfering in its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Industries (RIL) by misusing the arbitration order passed by SIAC.

Future Enterprises announces re-appointment of Vijay Biyani as MD for a period of 3 years

Chittesh Dalmia — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 18:14:15 +0000

Kishore Biyani led Future Enterprises Ltd. announced the reappointment of Mr. Vijay Biyani as the Managing Director of the retail chain and branding company for the period of 3 years.

Mr. Vijay Biyani is Managing Director of the Company and his tenure expires on 26th September, 2020. He holds bachelor’s degree in commerce from Mumbai University, He has around 36 years of experience in textile, yam and readymade apparels business. He is also actively involved in the financial and administrative functions of the Company.

Mumbai based company reported in its BSE regulatory filing. On the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board & subject to the approval of the Members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors have reappointed Mr. Vijay Biyani, Managing Director (MD) of the Company for a period of 3 (Three) years with effect from 26th September, 2020.

Mr. Vijay Biyani is brother of Mr. Kishore Biyani, he is Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the Company. Further, Mr. Vijay Biyani is not debarred from holding the office of Director by virtue of any order of Securities and Exchange Board of India or any other such authority.

Reliance Industries sees a surge in shares post acquiring the retail ventures of Future Group

Aditi Swarup — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 09:56:44 +0000

It was anticipated that the acquisition of Future Groups’ retail ventures would be a boost to Reliance Industries. Today, that assumption has become a fact.
Reliance Industry’s shares rose 2.7% since it was announced that Reliance Retail Ventures, led by Isha Ambani, will acquire future group’s retail brands including, FBB, Big Bazaar, Easyday, Central and Foodhall formats.
Analysts at Angel Broking said, “e believe that this acquisition by Reliance Industries Ltd. will help the company further consolidate its position in the retail business and make it the undisputed leader in the retail space. We remain positive on Reliance industries Ltd. and have a buy rating on the stock with a target of ₹2,366.”

RIL gains 3% on buying stake in Future Group for ₹24,713 crorehttps://t.co/bPpcfTIiWa pic.twitter.com/MMIpQqWweZ

— Mint (@livemint) August 31, 2020

Future Group’s Future Generali India Life Insurance to be purchased by Navi Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Aditi Swarup — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 08:19:04 +0000

After Reliance Industries’ ‘slump sale’ buy-out of Future Groups’ retail brands, reports suggest that Navi Technologies Pvt. Ltd is in advanced talks to buy out Kishore Biyani’s Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Navi Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is led by Flipkart’s Co-Founder Sachin Bansal.

Reports also suggest that Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is currently valued at ₹1,400-1,500 crore.
The persons aware of this deal said, “The deal has reached a formal proposal stage and will be announced soon as both parties are keenly interested in the transaction.”

Flipkart's Sachin Bansal to buy out Kishore Biyani's Future Generali Life Insurance

(@anirudh_laskar reports)https://t.co/Y4ldwISOur pic.twitter.com/LqCyWwOwZz

— Mint (@livemint) August 31, 2020