Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani reveals his ‘craziest’ mistake ever
During a fireside chat on Day 2 of the first edition of Amazon Smbhav - a summit for SMBs in New Delhi, Biyani said the failure taught him don’t get attached to what you create. The customer can reject you in an hour
Future Group Founder and CEO Kishore Biyani on Thursday revealed what he thought was his “craziest” mistake ever.
“I made two films that did not work. That was the craziest mistake I have made so far,” said Biyani, the entrepreneur behind brands like Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Central, and Brand Factory.
He was responding to Amazon India Marketplace Vice President Gopal Pillai’s question on the biggest mistake he has made as an entrepreneur during a fireside chat on Day 2 of the first edition of Amazon Smbhav - a summit for small, micro, and medium business (SMBs) in New Delhi.
Kishore Biyani, Founder and CEO, Future Group
Biyani had produced Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan starrer Na Tum Jaano Na Hum that released in 2002 and Chura Liya Hai Tumne starring Esha Deol and Zayed Khan, which was released in 2003. Biyani spent around Rs 26 crore on the two films, and both films failed at the box office.
“I made two films in one year. The failure of these films taught me that don’t get attached to what you create. The customer can reject you in an hour,” Biyani said.
The 58-year-old entrepreneur is not the only one to have burned his fingers in Bollywood. Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya and Raymond’s Vijaypat Singhania too made films, which tanked at the box office.
Biyani went on to add that making movies may have been the craziest mistake, but not the only one, having made several in running his core businesses as well. “We would have made every mistake in the book from location to format. Luckily we were early, so the mistakes were not noticed so much,” he said.
He stressed on the fact that making mistakes is an important and integral part of everyone’s journey. “People who are asleep make no mistakes...In whatever journey you undertake, you are going to face a lot of challenges. When the challenges come, how you learn from that and how you introspect takes you to another level. Every challenge will take you somewhere,” he said.
Earlier this month, Future Group and Amazon announced a partnership for "expanding the reach of Future Retail's stores and consumer brands through the Amazon India marketplace".
The partnership would allow the Future Group company to leverage Amazon’s online reach, while the Seattle-based ecommerce giant hopes to deepen its presence in India through the home-grown company’s network.
“This arrangement will now build on the robust offline and online capabilities of both organisations, creating significant value for customers," the two companies had said in a joint statement.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)
