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It Happened in India
Born in a middle-class trading family, Kishore Biyani started his career selling stonewashed fabric to small shops in Mumbai. Years later, with the launch of Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Central and many more retail formats, he redefined the retailing business in India. Incidentally, Kishore Biyani's objective is to capture every rupee in the wallet of every Indian consumer, wherever they are - an investment banker living in a south Mumbai locality or a farmer in Sangli. As large business houses enter the retail space, Kishore Biyani is not just concentrating on retail but aiming to capture the entire Indian consumption space. From building shopping malls and developing consumer brands to selling insurance, he is getting into every business where a customer spends money.
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First published February 2, 2007
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About the author
Kishore Biyani
3 books14 followersKishore Biyani is an Indian businessman and the founder and chief executive officer of Future Group.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
March 9, 2013
the book deserves a 3.5 rating but as GR doesn't have a half rating am going with 3. it does not deserve 4 stars. here are some points i felt about this book.
* good book for entrepreneurs to learn about the retail business.
* liked kishore biyani's attitude.
* felt that the book in itself is an advertising strategy to get the big bazzar to reach more people.
* pretty much the same stuff going on and on again about how he tried to reach out to the public and indianize his brands.
* easy to read language.
* a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes are present.
the book explains about how kishoreji's businesses were established. but the last few pages were what i really enjoyed reading. the last few chapters deals with the idea of living, success, failure etc in kishoreji's point of view. he also explains the way he mentored himself by reading numerous book.
* good book for entrepreneurs to learn about the retail business.
* liked kishore biyani's attitude.
* felt that the book in itself is an advertising strategy to get the big bazzar to reach more people.
* pretty much the same stuff going on and on again about how he tried to reach out to the public and indianize his brands.
* easy to read language.
* a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes are present.
the book explains about how kishoreji's businesses were established. but the last few pages were what i really enjoyed reading. the last few chapters deals with the idea of living, success, failure etc in kishoreji's point of view. he also explains the way he mentored himself by reading numerous book.
August 4, 2014
Well I am not of the type for which this book is aimed at. I am not sure if I did like this book.
September 29, 2012
It's an amazing book for anyone who's looking at how Indian business work & How India consumers shop . It talks about not changing consumer behaviour but adapting your business model (physical stores) to it. Traditional Indian shopping behaviours are core to Indian consumer and Big bazzar caught the same trend be it by creating pani puri stall inside store or by buying old clothes in exchange of utensils, it mind boggling. A must read who wants to understand indian buying behaviour
December 31, 2012
Kishor Biyani, a man behind Pantaloon, Big Bazaar, Central, etc. and head of Future Group (comprises of many other businesses). He is the one who redefined the retail industry in India.
The book focuses on Kishor Biyani’s journey from Pantaloon to Future Group. He has mentioned his successes as well as his failures. He always believed in learning, un-learning and re-learning.
Through out the book he mentioned about his experiences about Indian market and how he applied different strategies to be successful. Big Bazzar was constructed keeping in mind the Indian mentality. We consider shopping as societal gathering.
There are many books written by foreign authors about retail industry, but what Kishorji said is absolutely right that you need to understand the mentality of people in the area to run your business successfully. Kishor Biyani correctly guessed the need of Indian consumers. He studied their mentality and their approach towards buying.
He is a strong believer of win-win-win situation. He believed in giving the liberty to take decision to people who are working with him. The liberty was given to all the people in the hierarchy. Employees are allowed to make mistakes and also to learn from them. Kishorji had tremendous faith in himself as well in people working with him.
The book also sheds light on style and philosophy of KB; in fact the book reveals journey toward formation of his business empire: Future Group. One thing that comes to our mind is that he prefers traditional storytelling (long forgotten but getting grounds now) and scenario planning (but less of mathematical and more of empathetical) techniques over (so called) modern technique of power-point presentation for interaction with his team/associates, which is remarkable.
Flow of the book is fairly good; thanks to its co-author Dipayan Baishya, who is a business writer. Many comments are in the nature of self-praise; one of the best points that emerge from the book is a reiteration of having superior human relationships as one needs to deal with people in the end (customers).
The biography/autobiography is refreshing, inspiring and motivating. It is in the manner someone in the family would talk to you to pass the wisdom of their experience in life and business. The book should be available in all vernacular languages so that everyone can read and understand it better.
The book focuses on Kishor Biyani’s journey from Pantaloon to Future Group. He has mentioned his successes as well as his failures. He always believed in learning, un-learning and re-learning.
Through out the book he mentioned about his experiences about Indian market and how he applied different strategies to be successful. Big Bazzar was constructed keeping in mind the Indian mentality. We consider shopping as societal gathering.
There are many books written by foreign authors about retail industry, but what Kishorji said is absolutely right that you need to understand the mentality of people in the area to run your business successfully. Kishor Biyani correctly guessed the need of Indian consumers. He studied their mentality and their approach towards buying.
He is a strong believer of win-win-win situation. He believed in giving the liberty to take decision to people who are working with him. The liberty was given to all the people in the hierarchy. Employees are allowed to make mistakes and also to learn from them. Kishorji had tremendous faith in himself as well in people working with him.
The book also sheds light on style and philosophy of KB; in fact the book reveals journey toward formation of his business empire: Future Group. One thing that comes to our mind is that he prefers traditional storytelling (long forgotten but getting grounds now) and scenario planning (but less of mathematical and more of empathetical) techniques over (so called) modern technique of power-point presentation for interaction with his team/associates, which is remarkable.
Flow of the book is fairly good; thanks to its co-author Dipayan Baishya, who is a business writer. Many comments are in the nature of self-praise; one of the best points that emerge from the book is a reiteration of having superior human relationships as one needs to deal with people in the end (customers).
The biography/autobiography is refreshing, inspiring and motivating. It is in the manner someone in the family would talk to you to pass the wisdom of their experience in life and business. The book should be available in all vernacular languages so that everyone can read and understand it better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2015
Kishore Biyani is the founder and CEO of the Future Group, which comprises of brands like Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Central etc. He is well known for his acute understanding of the “Indian Customer”. Starting his business career from scratch with a deal in selling stone-wash jeans, he has created and scaled various extremely successful and pioneering consumer-centric businesses. He has been called the “dukaandaar” (shopkeeper) or “Sethji” (merchant) because of his no-frills old-school approach to doing business in an otherwise MBA driven Corporate Culture. However, you find him to be a person driven with the single-minded purpose of satisfying the infinitely diverse Indian consumer base. The Book follows the story of creation of the brands Pantaloon, Big Bazaar and Central. The book also features Biyani’s stint as a film producer. In general it is about Biyani’s quest to understand and serve the Great Indian Consumer.
The story briefly touch bases Kishore’s childhood and his restless nature which has become synonymous with his style of doing business, today. His business career began when he borrowed a pair of stone-wash jeans (famous those days) and decided to advertise it to shop keepers. He built an order book and delivered it to them. From the beginning Kishore understood the importance of Customer Engagement. He believes that it was mandatory to make sure that the customer completely understood what a service or product was. When Pantaloon got listed on the stock exchange, the investors pressurized Kishore to focus on the bottom-line (revenue and profits). However, Kishore went out of his way to ensure that no stone was left unturned in marketing even though the advertisement budget was so over the top that Pantaloon made a loss. His justification was that people have an preconceived idea about retail stores like Pantaloon; they might believe that Pantaloon was a posh store with expensive clothing. The ostentatious ad campaign ensured that people felt at home with the store.
He also firmly believes that understanding every individual customer is equally important. When Kishore visited US he was impressed by the concept of Walmart. He also believed that the model of Walmart Stores would need to be altered to make it Indian Consumer friendly. He immediately followed up the research by visiting the hyper-mart Saravana Stores in Chennai, India. He made sure that each of his retail stores was designed to emulate the traditional local stores in the location. Everything from products, store design and even the staff uniform was optimized according to the region, where the store was located. Using this understanding Kishore sold cooking oil in loose in the Big Bazaar in Gujarat or had wall less stores in The Central etc.
Leasing real estate for a new store or Researching a new Business model, Kishore seems to be personally involved in the whole process. This tendency to micro-manage might seem detrimental to a big company’s progress but he justifies it, calling it the traditional “dukaan” model. In the traditional cloth store The show owner (Seth), the accountant (Munim) and the deputies would sit in front of each other on mattresses (gaddis). Whenever the customer arrived, a deputy would take up the sale by displaying various products to the customer. All the while the shop owner would be keeping an eye on all the customers, popping in, in case the deputy is not able to close a sale. Kishore Biyani thoroughly believes in this model. This model also suits his fast-paced spot-decision making work style. However, as he says, he is only personally involved in the ‘create’ and 'destroy’ parts of his projects; He lets others take care of the 'preserve’ part.
The book is a no nonsense account of Kishore Biyani’s creations. It is fast paced and filled with advice. The book has the main story written by Kishore and has interviews of various people associated directly with him. This makes it an interesting reading as we get multiple viewpoints on a story. Business Biographies are not guides. They are more of like eyeopeners. The core value that comes through this book is the depth of analysis one needs to do in order to achieve a level of perfection. Everyone has heard the phrase 'Customer is always right’, and this book tells us how far one must go in order to obey that law in business. For a long time we have focused on Making in India, but the book is a must read for anyone who wants to Make For India.
The story briefly touch bases Kishore’s childhood and his restless nature which has become synonymous with his style of doing business, today. His business career began when he borrowed a pair of stone-wash jeans (famous those days) and decided to advertise it to shop keepers. He built an order book and delivered it to them. From the beginning Kishore understood the importance of Customer Engagement. He believes that it was mandatory to make sure that the customer completely understood what a service or product was. When Pantaloon got listed on the stock exchange, the investors pressurized Kishore to focus on the bottom-line (revenue and profits). However, Kishore went out of his way to ensure that no stone was left unturned in marketing even though the advertisement budget was so over the top that Pantaloon made a loss. His justification was that people have an preconceived idea about retail stores like Pantaloon; they might believe that Pantaloon was a posh store with expensive clothing. The ostentatious ad campaign ensured that people felt at home with the store.
He also firmly believes that understanding every individual customer is equally important. When Kishore visited US he was impressed by the concept of Walmart. He also believed that the model of Walmart Stores would need to be altered to make it Indian Consumer friendly. He immediately followed up the research by visiting the hyper-mart Saravana Stores in Chennai, India. He made sure that each of his retail stores was designed to emulate the traditional local stores in the location. Everything from products, store design and even the staff uniform was optimized according to the region, where the store was located. Using this understanding Kishore sold cooking oil in loose in the Big Bazaar in Gujarat or had wall less stores in The Central etc.
Leasing real estate for a new store or Researching a new Business model, Kishore seems to be personally involved in the whole process. This tendency to micro-manage might seem detrimental to a big company’s progress but he justifies it, calling it the traditional “dukaan” model. In the traditional cloth store The show owner (Seth), the accountant (Munim) and the deputies would sit in front of each other on mattresses (gaddis). Whenever the customer arrived, a deputy would take up the sale by displaying various products to the customer. All the while the shop owner would be keeping an eye on all the customers, popping in, in case the deputy is not able to close a sale. Kishore Biyani thoroughly believes in this model. This model also suits his fast-paced spot-decision making work style. However, as he says, he is only personally involved in the ‘create’ and 'destroy’ parts of his projects; He lets others take care of the 'preserve’ part.
The book is a no nonsense account of Kishore Biyani’s creations. It is fast paced and filled with advice. The book has the main story written by Kishore and has interviews of various people associated directly with him. This makes it an interesting reading as we get multiple viewpoints on a story. Business Biographies are not guides. They are more of like eyeopeners. The core value that comes through this book is the depth of analysis one needs to do in order to achieve a level of perfection. Everyone has heard the phrase 'Customer is always right’, and this book tells us how far one must go in order to obey that law in business. For a long time we have focused on Making in India, but the book is a must read for anyone who wants to Make For India.
May 17, 2020
Amazing book with minute details about KB. Great capture of KB's vision and challenges he faced over the time. I recommend this book to all non fiction readers, entrepreneur mindsets.
October 29, 2020
Although this book was published a decade and half ago, I believe that the core guiding principles continue to remain the same, till date. Mr. Biyani is no doubt one of India's finest CEOs, and his approach to constructing his empire, his vision, his emphasis on rewriting rules and retaining values, his Indian way of doing things are all testament to this. This is a must read book, especially if you are interested in appreciating why western retail models fail to interest the Indian consumer.
January 16, 2019
The Good:
It's a fascinating story of an Indian brand and visionary. If Indian and have any interest in brands, retail or fashion - it's something one must plod through, for sure.
The Bad:
The writing style is far less inspiring than the original story. Much of the book is just largely a pontificating monologue peppered with quotes, most of it one-sided and fawning and it reads more like an ode to Kishore Biyani than a truly path breaking story (which it was) one that would radically change how Indians shopped and behaved. Some of the stories like one about how they over estimated the number of white shirts that would sell and then have to move past this gross error, were the sort of stories I hoped to learn. Instead there was a lot of mention of how what they did was different but with far less revelation of the actual stories.
This is also a dated book and while many of the insights hold true for 1990 India and a narrow spectrum of Indians still, today's fashion and retail consumer is a wildly different animal.
The one part that really rankled
It's a fascinating story of an Indian brand and visionary. If Indian and have any interest in brands, retail or fashion - it's something one must plod through, for sure.
The Bad:
The writing style is far less inspiring than the original story. Much of the book is just largely a pontificating monologue peppered with quotes, most of it one-sided and fawning and it reads more like an ode to Kishore Biyani than a truly path breaking story (which it was) one that would radically change how Indians shopped and behaved. Some of the stories like one about how they over estimated the number of white shirts that would sell and then have to move past this gross error, were the sort of stories I hoped to learn. Instead there was a lot of mention of how what they did was different but with far less revelation of the actual stories.
This is also a dated book and while many of the insights hold true for 1990 India and a narrow spectrum of Indians still, today's fashion and retail consumer is a wildly different animal.
The one part that really rankled
December 21, 2025
My dash with 7-11 stores in SE Asia led me on a trial to Future Retail and realized that the master mind behind the Indian retail is Mr. Biyani. His tryst with Saravana Stores - Multi Storeyed, 365 days deals made me wonder what would have happened to those South Tamil Nadu retail behemoths, if they have embraced Modern Retail earlier and faster(Sam Walton Annachis). The only thing that stopped KB from achieving his vision is the Debt spiral. Nevertheless, you will love KB for his non-conformist approach.
September 3, 2013
An autobiography by the pioneer of Indian retail- sounds promising at first, but it doesn't. The book lacks continuity and doesn't make you engage with the narration. The book is filled with thoughts of KB intervened with views of his colleagues/family members/friends.
Also, the author doesn't dive into HOW he did things; instead he talks about WHAT he did. Also, some elements of the book looks as PR to future group!
Also, the author doesn't dive into HOW he did things; instead he talks about WHAT he did. Also, some elements of the book looks as PR to future group!
August 3, 2015
What a book...It gave me a lot of insights not only in retail business but in every aspects of entrepreneurship, business models, innovation, creativity...learnt a lot lot lot form Kishore Biyani.. A guide for every aspiring entrepreneur out there...BIG BAZAAR is really a BIGGGGGG BAZAAAAAAAR.....
June 14, 2022
Key Learnings:
1. We live in an imperfect world, and hence it is meaningless to strive for perfection. Instead we must strive for excellence in everything we do.
2. Rewrite Rules, Retain Values - don't be limited by and forced to follow industry standards, systems and conventions; dream big, have tremendous belief in your ideas and rewrite rules to achieve them, without compromising on your values and ethics.
3. Business need not be a zero-sum game. One must strive to create Win-Win-Win situations for ourselves, our partners and our customers by focusing on building and nurturing strong relationships.
4. Find an optimal balance between hierarchy and seamlessness. Ideally only 3 layers of people are needed in an organisation - information gathering layer, knowledge creation layer, strategy layer. Important to empower employees to take decisions fast depending on the on-ground dynamic situation. Optimal hierarchy also helps keep sufficient check.
5. Hiring policy should be such that an organisation should consist of both left brained (analytical, process oriented) and right brained (creative) people. Former needed to ensure discipline, structure and following of due processes whereas later needed for creativity, innovation and design.
6. Customer is always right!
Hence, it is very important to have an immaculate understanding of one's customers.
-- Think of business' revenue in terms of how much % of customer's wallet does he/she spend on our products. Always try to increase this percentage.
7. Instead of putting the blame on people, situations, competitors, etc, a leader must take complete responsibility for his/her mistakes. Business entails risk and hence some decisions will not work out as planned. Have an internal locus of control and see what I can do better next time to avoid such a mistake.
8. Documents containing company values, mission, policies, plans, etc, must be in the form of pictures and interesting stories instead of wordy, boring PPTs.
9. Huge emphasis on having simplicity in ideas and speed in decision making. Also, KB used to travel a lot and meet and speak to all kinds of unconventional people. These interactions gave him many innovative ideas -- always be open to new interactions and experiences!
10. For franchise models to work, the following 3 points are needed -
-- water tight agreements between both parties
-- strict control mechanism
-- tough rules and regulations
**One quote in the book from Rahul Bajaj: "I do not believe in consensus decision making.... I do not take a vote, I make the decisions."
1. We live in an imperfect world, and hence it is meaningless to strive for perfection. Instead we must strive for excellence in everything we do.
2. Rewrite Rules, Retain Values - don't be limited by and forced to follow industry standards, systems and conventions; dream big, have tremendous belief in your ideas and rewrite rules to achieve them, without compromising on your values and ethics.
3. Business need not be a zero-sum game. One must strive to create Win-Win-Win situations for ourselves, our partners and our customers by focusing on building and nurturing strong relationships.
4. Find an optimal balance between hierarchy and seamlessness. Ideally only 3 layers of people are needed in an organisation - information gathering layer, knowledge creation layer, strategy layer. Important to empower employees to take decisions fast depending on the on-ground dynamic situation. Optimal hierarchy also helps keep sufficient check.
5. Hiring policy should be such that an organisation should consist of both left brained (analytical, process oriented) and right brained (creative) people. Former needed to ensure discipline, structure and following of due processes whereas later needed for creativity, innovation and design.
6. Customer is always right!
Hence, it is very important to have an immaculate understanding of one's customers.
-- Think of business' revenue in terms of how much % of customer's wallet does he/she spend on our products. Always try to increase this percentage.
7. Instead of putting the blame on people, situations, competitors, etc, a leader must take complete responsibility for his/her mistakes. Business entails risk and hence some decisions will not work out as planned. Have an internal locus of control and see what I can do better next time to avoid such a mistake.
8. Documents containing company values, mission, policies, plans, etc, must be in the form of pictures and interesting stories instead of wordy, boring PPTs.
9. Huge emphasis on having simplicity in ideas and speed in decision making. Also, KB used to travel a lot and meet and speak to all kinds of unconventional people. These interactions gave him many innovative ideas -- always be open to new interactions and experiences!
10. For franchise models to work, the following 3 points are needed -
-- water tight agreements between both parties
-- strict control mechanism
-- tough rules and regulations
**One quote in the book from Rahul Bajaj: "I do not believe in consensus decision making.... I do not take a vote, I make the decisions."
January 21, 2024
Inspiring, Insightful, Indian way
I have been enjoyed the shopping experience in Central, Big Bazaar in the past, but the story and journey behind the whole thing makes it way too special. The way KB's style has been defined makes your yearn to work with a person like this. In fact I am surprised that so many of the themes adopted there are so much relevant even today (some 15 years since this book is written).
I would recommend this book to anyone who wish to understand how to understand urban and rural middle class and how to cater to their needs.
Principles like Simplicity, Scenario Planning, Rewriting rules, Customer Centricity are worth noting along with specific examples.
I have been enjoyed the shopping experience in Central, Big Bazaar in the past, but the story and journey behind the whole thing makes it way too special. The way KB's style has been defined makes your yearn to work with a person like this. In fact I am surprised that so many of the themes adopted there are so much relevant even today (some 15 years since this book is written).
I would recommend this book to anyone who wish to understand how to understand urban and rural middle class and how to cater to their needs.
Principles like Simplicity, Scenario Planning, Rewriting rules, Customer Centricity are worth noting along with specific examples.
August 14, 2020
Good insights about the Indian retail sector but somehow this book didn't have that zing to keep me engaged all the time.
April 24, 2023
Book covers more of KB’s decisions and experiences than the retail history. Could have added modern retail challenges to the chapters around BigBazar’s inception.
January 10, 2024
The book with intricate details of the King of Indian Retail. More in a detailed Book Review.
March 10, 2024
This book has been lying on the shelf for over a decade and a half. I didn't know what it was about when I bought it - just remember that while flipping first few pages I had glanced the words "Malabar Hills" and "Middle Class" which seemed contradictory specially because one of my school classmate who had relatives living in SoBo Malabar Hills, used to call them Old Money Maniacs.
The author definitely published the book too early, but it was great while it lasted. I really liked the way the author thinks. Of course there is a lot of self-promotion through testimonies but then everyone longs for appreciation for the efforts they put especially given that Retail and Real Estate are pretty competitive businesses.
People from Marketing, Sales, Advertisement and even Operations would be able to better critique the book. I on the other hand got to learn a lot.
The author mentions that this book is inspired by Sam Walton: Made In America, so readers might want to read that if interested in American Way of doing business.
P237. Other books mentioned by the Author:
- Sam Walton: Made in America (Sam Walton).
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey).
- Awaken the Giant Within (Anthony Robbins).
- Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (Richard Bach).
- The ALchemist (Paulo Coelho).
- Future Shock; The Third Wave; Powershift (Alvin Toffler).
- A Passion for excellence; Re-Imagine (Tom Peters).
- Pout Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time (Howard Schultz).
- How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 billion (Marcus and Arthur Blank).
- Leading By Design: The IKEA Story (Ingvar Kamprad).
- Like No Other Store: The Bloomingdale's Legend and Revolution in American Marketing (Marvin Traub).
- I Too Had a Dream (Verghese Kurien).
The author definitely published the book too early, but it was great while it lasted. I really liked the way the author thinks. Of course there is a lot of self-promotion through testimonies but then everyone longs for appreciation for the efforts they put especially given that Retail and Real Estate are pretty competitive businesses.
People from Marketing, Sales, Advertisement and even Operations would be able to better critique the book. I on the other hand got to learn a lot.
The author mentions that this book is inspired by Sam Walton: Made In America, so readers might want to read that if interested in American Way of doing business.
P237. Other books mentioned by the Author:
- Sam Walton: Made in America (Sam Walton).
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey).
- Awaken the Giant Within (Anthony Robbins).
- Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (Richard Bach).
- The ALchemist (Paulo Coelho).
- Future Shock; The Third Wave; Powershift (Alvin Toffler).
- A Passion for excellence; Re-Imagine (Tom Peters).
- Pout Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time (Howard Schultz).
- How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 billion (Marcus and Arthur Blank).
- Leading By Design: The IKEA Story (Ingvar Kamprad).
- Like No Other Store: The Bloomingdale's Legend and Revolution in American Marketing (Marvin Traub).
- I Too Had a Dream (Verghese Kurien).
May 28, 2008
One of the prime reasons why I like this book so much is because its written in a simple and structured manner which makes it fun to read. At the same time its also a good management book with anecdotes which shed light on various management related topics. Off hand I can think of topics like decision making, human resources, planning, execution, brand building etc. I'd suggest this book be read by all readers who like reading management books. Also one big advantage of this book is that it's in Indian setting so it's a little easy to relate to the events and details mentioned at times.
Read
February 8, 2011Good work (published for promotion). Kishore Biyani should not write this book at this point of time, that is why this works looks promotion-work. Otherwise OK
November 18, 2014
Awesome book
. Must read for a budding entrepreneur.
. Must read for a budding entrepreneur.
June 6, 2021
Gets into the mindset of a customer focused entreprenuer, and like many indian biographies its grounded and well written.
October 26, 2013
Good informative book, but gets repetitive and sometimes a tad boring
April 24, 2025
It Happened in India is the entrepreneurial memoir of Kishore Biyani, the man who reshaped Indian retail with his company, Future Group, and flagship brand, Big Bazaar. The book, co-authored with Dipayan Baishya, offers readers a ringside view into the evolution of modern retail in India; told in a language that is simple, candid, and deeply personal.
A Story Rooted in Indian Realities
One of the book’s strongest points is how Biyani challenges conventional, Western notions of business and retail. Instead of importing global retail strategies wholesale, he emphasizes understanding the Indian consumer psyche, its habits, its chaos, and its emotional decisions. The mantra of “Indianness” is central throughout the book. Biyani insists that success lies in adapting to the unique rhythm of India rather than attempting to change it.
What makes the book appealing is its rootedness. Biyani does not paint himself as a flawless visionary. Instead, he shares his failures, early experiments, pivots, and learnings from the ground up, making the narrative more relatable than prescriptive. He talks about his decision to start Pantaloons, and eventually Big Bazaar, not from an MBA-fueled vision, but from instinct, observation, and trial-and-error.
Strengths: Practical Wisdom & Candid Insights
The book offers a treasure trove of practical, no-frills insights, especially valuable for budding entrepreneurs and students of Indian business. Biyani discusses why he focused on the “karta” (decision-maker) of the Indian household and how he tapped into the aspirational middle class. His emphasis on gut instinct over data-driven decision-making may raise some eyebrows, but it also underlines his unorthodox but deeply contextual approach.
What also stands out is Biyani’s emphasis on building ecosystems. He understood early that he wasn’t merely selling products; he was shaping consumer behavior, real estate choices, and supply chains. His “Indian management style” (decentralized, people-driven, and emotion-led) breaks away from traditional corporate templates.
The book includes voices from his colleagues and partners, adding a refreshing layer of authenticity and giving a 360-degree view of the Future Group’s rise.
Weaknesses: Repetitive & Self-Congratulatory in Parts
While the book is inspirational, it occasionally leans too far into self-congratulation. Biyani’s voice is unapologetically confident; sometimes bordering on overstatement, particularly when describing Future Group’s influence. The book often slips into repetition, particularly about the “Indian consumer” and “thinking Indian”, points that could have been more sharply presented with data or case studies.
Also, given that the book was first published in 2007, it does not account for more recent challenges the Future Group has faced, such as its financial troubles and corporate battles with Amazon and Reliance. This makes parts of the book feel dated or incomplete, especially for readers looking for a full-circle narrative.
A Mixed Bag for Different Readers
For entrepreneurs and marketers working in or for the Indian market, It Happened in India is an insightful read. It’s less about business theory and more about practical lessons on consumer behavior, cultural context, and retail evolution in a complex country. However, readers looking for a sharply edited, data-rich business book may find it lacking in structure and depth.
Final Thoughts
It Happened in India is a solid, if not extraordinary, read. It captures the spirit of Indian entrepreneurship in the early 2000s and celebrates intuition, adaptability, and local wisdom. Kishore Biyani’s story is undeniably significant in the Indian retail landscape, and this book is his candid attempt at telling it his way.
It may not dazzle you with literary finesse or strategic frameworks, but it will leave you with one lasting thought: building for India means building with India, not despite it.
A Story Rooted in Indian Realities
One of the book’s strongest points is how Biyani challenges conventional, Western notions of business and retail. Instead of importing global retail strategies wholesale, he emphasizes understanding the Indian consumer psyche, its habits, its chaos, and its emotional decisions. The mantra of “Indianness” is central throughout the book. Biyani insists that success lies in adapting to the unique rhythm of India rather than attempting to change it.
What makes the book appealing is its rootedness. Biyani does not paint himself as a flawless visionary. Instead, he shares his failures, early experiments, pivots, and learnings from the ground up, making the narrative more relatable than prescriptive. He talks about his decision to start Pantaloons, and eventually Big Bazaar, not from an MBA-fueled vision, but from instinct, observation, and trial-and-error.
Strengths: Practical Wisdom & Candid Insights
The book offers a treasure trove of practical, no-frills insights, especially valuable for budding entrepreneurs and students of Indian business. Biyani discusses why he focused on the “karta” (decision-maker) of the Indian household and how he tapped into the aspirational middle class. His emphasis on gut instinct over data-driven decision-making may raise some eyebrows, but it also underlines his unorthodox but deeply contextual approach.
What also stands out is Biyani’s emphasis on building ecosystems. He understood early that he wasn’t merely selling products; he was shaping consumer behavior, real estate choices, and supply chains. His “Indian management style” (decentralized, people-driven, and emotion-led) breaks away from traditional corporate templates.
The book includes voices from his colleagues and partners, adding a refreshing layer of authenticity and giving a 360-degree view of the Future Group’s rise.
Weaknesses: Repetitive & Self-Congratulatory in Parts
While the book is inspirational, it occasionally leans too far into self-congratulation. Biyani’s voice is unapologetically confident; sometimes bordering on overstatement, particularly when describing Future Group’s influence. The book often slips into repetition, particularly about the “Indian consumer” and “thinking Indian”, points that could have been more sharply presented with data or case studies.
Also, given that the book was first published in 2007, it does not account for more recent challenges the Future Group has faced, such as its financial troubles and corporate battles with Amazon and Reliance. This makes parts of the book feel dated or incomplete, especially for readers looking for a full-circle narrative.
A Mixed Bag for Different Readers
For entrepreneurs and marketers working in or for the Indian market, It Happened in India is an insightful read. It’s less about business theory and more about practical lessons on consumer behavior, cultural context, and retail evolution in a complex country. However, readers looking for a sharply edited, data-rich business book may find it lacking in structure and depth.
Final Thoughts
It Happened in India is a solid, if not extraordinary, read. It captures the spirit of Indian entrepreneurship in the early 2000s and celebrates intuition, adaptability, and local wisdom. Kishore Biyani’s story is undeniably significant in the Indian retail landscape, and this book is his candid attempt at telling it his way.
It may not dazzle you with literary finesse or strategic frameworks, but it will leave you with one lasting thought: building for India means building with India, not despite it.
July 6, 2025
This is an interesting book with a lot of useful information about the retail industry in India - a country with diverse religions, varied trading customs, and a rather sparse population. Approximately 55% of India's 760 million people have a middle income, and most of them live in rural areas.. It covers the development from the 1980s to 2006. Kishore's adventurous spirit was evident from a young age. His personality was shaped by his dislike for the power of accountants in businesses. He ventured into big ideas, starting with a successful music concert in his hometown.
Later, he found success with the "Branding" strategy for the fashion retail chain Pantaloons. Following that, he built a successful large-scale retail chain (10,000 sq ft) with a lowest-price, largest-scale strategy, learning from the US and Europe. His customer-centric thinking was truly unique and relatable.
Trouble began when he placed another big bet on Central (an extremely large-scale Shopping Mall chain in India, 40,000 sq ft). This plan was far more complex than the smaller retail chains he had operated. It required huge initial capital, longer time for site clearance, and a much longer period to optimize revenue per square foot. From this point, Future Group started accumulating massive debts.
Coupled with strong competition from both domestic players and foreign giants like Walmart, Flipkart, Tata, and others, the situation worsened. The peak of the crisis was the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely impacted shopping malls. The prolonged lawsuit between Amazon, Reliance, and Future rapidly deteriorated the company's condition from 2018-2023, ultimately leading to bankruptcy.
However, the improvements in customer experience that Kishore brought to Indian retail are undeniable. He truly remains an respectable pioneer.
Later, he found success with the "Branding" strategy for the fashion retail chain Pantaloons. Following that, he built a successful large-scale retail chain (10,000 sq ft) with a lowest-price, largest-scale strategy, learning from the US and Europe. His customer-centric thinking was truly unique and relatable.
Trouble began when he placed another big bet on Central (an extremely large-scale Shopping Mall chain in India, 40,000 sq ft). This plan was far more complex than the smaller retail chains he had operated. It required huge initial capital, longer time for site clearance, and a much longer period to optimize revenue per square foot. From this point, Future Group started accumulating massive debts.
Coupled with strong competition from both domestic players and foreign giants like Walmart, Flipkart, Tata, and others, the situation worsened. The peak of the crisis was the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely impacted shopping malls. The prolonged lawsuit between Amazon, Reliance, and Future rapidly deteriorated the company's condition from 2018-2023, ultimately leading to bankruptcy.
However, the improvements in customer experience that Kishore brought to Indian retail are undeniable. He truly remains an respectable pioneer.
June 16, 2024
Kishore Biyani's trial-and-error approach is inspiring. He started with garment manufacturing and tried a couple of things before launching Pantaloons and Reliance.
Another thing that I learned was how he understands consumer behavior by observing people. Being in tech, it's easier to collect data, analyze it, and understand user behavior. But when you are working in retail, especially in the 90s, only observation becomes your user research. For example, while building the 26 Republic Day Sabse Sasta Din campaign, his team observed how temples managed their crowd to apply the same on those 3 days. These are small things that have a lasting impact on the customer.
He is a natural leader because he thinks along these lines:
- He always kept in mind how much customer share of wallet his products could capture
- how everything he builds has to be win-win-win otherwise the company will not grow
- Making real estate deals as quickly as possible without any back-and-forth
- sometimes working on intuition and having a balance between logic and creativity
- Leadership is not about delegation but abdication (hard to apply but great results)
A lot of great learnings to summarize but these were the ones that I took away from the book! I skipped the last few pages since it talked about the plans of Future Group and it is now bought by Reliance. Nevertheless, it is a must-read for anyone who wants to build in India!
Another thing that I learned was how he understands consumer behavior by observing people. Being in tech, it's easier to collect data, analyze it, and understand user behavior. But when you are working in retail, especially in the 90s, only observation becomes your user research. For example, while building the 26 Republic Day Sabse Sasta Din campaign, his team observed how temples managed their crowd to apply the same on those 3 days. These are small things that have a lasting impact on the customer.
He is a natural leader because he thinks along these lines:
- He always kept in mind how much customer share of wallet his products could capture
- how everything he builds has to be win-win-win otherwise the company will not grow
- Making real estate deals as quickly as possible without any back-and-forth
- sometimes working on intuition and having a balance between logic and creativity
- Leadership is not about delegation but abdication (hard to apply but great results)
A lot of great learnings to summarize but these were the ones that I took away from the book! I skipped the last few pages since it talked about the plans of Future Group and it is now bought by Reliance. Nevertheless, it is a must-read for anyone who wants to build in India!
January 24, 2018
On the face of it, this books screams of sloppy editing
- There are grammatical errors
- There is no flow in this book, at some point it seems like the random ramblings of an old man
- This book meanders into random topics
- The book switches from the first person to third person speech constantly
But when I think about it, it was probably designed this way. The reason being is that it probably reflects the thought process of KB. He is a person who builds long-term relationships, always looking at the big picture, revels in his Indianness and is always looking out for the next hack. A mind like this is not methodical, it is constantly rambling evolving, experimenting and that is what the book tries to instil in us. Kishoreji has been a startup guy way before it was cool, he innovated and experimented across various formats, he is responsible for setting trends and all this comes from a typical Marwari businessman which is surprising. He has been implementing design thinking in his firm way before corporates caught up to it, this shows the level of foresight this man has.
As a book, there is a lot that is unsaid and a lot that has been said, it depends on us readers to pick out which ones we like.
- There are grammatical errors
- There is no flow in this book, at some point it seems like the random ramblings of an old man
- This book meanders into random topics
- The book switches from the first person to third person speech constantly
But when I think about it, it was probably designed this way. The reason being is that it probably reflects the thought process of KB. He is a person who builds long-term relationships, always looking at the big picture, revels in his Indianness and is always looking out for the next hack. A mind like this is not methodical, it is constantly rambling evolving, experimenting and that is what the book tries to instil in us. Kishoreji has been a startup guy way before it was cool, he innovated and experimented across various formats, he is responsible for setting trends and all this comes from a typical Marwari businessman which is surprising. He has been implementing design thinking in his firm way before corporates caught up to it, this shows the level of foresight this man has.
As a book, there is a lot that is unsaid and a lot that has been said, it depends on us readers to pick out which ones we like.
August 9, 2024
I was in a prominent city of Rajasthan called Alwar way back in 2008. After hectic day, I have decided to visit a mall in city Big Bazar. During those days mall were growing concept in India. BIG Bazaar was the catch eye.
Although, you will not find a dedicated segment for books but I could find a shelf having this written of owner of Big Bazaar, Kishore Biyani. It happened in India is journey of Kishore how he has started the venture of super market. Those were initial days were supermarket had grown rapidly. It seems like this concept will grow like anything and it may damage local Kirana shops. There were agitation by local small shop owners. We all were myopic, never even considered that e-commerce would be proven lethal factor for super markets. However, existing supermarket in today's contest are also online retail stores. I would say their business is on hybrid mode.
Nonetheless It happened in India is startup story. Today all Big Bazaar are not belong to Kishore Biyani, it's traffic story of downfall. I would say in today scenario this book is incomplete. Mr. Biyani should nareate it again to give holistic views of what went wrong and what went right.
Although, you will not find a dedicated segment for books but I could find a shelf having this written of owner of Big Bazaar, Kishore Biyani. It happened in India is journey of Kishore how he has started the venture of super market. Those were initial days were supermarket had grown rapidly. It seems like this concept will grow like anything and it may damage local Kirana shops. There were agitation by local small shop owners. We all were myopic, never even considered that e-commerce would be proven lethal factor for super markets. However, existing supermarket in today's contest are also online retail stores. I would say their business is on hybrid mode.
Nonetheless It happened in India is startup story. Today all Big Bazaar are not belong to Kishore Biyani, it's traffic story of downfall. I would say in today scenario this book is incomplete. Mr. Biyani should nareate it again to give holistic views of what went wrong and what went right.
May 30, 2020
It is only in the last few years that I have consciously started reading books on business management. The one thing that kept gnawing me was that there were hardly any that were written about Indian businesses in the Indian context. At least I hadn't found them. I was fretting over this and discussing this with some friends a few weeks ago. That's when I found this book and it is a treat. The story is enlightening, the lessons are universal. The language is simple. The format was a little tiring at times, switching between first and third person. The thing that struck the strongest chord was how the author worked on context. Context is a strong personal belief for me and the Kishoreji's obsession with it resonated with me immensely. Relentless customer-centricity and contextualization at a hyper local level are the key lessons I took away. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to know the growth story of a first generation Indian business. It is more than a decade old, the story would have evolved now, still it is worth a read. I give 5 stars because of the cognitive and emotional resonance I experienced when I read it.
September 24, 2020
I had not studied retail and retail of India as explained in this book. Its pleasurable to know that Kishore Biyani studied books, studied customer behavior and tried retail model for India. I remember visiting Pantaloons in Thane when it had happened. Yes, large scale shops wasn't a norm at that time and no malls were in existence. I was spoiled by retail of US since 2003. When I had visited Big bazaar I had felt it is congested and feels like fish market. Now, in the book, I understand why the feeling of eliteness was purposefully avoided. I agree that extra clean and empty showroom automatically discourages middleclass from entering the shop.
Such nice stories and insights make the book a nice read. Although KB has said that future group isn't lala company but by his own stories of real estate negotiation, final designs or offers it felt that he used to make many decision in the beginning. Now that the entire group is very big, I feel many decisions would be made by professionals.
For students of retail or Indian mass consumerism, this is must read book. Nicely written with ample stress on knowing nations of nation which is India.
Such nice stories and insights make the book a nice read. Although KB has said that future group isn't lala company but by his own stories of real estate negotiation, final designs or offers it felt that he used to make many decision in the beginning. Now that the entire group is very big, I feel many decisions would be made by professionals.
For students of retail or Indian mass consumerism, this is must read book. Nicely written with ample stress on knowing nations of nation which is India.
December 10, 2017
People rating this book 3 stars or below don't seem to have understood the essence of it. This isn't a typical business narrative. It's an attempt to convey the reader that how KB's grounded and unconventional approach made him really the father of modern retailing in India. This book is a reflection of the author in terms of its simplicity. And I really liked how the book has regular interviews of his colleagues.
Some reviewers have accused this book of being a PR stunt. That way every business book is a PR stunt. What comes out of all such books is the way the company evolved to its current state. And essentially, every such company took some unconventional steps and went through a lot of transformations.
The only complaint I have to the author is that maybe this book was written too soon. Pantaloons is no longer a part of the Future Group. The same Pantaloons that made KB and Future Group what they are today. Thus, it would've been interesting to know his thoughts on how he felt while parting ways with a company that has played a phenomenal role in his success.
Some reviewers have accused this book of being a PR stunt. That way every business book is a PR stunt. What comes out of all such books is the way the company evolved to its current state. And essentially, every such company took some unconventional steps and went through a lot of transformations.
The only complaint I have to the author is that maybe this book was written too soon. Pantaloons is no longer a part of the Future Group. The same Pantaloons that made KB and Future Group what they are today. Thus, it would've been interesting to know his thoughts on how he felt while parting ways with a company that has played a phenomenal role in his success.
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