DistiMan, a mobile app that maximises profits for mom and pop retailers through on-demand stocking, plans to enter more tier II cities and reach out to 10,000 retailers from the current 3,000.
Lalit Bhise, CEO of Mobisy Technologies, which owns DistiMan, said its platform helps retailers make double the profit. “We are a profitable company, and we have been growing six times in the last three months. We want to reach out to 10,000 retailers,” he said.
The app enables brands and retailers to directly communicate with each other about offers, discounts and brands benefits, consequently providing real-time data of demand and supply. It has presence in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mysuru, and over 160 brands are on DistiMan.
“Usually, kirana stores get stocks from distributors for some 15 days. But through this app, they can do just-in-time procurement from their smartphones. It helps retailers in right stocking and reduce potential sales loss up to 10x,” said Chief Growth Officer Arun Narayanan.
Microsoft Accelerator
DistiMan was one of the startups that graduated from the Summer 2016 cohort of Microsoft Accelerator.
Mumbai-based retailer Jithendra Bhanushali who uses DistiMan, who was present at the recently-held accelerator programme, said he is now sub-stockist, and that he delivers stocks to other retailers too. “These days, everybody uses apps and there is nothing difficult in placing orders,” he said.
Bhise said they are not replacing distributors, but acting as one in those places that brands do not have its presence. “If you take mom and pop stores, there are more than 1.5 crore across the country. We are right now focusing on smaller targets in terms of our expansion to other cities,” he added.