'Rent does not stop, interest does not stop': Biyani explains why he sold retail biz to RIL
Acknowledging that Future Group had made too many acquisitions in the last 6-7 years, when COVID-19 struck, it lost around Rs 7,000 crore revenue, says retail tycoon Kishore Biyani
- Oct 15, 2020,
- Updated Oct 15, 2020 12:24 PM IST
Future Group founder Kishore Biyani has said that several acquisitions over the last few years, exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, drove him to sell his chain of retail stores to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
Biyani added the homegrown retail major lost around Rs 7,000 crore in the first three to four months of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the closing of stores, which only compounded the problems for Future Retail.
"I think with this business, we got into a trap, to be very honest with COVID-19...if you look at the first 3-4 months, we lost nearly Rs 7,000 crore in revenue and there was no way we would have survived losing Rs 7,000 crore. The problem is, rent does not stop and interest does not stop," he said in a conversation with B.S. Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN, and Chairman and Non-Executive Director, Shoppers Stop.
Biyani's talk was part of an hour-long chat at the Phygital Retail Convention hosted on Wednesday, October 14.
Future Group founder Kishore Biyani has said that several acquisitions over the last few years, exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, drove him to sell his chain of retail stores to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
Biyani added the homegrown retail major lost around Rs 7,000 crore in the first three to four months of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the closing of stores, which only compounded the problems for Future Retail.
"I think with this business, we got into a trap, to be very honest with COVID-19...if you look at the first 3-4 months, we lost nearly Rs 7,000 crore in revenue and there was no way we would have survived losing Rs 7,000 crore. The problem is, rent does not stop and interest does not stop," he said in a conversation with B.S. Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN, and Chairman and Non-Executive Director, Shoppers Stop.
Biyani's talk was part of an hour-long chat at the Phygital Retail Convention hosted on Wednesday, October 14.