An AI-Powered Revolution in Retail Construction
The Hidden Complexity of Retail Store Construction
Anyone who's walked into a modern retail store - whether it's a Cult.fit gym or a Chaayos café - rarely thinks about the intricate choreography that went into building it. Yet behind every new store launch lies a complex web of contractors, materials, and timelines that would make even seasoned project managers sweat. With over 500,000 retail stores being built or renovated annually in India, it's a $15 billion market hiding in plain sight.
The stakes are surprisingly high. For retail brands, every day of delay means up to $1,000 in lost revenue, dead rent, and idle staff costs. Annually, brands lose up to $5 billion due to delays in retail store construction alone.
This is where MyGenie comes in. Founded by Aman Goel and Shivam Awasthi, the company is building an AI-powered platform to transform how retail stores are constructed. Their vision: to make retail fitouts as predictable and efficient as a factory assembly line.
Building the Operating System for Retail Construction
What makes retail fitouts uniquely challenging is their combination of high complexity and tight timelines. A typical project involves coordinating over 100 line items, 500+ materials from 40+ brands, and 700+ labor shifts across 10-15 different types of workers - all while racing against a 30-day deadline. Traditional contractors, who make up 95% of the market, rely on gut-based decisions and manual coordination, leading to inevitable delays and cost overruns.
MyGenie's solution is two-pronged: advanced AI technology paired with a carefully curated network of execution partners. At the heart of their platform is their AI analyst that converts unstructured information (BOQs, purchase orders, WhatsApp chats) into actionable insights. Robin doesn't just digitize workflows - it actively learns from each project, improving predictions for labor productivity, material usage, and potential delay risks.
This AI layer is complemented by MyGenie's operational playbook that brings unprecedented control to project execution. They work exclusively with small and medium-sized contractors, mandating in-house labor teams and brand specialization. This creates a virtuous cycle where contractors become increasingly efficient with each project for a specific brand.
The results speak for themselves. In pilot projects with Cult.fit, MyGenie's data-driven optimizations led to a 15% acceleration in delivery timelines. Their approach has won them contracts with leading brands like Reliance, Landmark Group, Cult.fit, Chaayos, Mokobara, Dr. Paws among others, with several more in the pipeline.
Early Traction and the Road Ahead
What's particularly exciting about MyGenie is how their unit economics improve with scale. As they execute more projects for a brand, their AI gets smarter, contractors become more efficient, and margins expand.
The platform is seeing strong adoption, growing at 20% month-on-month while maintaining capital efficiency. Their contractor partners are seeing equal benefits - many have doubled their turnover in the last 12 months by being able to handle 3x more projects simultaneously using MyGenie's tools.
Looking ahead, MyGenie is building towards becoming the default operating system for retail construction. Beyond their current focus on store fitouts and renovation, they see opportunities to expand into property scouting, technical recce, and even contractor financing. With India's organized retail penetration set to grow from 18% to 40% over the next decade, they're perfectly positioned to ride this wave.
We're thrilled to partner with Aman, Shivam, and the MyGenie team as they build the foundation for India's retail future. Their combination of deep domain expertise, technology innovation, and focus on unit economics makes them exactly the kind of outlier we love to back.
As they say in construction - measure twice, cut once. MyGenie is measuring everything, and cutting straight through to the future of retail construction.
