Nilgiris chain of convenience stores, the iconic brand in the South, has been acquired by Kishore Biyani-owned Future group.
Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd. (FCEL), the food and FMCG arm of the Future group, paid around Rs.300 crore for the acquisition.
Nilgiris origins traced back to 1905. It is a household name across the southern States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, and operates a franchisee-operated convenience store chain with 140 stores in key metros across the four States. Private equity firm Actis had bought 67 per cent stake in Nilgiris in 2006.
Apart from a wide assortment of products sold through its convenience store chain, Nilgiris also owns a portfolio of brands in dairy, bakery, chocolates and staples along with their manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru.
Nilgiris retails a select product range through general trade along with in-store bakeries in a few stores and manages the back-end operations for the stores. Besides, it operates eight distribution centres with a fleet of vehicles, including refrigerated vehicles catering to the supply of its own dairy, bakery and chocolate brands to its stores.
In a statement, Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group, said, the acquisition “is another step towards building a robust convenience store network in India. This acquisition is synergistic as it enables strengthening and expanding convenience stores through franchises in an asset light model as well as brings in new manufacturing capabilities and brands within the company.”
For FCEL, it means a geographical expansion of the convenience store network in southern India as its current footprint is concentrated in the North and the West. Nilgiris branded bakery and dairy products will also be channelised across the Future group’s existing channels, including Big Bazaar, Food Hall and Aadhaar and also extended to other modern retailers.
Similarly, the statement said, FCEL’s existing portfolio of brands including Sunkist, Tasty Treat, Golden Harvest, Premium Harvest, Sach Ektaa, CleanMate and CareMate will be channelised through the Nilgiris store network.
