Subhiksha
Encyclopedia
Subhiksha was an Indian retail chain with 1600 outlets selling groceries, fruits, vegetables, medicines and mobile phones. It began operations in 1997, and was closed down in 2009 owing to financial mismanagement and a severe cash crunch.
. It opened its first store in Thiruvanmiyur
in Chennai
in March, 1997 with an investment of about Rs. 50 Lakh.. It was started and managed by R Subramaniam, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus. Subhiksha planned to open 1000 outlets by December 2008.
Subramanian also planned to invest Rs.500 crore to increase the number of outlets to 2000 across the country by 2009.
In March 2010, Mr. Azim Premji
, a well-known Indian business man, who had invested in Subhiksha through his private investment vehicle only a few months prior to its downfall, said that Subhiksha was a retail equivalent of Satyam
- India's largest corporate fraud. He said, "There was an overstatement of accounts, fake inventory, fake bills, fake companies that money was transferred to."
Early days
The name Subhiksha means prosperity in SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. It opened its first store in Thiruvanmiyur
Thiruvanmiyur
-Transport:The area is easily accessible by Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses and has a sprawling bus terminus. Bus Routes connecting Thiruvanmiyur with other places in Chennai are: 1, 1A, 1C, 1D, 6D, 22A, 23C Extn., 29M,29C Extn., 41C, A47, 47A, 47D, M1, M49, M7, C51, T51, M23, M19, M70,...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
in March, 1997 with an investment of about Rs. 50 Lakh.. It was started and managed by R Subramaniam, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus. Subhiksha planned to open 1000 outlets by December 2008.
Subramanian also planned to invest Rs.500 crore to increase the number of outlets to 2000 across the country by 2009.
Closing down
Trouble for Subhiksha began in late 2008 when the company ran out of cash, bringing its operations to a standstill. Subhiksha faced severe financial crisis pertaining to liquidity. The cash shortage eventually resulted in Subhiksha closing its nationwide network of 1,600 supermarket stores, and defaulting on loans, vendor payments and staff salaries. The overextended chain imploded and all stores across the country were shut down, most likely never to open again.In March 2010, Mr. Azim Premji
Azim Premji
Azim Hashim Premji is an Indian business tycoon and philanthropist who is the chairman of Wipro Limited, guiding the company through four decades of diversification and growth to emerge as one of the Indian leader in the software industry...
, a well-known Indian business man, who had invested in Subhiksha through his private investment vehicle only a few months prior to its downfall, said that Subhiksha was a retail equivalent of Satyam
Satyam scandal
The Satyam Computer Services scandal was publicly announced on 7 January 2009, when Chairman Ramalinga Raju confessed that Satyam's accounts had been falsified.- Aftermath :...
- India's largest corporate fraud. He said, "There was an overstatement of accounts, fake inventory, fake bills, fake companies that money was transferred to."