Ram Agarwal started Vishal Mega Mart in Kolkata in 1986, in a 100 sq ft shop in Lal Bazaar.

It was a struggle in the beginning,

but within two years his store had taken off, and today Vishal Mega Mart has branches all over the country.
With a turnover of Rs 89 core (Rs 890 million), Vishal Mega Mart has been one of the pioneers of bargain retailing in India, and
now it is diversifying to become an all-purpose departmental store.
In the beginning
My family had a business in Calcutta (now Kolkata) when I was growing up, but I wanted to do something different, so I got a
job instead. However, by 1984, I got bored and decided to start something by myself.
At that time, especially in Calcutta, there weren't really any retail stores. People would buy fabric and get their clothes stitched. I
think I was one of the first people to put forward the idea of a large departmental style retail store that early on.
Financial worries
I started with around Rs 100,000, for which I had to take out a loan as well as dip into some family savings. This went into
renting our workspace, which was an office and a workshop rolled in one, and hiring the three people I had working for me. We
sourced all our material from Calcutta itself, and stitched our garments in-house.
It took two years for us to really take off -- until then it was a continuous
learning process for me, since I was relatively inexperienced in running a business. I had to learn various tricks along the way, especially in
terms of selling. We set up our first shop in 1986, and by 1990, we had four showrooms in Calcutta.
The first big outlet was set up in the popular Esplanade area in 1997. The thing that really made a difference was, around 1988; I
had the brainwave of introducing sales. That idea really took off -- we would buy in bulk at discounted rates, and sell at really
low prices. We took temporary shops and put up sales -- we'd get lines going around the corner!
Expanding sales
The first shop we opened outside of Calcutta was in Bhubaneswar, and today we are present in cities like Jaipur, Indore,
Hyderabad and Pune. We set up our first Delhi shop in 2002 -- now we have seven.
I owe all my success to the fact that I've managed to really differentiate my product: we offer pure value for money. We do
business at a low margin, by cutting the middle-man -- and that's why we clicked. We're probably the only players in India who
purchase with cash, and buy directly from the manufacturer. We started with a price point of
Rs 125 on average, and today this has only increased to Rs 250, pretty reasonable by today's standards. We even do formalwear
within this range.
The inspiration
I got the inspiration to diversify my stores when I went abroad. Big retailers like Sears or Walmart cater to absolutely
everything. They're multi-purpose department stores, and we don't have their equivalent here. While it is emerging now in
India, there is still nothing like an organised retail sector.
In the beginning of 2004, we started to branch out into furnishings, cosmetics and other fast-moving consumer goods. We now
have a 1,50,000 sq ft hypermarket in New Delhi's Mathura Road.
At this point, it is a little tough to manage this kind of expansion, especially with all the different varieties it brings -- you have
to keep your fingers in several pies at once which is a bit of ajuggling act -- but if you can manage this sector, there is no doubt
that you will be king of retail in India.
Hope for the future
We hope to reach Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) by 2010. This is a sobering thought, given that when I first started, we
were making sales of around Rs 200 a day! Our expansion plans are still on target, we're planning more stores in Delhi and
the big metros. I think the main reason for my success is that I was in the right place at the right time, and I realised that the
middle classes were a vast untapped resource. They wanted to spend their money, but they also wanted bargains, and this is
exactly what I gave them.
2. About Vishal Mega-Mart
Vishal Retail Ltd. (Figure-1) has a strong presence in manufacturing and retailing of readymade garments
(apparels);retailing of non-apparels and a large variety of FMCG products. The jewel in Vishal Groups crown is its flagship
company Vishal Retail Ltd., a company engaged in Hyper market stores with an average area of 25,000 to 30,000 sq.
ft.through an impressive chain of 172 fully integrated stores in spread over the area of more than 24,00,000 sq. ft. in around
129 cities across India in 24 states. The turnover of the company for 09-10 was 1105 Crore. Maintaining the highest
standards in quality and design, these stores have come to offer the finest fashion garments at down-to-earth price structure.
It also has 29 warehouses located in 9 key cities in India covering over 1,053,066 sq. ft area. It started as a retailer of ready-
made apparels in Kolkata in 2001. At the time of incorporation, the registered office of the Company was situated at 4, R. N.
Mukharjee Road, Kolkata 700 001. In 2003, it acquired the manufacturing facilities
From Vishal Fashions Private Limited and M/s Vishal Apparels. It follows the concept of value retail in India. In other
words, their business approach is to sell quality goods at reasonable prices by either manufacturing them self or directly
procuring from manufacturers (primarily from small and medium size vendors and manufacturers). It facilitates one-stop-
shop convenience for their customers and to cater to the needs of the entire family. Mr. Ram Chandra Agarwal,CMD,
Vishal Retail Ltd. has been ranked as the 28th most pitiful person in the Indian retail industry. The saga of VishalGroup
dates back to 2001 when its directors foresaw the emerging potentials in the retail industry which is indeed the largest sector
in the global economy. Imbibing its innovative concepts and techniques the Group identified the vast scope of growth in
retailing for the common man. Shareholders, No. of shares & Shareholding pattern (Figure-2) are as
follows:
Vishal Retail Ltd. Punchline Value for money
15. Tier II , III & IV cities 72% of stores fall in the cities- Top 50 Retail Destinations 2 Plants (Gurgaon & Dehradun) 1.5mnx2= 3mn
pieces 27 warehouses located in 9 key cities in India More than 885,213 sq ft ware house area Place
RETAILING-Retail is the sale of goods and services from individuals or businesses to the end-user. Retailers are
part of an integrated system called the supply chain. A retailer purchases goods or products in large quantities
from manufacturers directly or through a wholesale, and then sells smaller quantities to the consumer for a profit.
Retailing can be done in either fixed locations like stores or markets, door-to-door or by delivery. In the 2000s, an
increasing amount of retailing is done using online websites, electronic payment, and then delivered via a courier or via
other services.
Retailing includes subordinated services, such as delivery. The term "retailer" is also applied where a service provider
services the needs of a large number of individuals, such as for the public. Shops may be on residential streets, streets
with few or no houses or in a shopping mall. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a shopping
street has a partial or full roof to protect customers from precipitation. Online retailing, a type of electronic
commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions andmail order, are forms of non-shop retailing.
Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) are products that are sold quickly
and at relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable goods such as soft drinks, toiletries, Over-the-counter
drugs, toys, processed foods and many otherconsumables.
[1][2]
Though the profit margin made on FMCG products is
relatively small (more so for retailers than the producers/suppliers), they are generally sold in large quantities; thus, the
cumulative profit on such products can be substantial. FMCG is probably the most classic case of low margin and high
volume business.
Fast-moving consumer electronics are a type of FMCG and are typically low priced generic or easily
substitutable consumer electronics, including mobile phones, MP3 players, game players, and digital cameras which
are of disposable nature.
List of Indian FMCG companies in vishal
mega mart
The following is a list of FMCG companies in vishal mega mart.
Major fmcg companies in vishal mega mart.
Hindustan uniliver limited
P and g group limited
ITC Limited
Britannia Industries Ltd.
Minor fmcg companies in vishal mega mart
Emami India LTD
Zydus Wellness
Ruchi The Authentic taste of India
Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd.
Elixir Cereals P Ltd -( Nutri-Crisp.)
Dabur
Marico Industries Ltd.
Nestl India
Parle Agro
Haldiram
Nirma
Bisk Farm
Tata
GCMMF (AMUL)
Reckitt Benckiser
Cadburys India
Johnson & Johnson
Himalaya Herbal Healthcare
Amul India
Godrej Consumer Product
Moraka Organic food Pvt Ltd
Everest Masala
JMD Oi