Bharat Pe founder and one of the Sharks from Shark Tank India Ashneer Grover who has been in the limelight for his ruthless and transparent comments recently revealed how Indian customers are challenging. Grover has been in controversies in the media for his harsh comments towards various startups that came in Shark Tank India.
Speaking to YouTuber Raj Shamani in a talk show, he said that Indians are the world’s most ‘spoilt customers’. He said, “They want everything at their lowest price, in the smallest size and they want it now. And even after that, they want a discount.”
He then talked about the challenges he face when he was working as the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) at Grofers (Now BlinkIt). He said that the MRP cap on goods was a major setback he had to face as people were not willing to pay for service.
“In the US, you know that when you move to the outskirts of a big city, you will find everything at a lower rate and it’s the most expensive in the heart of the city. But India has a concept of Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for every product and that was a big hurdle.”
He also talked about how difficult it is to establish a grocery delivery app when people in India prefer to go to the market rather than order it home. Except for some middle urban class families, people like to buy groceries where they get big discounts on big buys. Some even prefer to buy stuff for the entire month.
“In our country, going to the market is more of social activity and the culture of stocking up does not usually apply as it does in other countries. That’s why building a grocery business was double tough in India,” he said.
Grover has been fighting a full-fledged battle with his BharatPe investors after he hurriedly announced he was going on leave amid the growing pressure and media attention regarding his abusive language to a Kotak employee, a recording of which was viral online.
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