Gramophone Starts Expansion of its Offline Retail Network to 10,000 Stores

Gramophone, India’s leading full-stack Agritech startup, today announced its plans to expand its offline retail network to 10,000 stores across the country by the end of September this year. The company, which forayed into offline retail this year, already has 5000 stores up and running across key geographies, such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and western Uttar Pradesh, and eastern Maharashtra.

While some of these stores are owned and operated directly by Gramophone, the majority of them are under partnerships with existing agri-retailers.

Tauseef Khan, co-founder and CEO of Gramophone, said, "At Gramophone, we have taken an omnichannel approach to cross to the next orbit of growth. Our partner stores act as Gramophone’s offline touchpoints and GramKonnect, our retailer app, as the online touchpoint. We’re doubling the number of our stores in this fiscal year, which, in turn, also expands the size of our online network. Since the first 5000 stores helped our monthly business grow at the rate of 100% MOM within a month, we confidently anticipate the additional stores will help us achieve 5X growth and grow our overall GMV to INR. 1000 Crore in FY23."

The owners of each of these stores will rely on GramKonnect, a new app for retailers launched by Gramophone in April 2022. The app aims to transform agri-retail through technology by enabling Indian agri-input retailers to realize the true potential of their business and achieve seamless growth. It is a one-stop solution that enables agri-input retailers to purchase seeds, high-quality fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and agricultural hardware tools and equipment without the hassle of dealing with multiple vendors. At these partner stores, this Gramophone-trained agri-entrepreneurs will handhold farmers when it comes to decisions like selecting the correct products and providing relevant agronomy advice.

“There is a dire need to support the small retailers in the remotest parts of India as they struggle to run their businesses. Local wholesalers barely provide any service to them and quote rates that eat into the retailer’s already hair-thin margins. Moreover, access to branded products is frequently beyond the reach of these small retailers due to their size as large manufacturers do not have the wherewithal to work with them directly. GramKonnect aims to support them by solving these basic pain points and connecting them with the latest technology”, added Tauseef.

Through GramKonnect, agri-input retailers can access the complete range of input materials from multiple popular brands. Through it, they can order agrochemicals, crops, seeds, agricultural chemical products, and agricultural hardware like pumps, tarpaulins, and sprayers. Since the app allows retailers to view the prices and eligible schemes for each product across different brands, it brings in the much-needed transparency in the space and enables farmers to make the most of offers and discounts by different brands.

A few other benefits of GramKonnect to agri-input retailers are listed below:

• Online orders and digital payments: Retailers can place orders from the comfort of their homes and make UPI/NEFT/RTGS/net-banking/wallet payments effortlessly and quickly.

• Real-time updates: The app shows the status of each online order in real-time.

• Faster delivery: Gramophone has dedicated delivery partners spread across the length and breadth of active geographies, ensuring that every order is delivered on time, even in the most remote regions.

• 24x7 customer support: To further support the agri-input retailers, Gramophone’s business development associates and call centre teams are at their service and always available on a toll-free number (1800 205 0552).

• Agronomy information: The retailers can leverage the expertise of Gramophone’s agri-experts through the app and learn about dosage, mode of use, and target insects, weeds, and pests for every product before purchase.