Frendy to open 300 marts and a network of 10,000 micro kiranas by 2026, expects Rs 500 crore revenue
Frendy, a grocery chain firm, said it plans to open 300 marts and achieve Rs 500 crore in revenue by 2026 to cash in on the consumer shift towards tech-enabled neighbourhood stores. At present, the firm runs over 25 mini marts and 2,000 mini kiranas.
«The current focus is to expand the mini marts in tier 3 towns to 50 by the end of the year and scale to 300 by 2026. As the mini marts scale, we will also in parallel digitally connect to micro kiranas around these mini marts for each, so expect to have a network of 10,000 micro kiranas all in the rural catchment of the towns,» said Sameer Gandotra, founder and CEO at Frendy adding that the current revenue is about Rs60 crore.
Unlike traditional kirana stores, where operations such as billing and sourcing are manual, the new-age retail chains have digital apps for orders and delivery as well as the advantage of centralised sourcing. For fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, these self-service outlets account for 4% of their total sales, compared to less than 1% before the pandemic. In premium categories, their contribution is much higher at 8-10%.
Frendy typically focuses on urban villages or towns where the population is around 10,000, making their outlet the consumers' first modern retail experience. In addition, the urban periphery of tier 2,3 cities also is also apt for their neighbourhood mini mart format. These smaller towns and periphery of tier 2 and 3 cities are a Rs10,000 crore monthly market and the company aims to get to 1% market share by 2027,
