Kirana and Kiryana stores are the backbone of the grocery retail industry in India and Pakistan, where there are millions of outlets.
Metro wanted to develop the Kirana/Kiryana franchisee model as part of a global strategy to ‘elevate’ their convenience store format experience, and in turn improve Metro’s Cash & Carry sales. The existing outlets are often basic and cluttered, and convincing franchisees to invest their own money into the physical improvement of the stores would require a design which could deliver a strong financial return.
M Worldwide created 6-8 ‘Ambassador’ stores in each country, engaging franchisees throughout the process. The format model was designed to be a limited kit of parts and materials were sourced locally. This kept the price of each store below the targeted €20-30,000, minimising franchisees’ investment costs.
The clean and clutter-free, modular fixture design increased shop visibility. It’s helping attract more walk-in customers, while shelving innovations enabled the stores to hold 1200 SKUs compared to 900 previously, allowing for more high-selling articles.
The store design supports the development of franchisees’ profitability and has elevated the end user experience, improving customer perception of the outlets and digitally connecting the stores to shoppers and Metro’s Cash & Carry app. The Hyderabad Ambassador store alone saw a 35% increase in sales, well up on the +20% target, and its wholesale purchases from Metro’s Cash & Carry operation hugely exceeded the +40-50% target.
