Navjeevan Super Shop, which has been in business for over 70 years now, is widely regarded as the supermarket pioneer in north Maharashtra. Beginning its journey from a humble kirana store in Jalgaon in 1946, it opened its first self-service store in the city in 1993 and since then, it has taken impressive strides in modern food and grocery retailing. From 2007 onwards, Navjeevan has been on an expansion drive and opened five stores in quick succession. As of date, there are seven Navjeevan supermarkets in operation, all in Jalgaon, with a retail area spanning 21,000 square feet, which bring in a monthly revenue of about Rs. 5 crore.
How difficult and challenging was it to open and expand modern retail outlets in the backwaters of Maharashtra?
Initially, it was tedious and a somewhat difficult task to start and operate a modern day self-service retail shop in a city like Jalgaon. Getting access to funding resources was a problem. The cooperative banks here refused us the loan for the new store as they did not understand the concept of modern retail. Even we had our doubts then as to whether the customers would adapt to the new setting. As it were, our first super store in 1993 opened to a huge response from the public. But after the initial euphoria, sales plummeted and it took us two years to reach the break-even point. For the first two years of our supermarket operations, the sales were even less than the historical level of our old provision store (which closed after the opening of the new store), which had clocked annual sales of Rs. 10.8 million in the year 1992.
The less-than-expected sales forced us to deliberate on the issue. Till the time we had remained as traditional retailers, there was no visible competition. But after converting to the supermarket format, about 600 other traditional retailers in Jalgaon turned out to be our competition. This happened because the message that got conveyed to customers was that our new store was expensive because such a big set-up requires quite a large expense to maintain and run the operations. From whose pocket would Navjeevan earn it? For us, it took a lot of effort to break this pricey image of our store and reestablish the brand image as being pocket friendly to the customers.
A decline in sales for the newly opened Navjeevan supermarket must have been disheartening. What kept you going and retain your faith in modern trade?
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Gurgaon's First and Most Successful Independent F&G Retailer
SINCE LAUNCHING ITS FIRST OUTLET IN THE YEAR 2000 IN DLF GURGAON AT A TIME WHEN MODERN TRADE FOOD AND GROCERY STORES WERE NOWHERE ON THE RETAIL HORIZONS OF THE MILLENNIUM CITY, NEEDS SUPERMARKET HAS GROWN TO ADD 26 LARGE, MEDIUM AND SMALL STORES TO ITS KITTY, CLOCKING AN ADMIRABLE RUN RATE ON VARIOUS PARAMETERS OF RETAILING EXCELLENCE ALONG THE WAY. PROGRESSIVE GROCER SPOKE TO NEEDS SUPERMARKET’S MD AJAY DHAR, AND CEO, ARUN KHATTAR, ABOUT HOW THE GROCERY CHAIN HAS BEEN ABLE TO HOLD ITS OWN AND CLOCK STEADY GROWTH IN A HYPER-COMPETITIVE MARKET DOTTED WITH BIG-BOX NATIONAL RETAILERS AND THE SECRET SAUCE BEHIND ITS SUCCESS RECIPE.
Paras Spices is innovating with unique products to meet new trends in the spices category
CATEGORY WATCH FOOD STAPLES
Brands and retailers collaborate to promote the growth of non-alcoholic beverages
SUPER-HERB INFUSED BEVERAGES THAT BRING THE POWER-PACKED GOODNESS OF SUPERFRUITS ARE TAKING THE MARKET BY STORM. THESE NONALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES CLAIM TO CONTAIN ZERO CALORIES, ZERO SUGAR, ZERO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, AND ZERO PRESERVATIVES AND ARE DESIGNED FOR TODAY’S MILLENNIAL-GEN WHO ARE SEEKING A HEALTHY DRINK WITH A TASTY TWIST.
Just Outside the Box
THE HUMBLE PARKING LOT HAS BECOME A DIFFERENT KIND OF RETAIL DESTINATION AND HUB OF COMMERCE.
Increased Focus on Health, Wellness, and Immunity-boosting Products
SALES OF PACKAGED FOODS HAVE SURGED SINCE THE ONSET OF THE PANDEMIC, AS HOME-BOUND CONSUMERS STOCKPILE FAMILIAR PRODUCTS THAT WON’T GO STALE QUICKLY. BREAKFAST CEREALS, INSTANT NOODLES, RICE AND COOKING FATS ARE AMONG THE PRODUCTS THAT HAVE SEEN THE STRONGEST GROWTH IN RECENT MONTHS.
Consumer focus on hygiene & nutrition boosts packaged paneer sales
THE DEMAND FOR CATEGORIES SUCH AS CHEESE AND PANEER HAS WITNESSED AN ALL-TIME NEW HIGH DURING THIS PANDEMIC THANKS TO THE VERSATILE NATURE OF THESE PRODUCTS. NOT ONLY IS PANEER DELICIOUS TO TASTE BUT DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE LOCKDOWN, THE INTERNET WAS TRENDING WITH UNIQUE, FUN AND EASY-TO-MAKE PANEER RECIPES.
How Hormel Became a Snack Company
ACQUISITIONS, ADJACENCIES AND INNOVATION DEFINE THE GLOBAL BRANDED FOOD COMPANY’S GROWTH STRATEGY
The New Normal for Snacks
THE POST-PANDEMIC CONSUMER WILL DEMAND BETTER-FOR-YOU MEAL SOLUTIONS MORE THAN EVER BEFORE.
The rise of superfoods and ways to mainstream them on retail shelves
WHAT ARE SUPERFOODS AND THEIR BENEFITS AND WHY THESE PRODUCTS ARE WITNESSING A HUGE SURGE IN DEMAND? WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF INFUSING THESE SUPERFOODS INTO OUR TRADITIONAL FOOD PRODUCTS, AND HOW CAN THEIR VISIBILITY AND AWARENESS BE RAMPED UP IN ON-GROUND SHELVES OF SUPERMARKETS AND RETAIL COUNTERS?
What is driving consumers to become more conscious of what they eat?
WITH CONSUMERS BECOMING MORE HEALTH-CONSCIOUS, RETAILERS HAVE ALSO STARTED MAKING SHIFTS IN THEIR OWN MERCHANDISING AND MARKETING TO KEEP UP WITH THE TREND.
