A look at Kishore Biyani, pioneer of modern retail, who gave way to Reliance Retail

Biyani (59), who started his business in 1987 by launching Manz Wear which later adopted the brand name of Pantaloon, has agreed to hand over the control of his retail empire to relatively new entrant Reliance Retail, a part of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, in a Rs 24,713 crore deal.

Biyani, a man known for a thrifty approach to running the business, has been spreading himself too thin as the need for capital increased to expand his retail business amid increasing competition from new players like Reliance Retail as well as the advent of e-commerce, which he had dismissed as challengers initially.

According to some reports, the debt of Future Group has now expanded to around Rs 13,000 crore and most of the shares of the promoter's group are pledged. When things came to a head, Biyani agreed to a deal on Saturday under which Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a step down subsidiary of Reliance Industries, will acquire popular Future brand stores such as Big Bazaar, fbb, Foodhall, Easyday, Nilgiris, Central and Brand Factory.

His dream was to make available to everyone what only the rich could afford and launched his own label, says Biyani's profile on the portal of Future Group. "During this journey he also invested and mentored many other entrepreneurs and brands. He embodies the organisation's credo, ‘Rewrite Rules, Retain Values' and considers Indianness as the core value driving the organisation," it says.

Biyani, who started his entrepreneurial journey when he was 26 year-old by opening the first Pantaloons store in Kolkata, will now have to seek a fresh beginning when he is set to enter 60s.