Arambagh's Foodmart Convenience & Quality

Biyas Roy, Executive Director, Arambagh’s Foodmart talks about the Kolkatabased chain’s focus on offering convenience to customers in everything from its store locations to its checkout processes and home delivery

- Sandeep Kumar

Started in the year 2000, Arambagh's Foodmart chain of convenience retail stores are a household name in East India. Based on the international concept of 7-11 (stores that are open from 7 am to 11 pm, seven days of the week), the chain has 80 stores in 24 cities of West Bengal. Out of these, 43 stores are in Kolkata, 26 in tier 2 cities and 11 in North Bengal (including Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Malda).

The average size of the no-frills food and grocery stores is 600 sq. ft.-1000 sq. ft. Main items are fast-moving consumer goods like grocery and staples, toiletry, confectionery, frozen products, personal care, household care, icecream, office and school stationery.

The First Store

The first Foodmart was converted from an existing 'Arambagh's Chicken' chain of stores selling processed and ready-to-eat chicken items. At the time, the concept of shopping under one roof was new, which helped the food chain gain instant acceptance. The popularity of the Arambagh's Chicken brand too helped its case.

Slowly, the company started opening more stores. In 2012, the Foodmart division with 25 stores and a warehouse was incorporated into a separate company named Arambagh's Foodmart Pvt. Ltd. In 2014, the chain ventured to tier 2 cities of West Bengal, and in 2016 the brand established its presence in the North Bengal retail arena by opening stores in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Malda.

In an exclusive interaction with IMAGES Retail, Biyas Roy, Executive Director, Arambagh's Foodmart talks about the Kolkata-based chain's focus on offering convenience to customers in everything from its store locations to its checkout processes and home delivery.

Edited Excerpts:

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