'WE ARE OPEN TO A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH ONLINE PLAYERS'

Future group entered a tie-up with Amazonin2014. The firmis nowkeen tostepupthee-commerceplay. KISHORE BIYANI spoketo Surajeet-DasGupta on the impact of W al mart-Flip kart deal onIndianretail.

He is in many ways the king of modern retail. But, KISHORE BIYANI, chief executive officer of the Future group, is now coming to terms with the new realities. Although Future group entered a product-related tie-up with Amazon in 2014, the company is now keen to step up the e-commerce play. Biyani spoke to Surajeet Das Gupta on the impact of Walmart-Flipkart deal on Indian retail. Edited excerpts:

How will the Walmart-Flipkart deal impact an offline retailer like you?

All over the world, offline and online retail are converging now. For any online player to succeed in India, it has to align with modern physical retail and the same is true vice versa. Grocery, for instance, will be a major part of this eco system and we are surely the leading player in this segment. We will see more strategic alliances between online and offline players.

But will you be open to strategic alliances in India with online players? You already have a relationship with Amazon.

Yes we are open to strategic alliances with online players. That is the way forward. Our relationship with Amazon is transactional not strategic.

What is the eco-system in retail that you are talking about?

The eco-system will include offline and online retail, payments systems, logistics, insurance, healthcare and entertainment. W al mart has all this as well as the Sam Club and also an alliance with Google. So they are also following the same strategy. In India, we have the entire ecosystem, which includes brands, factories, supply chain, logistics, etc.

But you don’t have entertainment. Isn't it?

We can easily offer entertainment by tying up with companies and offer our customers free tickets for movies. That is also entertainment.

Do you see Future Group aligning with Walmart?

I cannot comment on this. All I can say is that it will be a period of strategic alliances.