[3] Biyani, who has admitted to making "whimsical decisions", had ignored the prevailing opinion of modelling retail businesses on those in the West and had instead concentrated on concepts that were familiar to India.
Considered at first to be an extravagant risk-taker lacking in worthy business connections, and shunned by his peers for all of these reasons, Biyani's success with Big Bazaar had turned him into a revered figure in the Indian retail sector and a magnet for media attention.
He was, however, facing a threat from the much larger resources of conglomerates such as Aditya Birla Group and Reliance Industries, both of whom had signalled an intention to move into the retail sector.
Pantaloons Retail had a debt-to-equity ratio of 3:1. Business journalist Samar Srivastava said of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 that The crisis that followed blew a hole in Future group's portfolio.
He appointed a cousin, Rakesh Biyani, more methodical and patient than himself, to take over his responsibility for the retail business and in particular to resolve issues with the poor supply chain and internal distribution logistics that had resulted from rapid expansion.
[4] Despite his previous disparagement of the need for the professional advice of others, Biyani turned to McKinsey and Company for assistance and also divested control to senior staff who had been recruited from large businesses such as PepsiCo.
[11] Through the Future Group — to which he has attracted talented senior employees from companies such as ICICI and Reliance Industries[12] – Biyani has taken an interest in business sectors such as insurance and the media.