In Conversation With Mihir Kapadia
1. How did you start this venture? Please tell us more about the journey so far of Noble Plus.
Our company initially started like a real estate business, where we kept buying physical properties for our pharmaceutical outlets. Now we have a mix of our own stores apart from a number of rented stores. We will continue this strategy as we move into the future.
2. What are the current number of retail stores, their average size, and growth over the years?
Currently, we have 40 stores, and the average size of our stores varies from 500 sq. ft onwards. Many of our stores are also large format ones, where the size would go up to 1500 sq. ft. We are known for keeping the best and the newest products that are being launched. We launched the brand Noble Plus in 2012 and now have a stronghold in Mumbai.
3. How many are completely owned by you and how many are rented/franchised?
Among all the stores, 20% of them are owned by us and the rest would be rented ones. As a business strategy we don’t believe in giving out franchises just for the sake of growing the store numbers like many others. We believe thatour customers come to us with a confidence, and they know that what they will get is genuine, and authentic at Noble Plus. And another reason for not giving out franchises is that we don’t want anyone to misuse our name by not following the rules or selling medicines without bills.
4. What is the employee size of your organization currently? How would this be meeting your growth plans in the coming years?
We have an employee strength of around 800 people.At our current strength, we can always manage some more expansion, however we will scale up the staff numbers in proportion of the new stores. It doesn’t affect our costs much as we have always remained profitable at the store level. Any increase in human resources expenses will be easily taken care of through revenues from individual stores.
5. In terms of prescription medicines, OTC drugs, and other products, what is the range offered by Noble? Please share details of all your product.
The range of products encompasses a very wide spectrum of nutraceuticals, naturals, health foods, supplements, pet care, body care. Our prime focus is all categories of skincare, dermo cosmetics, naturals and alternative skin and body care. We are known for keeping the best and the newest products that are being launched.
6. How did Covid impact your business? What are your post-covid strategies?
Yes. Managing covid was a tough task in the last few years.Contrary to the general perception that pharmacies would have made a lot of money during Covid times, reality was a bit different.
Very few knew the other side of it where overnight about 50% of our staff just left for their villages, some were falling sick, and could not travel from far of locations where they lived. We not only arranged for their transportation from far-off places and but also arranged for their meals and other requirements. We ensured their safety by sanitization, immunity boosters, and protective gear etc., ensured the show kept running without any difficulty for our customers.
We are continuously adding more stores and are expected to increase their number in days to come in the post-covid environment. We will continue our focus on the “experience store” image of Noble Plusalong with bringing in new products. A larger focus on our e-commerce venture will be visible, which will enhance our revenues too.
7. You are currently focused on presence in Mumbai, and a limited presence in Pune? How do you plan to expand geographically and what are your strategies related to expansion?
We believe in carpet coverage of specific clusters and cities in general. As a business strategy we do not believe in opening 1-2 stores in each city to get a national footprint. We however like to go extensive in any specific city that we target to cover. We would like to see at least 15-20 stores in a specific city with a focused manner, dedicated warehouse, excellent staff, and even spread in the strategic locations of that city. Wherever we venture, this strategy will be followed in the coming days.
8. What was the approximate turnover for the last financial year? What are your expected revenues in the coming years?
Our turnover for the last financial year was 180 crores and we expect to close the current fiscal in excess of 200 Crores. We are looking at a turnover of INR 500 crores in the next 5 years’ time, which should come from our physical stores and the e-commerce venture both.
9. What are your plans for fundraising in the near future? Have you raised money in the journey so far?
We haven’t raised money in the journey so far. We are just waiting and watching how things go but yes once we decide to expand to other cities, we might plan for some fundraiser. We are open to that. In that case we would look for partners who blend with us well.
10. Your product portfolio at stores is Pharma and Non-Pharma products both? What kind of revenues each stream gives you?
Yes, along with pharma we also have a wide range of non-pharma products. An in terms of revenue share between them, we would have 60% from pharma products, while 40% from non-pharma products.
11. How critical is it to have non-pharma products? How do they impact your topline and bottom-line?
Strategically to ensure that there are walk-ins of customers and ensure the image of Noble Plus as an “experience store” non-pharma products paly a great role in increasing footfalls for us. Also customers get access to the latest products in various categories like skincare, dermo-cosmetics, naturals, supplements, nutraceuticals and alternative skin & body care at our stores.
12. Please share more about E-Commerce model. How will this aid in your growth plans over the next 5 years?
Besides adding new stores, we have also started E-commerce. On our E-Commerce platform, we are more focused on skincare, supplements, and other products such as pet products and basic day-to-day products, etc. Our preliminary experience shows that we are catering to wider range of markets. While our physical stores are primarily anchored in Mumbai and Pune, we have been getting orders from northern, southern, and western India regularly since the launch. And we are indeed happy that our branding is appreciated in smaller towns and villages even without a physical presence. In the coming years, e-commerce venture will bring us with new revenue opportunities and help us in growing fast.
13. Would you see E-Commerce delivering higher revenues as compared to the offline stores in the next five years?
We have always remained selective in the areas we are expanding. In terms of the outreach offered by e-commerce, our target is not only big cities. We believe that e-commerce will help us in reaching smaller cities as well. Our experience of the current youth who prefer a lot in buying online and is also extremely savvy about new and latest products in especially non-pharma category. So, e-commerce venture is a natural extension of current business model facilitating our customer acquisition strategy
