A wholesale store to six minimarts to a multi-storey shopping complex – that is the evolution of All India Supermart, owned by cousins Mr Madhi Ayyakkannu and Mr Rethina Kumar.
Said Mr Ayyakkannu, 45, of their decision to scale the business: “We were bringing in all these products (rice, dhal and spices) to supply to the retail stores so we thought, why don’t we start a chain of such stores on our own too.”
The duo went ahead with their idea and set up minimarts in different parts of Singapore such as Paya Lebar, Bedok and Teban Gardens.
But as their business expanded, they faced challenges managing the manpower and keeping a check on the stores all at once.
“Then we thought, why don’t we consolidate all these stores into one and manage a complex at one place,” said Mr Ayyakkannu, who is from Tamil Nadu.
And that is how All India Supermart, a four-storey 20,000 sq ft shopping complex on Norris Road, was born.
Mr Ayyakkannu manages the operations while Mr Kumar handles the accounts and human resource aspect of the business.
Visitors can find a large range of products at All India Supermart – frozen products, fresh vegetables, spices, household items, cosmetics, medical items, toys, stationery, prayer items, trolley bags, watches, apparel and electronics.
“We have built a very comprehensive complex. If our customers want an item, they don’t have to walk far within the complex to get it.
“They don’t need to waste their time finding the products high and low. We are not overly big and at the same time we cater to our customers’ shopping needs,” said Mr Ayyakkannu.
Price is another factor that the cousins have thought very carefully about. They opened the complex aiming to keep the costs as low as possible.
“Our tagline is wholesale prices at retail mart. We want to keep the cost as low as possible – just like when we first opened our minimarts – we sold everything at wholesale prices so we can attract and retain customers. It also makes us stand out from other supermarts,” he said.
A new concept
With that in mind, they came up with a new concept for the sale of their spices, dhals and grains.
Customers can buy as much as they want instead of buying pre-packed quantities that weigh 500g or 1kg.
“We were inspired by the olden day concept where a worker would scoop spices, dhals and grains from a gunny sack and then the customer pays for the amount he buys,” said Mr Ayyakkannu.
Mr Kumar, 65, and Mr Ayyakkannu came up with a modern version of the concept where customers can get the amount of spices, dhals and grains they want from dispensers. The price is decided based on how much they take.
“And they are cheaper than pre-packed packs,” added Mr Ayyakkannu.
Though there are other shops that sell a similar range of items in the vicinity, the owners are happy to face competition.
“We will keep working hard knowing that there is competition. In fact, we will work even harder for our customers so we can retain them,” said Mr Ayyakkannu.
Future plans
All India Supermart is open from 10am to 11pm every day. But they have plans to keep it open for 24 hours.
In addition, it is coming up with a smartphone app that will let customers buy their groceries online and opt for home delivery.
The cousins are still working on details such as the minimum amount for online orders and the delivery time window. They plan to introduce this in January next year.
They will also be coming up with “an interesting and big promotion” for Deepavali.
“We opened All India Supermart on Nov 7 last year. This year, we will celebrate our first anniversary together with Deepavali by offering our customers the promotion,” said Mr Ayyakkannu.
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