Cherishing fruits of labor

How it all started? What was the EUREKA moment?
N Chinnaswamy: The foundation had been laid sometime in the 1950s, when I started working in a fruit shop. My day would start at five and I would leave the shop only at 9 in the night. It was here that I learnt about the business of selling fruits. At 18, I joined a neighbourhood spinning mill, which allowed me to save some money. Then I bought a cart and started selling fruits after completing a day’s work at the mill. My younger brother Natarajan too became a mill worker. After the eight-hour shift, we would take turns and sell fruits.

But customers seemed to want a shop from where they could buy fruits at any time of the day. So I gave up the cart for a rented shop at Peelamedu in Coimbatore. But we did not give up the mill jobs. So we were able to route some money to grow our fruit business. Seven years later, we used our savings to open the second shop, adjoining a hospital compound. On public demand again, we started to offer fresh juices as well. The initial response was so good that we decided to branch out. When others started replicating their fruits-vegetables-juices model, we decided to name our outlets Pazhamudhir Nilayam. The next two outlets opened in quick succession and there was no looking back.

Managing logistics for perishable products is a difficult job. How do you manage that?
We wanted to offer quality fruits and vegetables at affordable price as at that time many people were floating prices for such products. Hence to make this mission possible and to sell fresh quality products we procure on daily basis. Ninety per cent of the total products are being purchased on daily basis and rest we keep in cold-storages. Like Apple, Oranges, Kiwis etc we keep in cold-storages.

What about your distribution network?
Dorairaj: Our distribution network is very simple. Every store has their own set of vehicles like 2-3 small trucks which go to different markets and buy the freshest and the best quality products from there. Products which we buy on bulk quantity we keep in cold-storages and as per the market demand we supply to different stores.

Have you tried selling online?
Dorairaj: Yes we have tried that but presently we are not selling online. Though online sales of fruits and vegetables are steadily climbing, we have opted to stay off it for the present. Providers of online services source fruits and vegetables from us. But we don’t do it directly as we are not into the grocery business, where you can sell goods at a later date.

How do you choose location for your stores?
Depending upon traffic, and the buying behavior of that locality, rentals, parking facility we decide location for a store. Most of our stores are in residential and high streets but we don’t have our store in malls.

How many stores you have presently and what’s your expansion strategy? Do you have any plans to go beyond Tamil Nadu?
Of the total 44 outlets, eight are company-owned while the rest have been given to local franchise partners. Going beyond Tamil Nadu is not on the cards as of now, as we are very much satisfied with the present location. We had two stores outside Tamil Nadu but due to travel and supply chain issues we had shut those shops. However, if there is any good opportunity beyond our home turf, we shall definitely embrace that.

What are the benefits of operating from your own habitat?
Each and every store should be managed separately and should be managed on day-to-day basis. Reason being names like Aditya Birla Group, Reliance had burnt their hands in fruits and vegetable businesses. As this business needs to have constant supervision and exceptional experience of managing the same which we have. And being local to the stores, selling fresh products is easier.

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