Future Group is ready for competition, says Biyani

New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) India's biggest retailer Kishore Biyani believes he is here for the long run and is ready for competition in the lucrative 300-billion-dollar retail market.

''We are here for the long run and the knowledge which we have accumulated about the Indian customers will continue to be the biggest differentiating factor with respect to our competitors,'' the Future Group CEO said while launching his autobiography here.

Biyani in his book 'It Happened in India' says the group will go forward with growth, based not on physical assets but on the ideas and solutions to capture the imagination of the Indian consumer.

''The (retail) market is demand-led and we are ready for competition,'' he told UNI pointing that the retail brand was ready for competition and customer relations were crucial for running a successful venture.

He reiterates the point that it is important to connect with the consumer if the business is to flourish.

''Retail is all about buying and selling. B-schools create managers. Business creates problems and then the managers solve them. The B-schools don't teach them how to emotionally connect with the people,'' he says.

Biyani recounts the 'Indian Retail Story' as a response to Indians earning more, spending more and consuming more.

Treating his failure in Bollywood as a valuable advice, Biyani feels that he has been ''fortunate enough to be in the right business, at the right time in the right country.'' The company will launch insurance products and consumer finance products under the umbrella of the Future Group, Biyani mentions in his book.

The book was unveiled by Unitech Chairman Ramesh Chandra, who described Biyani as the ''Infosys of Retail Business''.

The autobiography co-authored by Dipayan Baishya is about the big picture, which is India and much beyond it, said Unitech Managing Director Sanjay Chandra.

The book has a print run of 2,00,000 and is expected to do well, he added.

UNI