SUBHIKSHA
Subhiksha was started by R. Subramaniam, an IIM A & IIT Chennai alumnus in 1997
Investment of around Rs 4-5 lakh.
Theme,” why pay more when you can get it for less at Subhiksha.”
Discount store at prices lower than other retail outlets
PORTFOLIO
Fruits, Vegetables, Groceries, Madicines, Mobille phones An IIM A graduate, who wanted to join Ponds, ended up joining Citibank but quit the bank after 15 days and then worked for two years at Enfield before he decided to start on his own. His first venture, a financial services company called Viswapriya brought him money but he was not satisfied as he was not occupied with work the way he wanted. This obsession for being occupied led to Subhiksha, one of the largest retail chains in India. He became the poster boy of Indian Retail as another of the retail tycoon, Kishore Biyani of Big Baazaar.
Today if you see Subhiksha or Subramanian in newspaper chances are high that it will be preceded by words like closedown, non-payment or some of the recession common jargons like cash-strapped or accounts discrepancy. Eminent business personalities like Mr. Azim Premji of Wipro Group who used to praise this young man for his business skill (he also invested money in the retail chain) is accusing him of haste in business. ICICI Ventures and Subramanian are coming out in open against each other. What actually happened with Subhiksha? I am just putting down the thoughts which came to my mind.
Subhiksha, which was started way back in 1997, was based in Chennai, India. It was operated as a discount store format. It started with retailing grocery items and later expanded into medicines, mobiles, electronics, and consumer durables. Till 2004, the company expanded slowly, but from then on, it went on a rapid expansion spree across India. Between September 2006 and September 2008, Subhiksha grew its operations from 150 stores in Tamil Nadu to 1600 stores