Having the right kind of people and mindset is a much-needed ingredient in the formula for success

In this edition of Leader’s Talk series in Venture Upbeat I interview Mr. ‎Rajeev Krishnan, Managing Director and CEO, SPAR India/Max Hypermarkets – ‎Landmark Group.

Rajeev has over three decades in the industry, and he comes with a global experience of 21 years in companies such as Target Brands Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Mckinsey & Co., and Bharti previously.

What are the challenges you see in the Asian market that retailers would encounter compared to their western counterparts with respect to adoption of technology

One cannot compare Indian and western markets, Consumer needs in both markets are a function of culture and context, a cut copy paste of technology of say for example American technology will not always work for Indian market. Innovation should cater to local demography, especially since culture and context are completely different in different parts of the world. Keeping the result in the framework of the local market is key.

India is one of the most diverse markets in the world and technology adoption needs to keep this diversity in mind with local & regional community needs and varied economic strata as key factors in success.

How do you see SPAR in India looking to position itself as someone which will embrace technology and way forward?

As a brand, Innovation is in our DNA. There are a lot of white spaces to be filled and SPAR is in the fore front of innovation in using technology to make customer experiences interactive & engaging. Our strong belief is that we can only deliver great customer experience if it is distinctive, engaging & exciting. This is at the core of our technology endeavors. We believe that technology needs to connect with consumers and all our innovations in the field are built around this.

We see a huge opportunity to also drive a productive and efficient business through technology.

Also read: Is innovation all about breakthrough ideas only?

There are a host of startups mainly in US and now in India too looking at Retail technologies .Your advice to them what they need to focus

Startups fail when they cannot work on the entire journey – from the idea to the end result. The focus on the core idea is critical and needs to be strong. Then one needs to evolve and build around the same with clarity and the end consumer in mind.

Sometimes the timing of the idea might be wrong, but one should never give up on a great idea. Having the right kind of people and mindset is a much-needed ingredient in the formula for success.

Yes, on one hand we talk about Marketing and e-commerce. Do you get surprised when you see someone like Patanjali breaking grounds and who knows one day they can disrupt the retail space too. My question is mainly on whether you see disruptions in this segment happening quickly.

Life is full of change and change causes disruptions. Technology is also one of these forces of disruption, looking to be applied to the most obvious of white spaces. Even within this disruption, an eco-system of partnership needs to be created.

Disruption gives rise to opportunities to collaborate in a competitive environment, and collaboration could happen between the most unexpected partners – say between large retailers and kirana stores.

With nearly three decades in the industry in US and India, is there anything you would have done different in your career?

I would do nothing different. After three decades I love what I am doing and have a great team at SPAR which is one of the most entrepreneurial franchise

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Pavan works for a Bosch intraprenueral venture HQ in Bangalore leading one of their product vertical and writes for his Venture Upbeat column in e27.

“Leader’s Talk” Series is a special series in the column where Industry and academic stalwarts share their journey.

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