Big Bazaar enters doorstep delivery space in India

As the online delivery space shrunk with Flipkart, Amazon, Bigbasket and Grofers suspending or curtailing operations amid the 21-day lockdown, supermarket chain Biz Bazaar has entered the fray, with launching doorstep delivery services in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Belgaluru and Gurugram.

However, within no time, even Big Bazaar was flooded with calls, forcing the company to issue a statement on Wednesday, saying that "In light of the recent announcement, we are receiving an unprecedented numbers of request for doorstep delivery. There could be delay due to the restrictions on movements".

Owned by Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail Ltd (FRL), part of the Future Group, Big Bazaar has also started doorstep delivery services in like Ranchi, Uttarakhand, Noida, Ghaziabad, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Faridabad, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

According to the government notification on the official 21-day lockdown period, "Shops including ration shops (under PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder can remain open.

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Future Retail that currently attracts over 35 crore footfalls across its retail network like Big Bazaar and Foodhall, is present in more than 400 cities with over 1,500 stores that cover over 16 million square feet of retail space.

Big Bazaar is the flagship chain while small store neighborhood retail chains, EasyDay and Heritage Fresh, operate closer home to customers.

Amazon India and Future Retail Ltd in January this year announced long-term agreements to expand the reach of Future Retail stores and consumer brands through the Amazon India marketplace.

Last year, Amazon agreed to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Biyani's Future Coupons, which owns 7.3 per cent of Future Retail.