Kishore Biyani
| Kishore Biyani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Residence | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | CEO of Future Group |
| Notable work | It Happened in India |
| Net worth | US$475 million (2011) |
| Spouse(s) | Sangita Rathi |
Kishore Biyani is an Indian businessman. He is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Future Group and also the founder of retail businesses such as Pantaloon Retail and Big Bazaar.
According to Forbes magazine, he had a net worth of US$475 million in 2011.
Kishore Biyani comes from a Marwari family that has been involved in business since the time of his grandfather, who opened a clothes shop in what was then called Bombay after moving there from the village of Nimbi in Rajasthan. Growing up in the Malabar Hill area of Mumbai, Biyani attended the city's HR College but thought little of his studies, preferring instead to rely on a gut instinct and observation in business. He has said that "I spent the better part of the day outside college with friends, wandering around new places and understanding and interpreting the real world."
Biyani began working in the family fabric-trading business, Bansi Silk Mills, but became frustrated with the conservative approach adopted there by his father, brothers and cousins. In was around this time, in November 1983, that he married Sangita Rathi and also made his first venture into business on his own account, commissioning the manufacture of some fashionable fabric for sale to garment manufacturers. He progressed to selling his own brand of clothing fabric and then to manufacturing trousers using it, which in turn led to the launch of his Manz Wear garment manufacturing business in 1987. The business, which supplied a few retail outlet, adopted the brand name of Pantaloon and soon expanded into retail itself using a franchise model.
In 1992, Biyani floated 60 per cent of his business on the Indian stock market to raise funds for expansion, store improvements and marketing. He has admitted since that this expansion across the country created logistical problems for the company, especially with regard to managerial oversight of its franchisees. By 1994, the Pantaloon franchise was turning over 9 million rupees but with a smaller profit margin. Biyani looked to converting Pantaloon from being a franchise operation to a direct retailer using the department store model, initially renting and converting a 10,000 square feet (930 m2) property in Kolkata for that purpose. This outlet, which was more than twice the size of any other store in the city, opened in August 1997.
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