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Confessions of Kishore Biyani, A Technophobe

The tablet has an ardent new convert

Published: May 3, 2011 06:07:20 AM IST
Updated: May 5, 2011 11:24:08 AM IST
Confessions of Kishore Biyani, A Technophobe
Image: Vikas Khot
Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group

Name: Kishore Biyani
Aim:
To keep things simple
Age: 49 going on 50
Profile: Group CEO, Future Group. Biyani is a pioneer in retailing and perhaps the leading player in this sector.

I was scared of computers and never used them too much. It was only an information tool for me. Most of the time my engagement with a computer was restricted to reading emails. I have never owned a laptop. In my new Vikhroli office [in Mumbai] there is no computer; just the iPad in my bag.

I had never played any computer games. Even I ended up playing Angry Birds!

I was introduced to iPad because a few years ago we were doing a study on “simplicity” for our organisation
and Apple is a company we really admire for its simple products and design.

By simplicity I mean that you should keep human beings in mind while designing anything. Technology was the most complicated thing on this earth and that is why I was scared of technology.

For instance the new iPad [iPad2] starts without you having to press a button. Just open the flip-top and it is active. It reads your mind before you want to do something.

People say it is difficult to type mails on this. I don’t agree. Why do you have to write so much! I find mailing on this brief and effective. Now I watch movies on iPad, usually when I am taking a flight. I can play games. I can listen to songs. I had never been to YouTube. Now I can go to YouTube and enjoy any song on this earth. Now I can check which singer is more popular and that tells me what people like. Just the other day I was checking who is more popular: Mohammed Rafi or Kishore Kumar. And Kishore Kumar is more popular but the best Rafi songs have a lot of hits! I was surprised to find old songs being so popular. Some of them have million or more hits.

We are working on an idea where every salesperson will have an iPad and that will have the entire list of products that we want to sell. Why do you need to stock every single product in your store? We usually stock 1,500 [models] in our electronics section but in cameras alone it is possible to choose from 800 [models]. So the customer can walk in, view all these on the iPad and order! Those who want to touch and feel will choose from the stock available at the store.

The iPad will be the notebook and book of the future. Students will carry just this! In my organisation most of the senior leaders are on iPad.

I can’t say how many hours I use it because it is there with me all the time!

(This story appears in the 06 May, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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  • Sibi John

    KB has always influenced and changed the way Indians shopped . Introducing iPad- salesmen will definetely revolutionize the entire shopping experience . See >Choose > Order >Pay. Simple.

    on May 3, 2011