The Week in conversation with Managing Director Mr. Kunaal Kumar who talks about promoting local groceries under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan through his family owned venture Modern Bazaar which started in 1971 with a small bakery shop in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar to now owing 12 sprawling outlets across Delhi NCR. He has taken the Modern bazaar to new heights with plan to expanding in North India and then in the West.
Kunaal Kumar - Modern Bazaar, Managing Director
Q. Aatmanirbhar Bharat - What's your thought and view about this mission announced by PM Modi in May 2020 and how your Modern Bazaar is supporting the country to become Self Reliant?
The Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan announced by Prime Minister Modi is an appeal from him to make India completely self-reliant in all aspects as well as his vision for making the ‘local go global’. Given the current situation and the state of the economy, we feel that this is a great initiative that will provide necessary focus on local produce as well as the services sector. It will mean making India an even bigger part of the global economy.
Modern Bazaar has since inception been stocking local products for sale through our stores. While we do stock international products these comprise only about 20-25% of our SKU’s and the balance is all locally produced products.
Q. Has anything changed since this mission announced and how Modern Bazaar is keeping the pace between foreign brands and Indian brands in their stores?
Modern Bazaar provides support to SME’s in the food and grocery business by providing them access to the retail market in the NCR through our 12 stores. There are several local companies that are able to produce items of a very high quality that are comparable to similar international products. It is our firm belief that entrepreneurs in India have the capability to manufacture high quality products but lack the means to access the right market. At Modern Bazaar we are able to provide them with visibility for their products through our stores.
Q. Modern Bazaar - How rediscovering of Local Groceries happened here?
In addition to international products there has always been a focus on local products at all our stores as we cater to a very diverse clientele whose needs are being met by us at all times. During the lockdown and COVID-19 times there has again been a rush towards local and basic products as people were stocking food in fear of there being a shortage of food in the short to medium term. It is only through our excellent relationships with the supply chain that we were able to have fully stocked stores and meet customer demand.
Q. How this pandemic have gone through your stores/company; was it a fall or an opportunity to scale up your business (Lessons Learnt or any new Avenues Opened)?
All our stores have remained open throughout the pandemic and fully operational to meet the food and grocery needs of our customers. Irrespective of the prevailing situation and the difficulties faced, our shelves have always been full to meet the requirements of customers. It has definitely been an opportunity to scale up our business specifically with regard to online sales. We have a large number new sign-ups on our portal as well as our mobile app. During these difficult times the online delivery business has increased several times and we are confident that this mode of shopping is here to stay. We have also ensured that our stores are completely safe for customers walking into the store to shop for their requirements through proper sanitization and maintaining social distancing etc. as mandated by government protocols.
Q. Way forward for Modern Bazaar.. Are you looking for Pan India expansion?
We are always looking at new markets to expand into so as to increase our footprint. Within this financial year we will be opening another 3 stores in key locations in Delhi and Gurgaon. With a solid presence in the National Capital Region and having established ourselves as a recognized brand in peoples minds, it is time to look to other markets initially in North India and then in the West. We are also investing in our online presence as we see that as one of the main sales channels.
