Retail Dude

Retailtainment simply means combination of Retailing and Entertainment. As Indian retail sector is growing at fast pace, need for such platforms is increasing. Retailers are trying to become one stop shop for consumers where they can satisfy all their needs. This requires big format retailers like Big Bazar, Spencers, Hypercity etc. to blend their Retail format with flavor of entertainment. So, when a consumer come to shop their, apart from offering them all kind of SKU’s, retailers also give them a place to sit, relax and sip a cup of coffee and have little bit of snacks and chit chat. I Know that this concept is not new in India, many retailers already implemented it year or two ago. But now retailers are moving a step further and looking in the concept of co-branding in Retailtainment. This means, previously they just had a small café kind of place managed by them. But now they will have branded coffee shops, bakeries, pizza providers to enhance the customer’s experience.

Spencer’s has thus tied up with reputed food joints, restaurants and coffee shops to set up shop-in-shop within their food courts. This includes tie ups with Flury’s, Monginis, Bread Talk, Daily Breads, Pizza Corner, Nirula’s, Cafe Coffee Day, Barista and Tiffany for such shops. Lifestyle already has Café Coffee Day. Whereas Vishal Megamart and Big Bazar still operates their own restaurant.

With increasing competition in retail segment, players need to think and rethink to add value to their format and provide superior value to customers. They need to differentiate their proposition from that of competition. This is the biggest challenge which they are facing currently.

- Rajeev Damani

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Whole world is eying at $350 billion Retail Market of India which is expected to double its size by 2015. Wal-Mart & Tesco have planned to open its first Cash & Carry store by 2009 end. Carrefour has also decided to enter Indian market in same format. Seeing the plans of its rivals, Metro AG who is already established in Indian Cash & Carry business has planned to double it’s presence in India. They plan to invest $120 million to open at least four new centers in Bengal. They are waiting for the license from Bengal Government to deal in agricultural produce and source directly from farmers. They will wait for a decision till 29^th September by which the government will decide on course of action. I hope that Metro AG will have a good time with Forward Bloc who is opposing organized retail in the state.

- Rajeev Damani

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We will be soon seeing Cherokee, a US based brand in Arvind’s Megamart which sells brands at discount. Arvind Ltd. entered in a licensing agreement with Chekokee Inc. to market their family lifestyle brand across India. Arvind already has strong presence in Male segment, this agreement will help it to grow in Women and Kids segment too.

“Arvind has been a specialist in men’s brand in India, through this agreement we are planning to tap the women and children’s apparel market in a big way,” Megamart’s chief operating officer K.E. Venkatachalapathy said at a press meet.

- Rajeev Damani

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Magppie a very known and respectful name in designer & lifestyle home accessories market is all set to open 40 retail stores in India. Megappie was launched in India in year 2000 and has three manufacturing facility in Kundli, Haryana. They are not new in Indian retail and their brand is already present in leading retail stores like Shoppers’ Stop, Lifestyle, Jagdish Store etc. and has 10 stores , of which seven are into
retailing stainless steel products and three in modular kitchen. They aim to achieve turnover of Rs.400 crores in next 3-4 years from Rs.125 crores now. The company exports its products to around 40 countries including US, Australia and European nations.

With growing middle class and desire to live class life, need for such luxury and stylish products is growing in India. Magppie’s deals in Table Top, Dining, Tea & Coffee sets, Barware, Décor, Bath Accessories etc. They have a premium brand called Kohinoor which has stainless steel product crystallized with Swarovski crystals.

Though the brand is doing well for past many years, but I still doubt their decision to go retail seeing the unpredictable nature of Indian consumer. But they may get first movers advantage as there is no known chain in the category they are in.

- Rajeev Damani

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The concept will have far reaching benefits. People usually throng to malls, multiplexes or food joints to spend some quality time with friends and family over the weekend, since they are not left with much choice. Imagine a place which showcases the ethnicity of India and at the same time, clubs modern retail with modern amenities. A sylvan retreat in many senses. The places already mentioned, have fabulous setting and not to mention with all the amenities taken care of. They have all the good food, all the good handicrafts,all the good traditional folklore and even a historical display.

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Every company or retailer worry about their bottom line, because this is the thing which they want to see increasing on day to day basis and for that they strive day and night. But now their problem become triple and they have to worry triple times as now their is not bottom line their is triple bottom line to take care of.

The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) is the phrase was coined by John Elkington in 1994. It was later expanded and articulated in his 1997 book Cannibals with Forks: the Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. The concept can be old but because of the much hype of green, many retailers are going to materialised this concept now. The green is about sustanability which in turn is an explicit component of most CSR agendas and is being used by many to rethink and retool business processes and their responsibility for ’stakeholders’ rather than shareholders. In this case, ’stakeholders’ refers to anyone who is influenced, either directly or indirectly, by the actions of the firm. According to the stakeholder theory, the business entity should be used as a vehicle for coordinating stakeholder interests, instead of maximising shareholder(owner) profit.

TBL determines the impact of three P’s : profit, people and planet on the business and this is becoming the standard framework for CSR. “Profit, People and Planet” are used to succinctly describe the triple bottom lines and the goal of sustainability. Thus a comprehesive CSR agenda should cover economic, social and environmental factors.

In my marketing classes I saw these “P”s increasing from 4 (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) to 7 (Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Packaging, Positioning, People) but now what I am seeing is a new P is adding to it which is “Planet” making them 8Ps of marketing mix, but ultimately all these Ps lead to one P only that is “Profit”, which really matters in the end.

-Prateek Katiyar

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I was amazed when I got to know that some brand has opened up a portable store in Manhattan. A little bit of googling helped me to know more about it. I was furthre shocked when I came to know that same has been done by a luxury brand who are always considerd something sophisticated and need to have a goot retail outlet. Iisli, a high-end brand has opened up something of a pre-fab store on Bond Street in lower Manhattan. The retail outpost, which is 1,000 square feet large but currently takes up 2,500 square feet of raw space on Bond St., is designed to be taken apart and reconstructed easily in almost any space - it’s got a self-contained lighting system, fitting rooms, clothing racks, etc. The shop is furnished with pieces from founders Sisi and Nelson Li’s own apartment.

Sisi Li, who is the line’s designer, describes the brand’s retail vision:

“For us, it’s like the modern way to do retail. This way, we can travel with the store and try out different neighborhoods. It’s like we are trying out the relationship before we marry.“

The shop will remain on Bond St. till February 1st, before it moves on to other locations - possibly Miami, Las Vegas, Tokyo, or Berlin.

(Source: www.psfk.com)

- Rajeev

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As per predictions by Deloitte and TNS/Retail Forward, it’s going to be the worst holiday shopping season for US since the 1991 recession. An analyst from Strom Exchange future analyzed that as temperature is getting cooler tear on year, it will hit retail in holiday season negatively there.

They forecasted that 2008 holiday season will generate the weakest sales gains in 17 years. TNS forecasted that retail sales will grow by 1.5% where as Deloitte is slightly more optimistic and predicts sales for the November-January period will increase 2.5% to 3%. However both of them have not included recent turmoil at Wall Street, which is supposed to again hit retail specially luxury segment negatively. Last year, holiday sales grew 3%, the smallest increase since 2002. Deloitte highlighted higher gas and food prices as a major cause which will reduce trips to shopping malls.

Analysts say the recent decline in oil prices will be offset by higher unemployment, higher food prices and the continued slump in the housing market. Declining prices at the pump are expected to be offset by higher winter heating costs.

Season is going tough for major department stores such as Macy’s and JC Penney. Upscale retailers such as Saks and Nordstrom will also suffer. But discounters like Wal-Mart and Target are likely to benefit as shoppers will look for more bargains.

- Rajeev Damani

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Localization of Avertisements

 From above definition, we can derive following important aspect of advertising process:

• Communicating a message - Cause
• Influence purchasing behavior & thought patterns - Effect
• Persuasive & Informative – Enabler

Language is the key criteria for effectiveness of these three aspects. Message must be communicated in a language which is comfortable to the audience and influence them in a positive manner. At the same time it will be more effective if the communication is persuasive and informative.

Language to be used in an advertisement should be determined based on the product and the user group for the product. For instance, advertisement for a luxury good should be publicized in English whereas same for a necessity is preferred to be done in local language for greater communicability and mass reach.

Two Indian Americans, Aradhna Krishna and Rohini Ahluwalia of University of Michigan and Minnesota, respectively, examined the role of language in advertising in India. Their results indicate that multinationals marketing products, among bilingual populations, should pay special attention to language.

They determined how the language hits viewers mind in relation to a product category. This happens as different products have different user groups. They found that participants’ perceptions of advertisements changes significantly when different languages are used.  “While Hindi is associated with belongingness (close, personal, friendly, family), English is associated with sophistication (global, cosmopolitan, urban, upper class),” they wrote. They found that whereas detergents can be advertised effectively in Hindi, English is preferred for Luxury items like chocolates. Airtel, Coca Cola, Fevicol are some of the brands which advertise in local language in two and three tier cities. But as far as Cadbury is concerned, they prefer Hindi or mixed language.

The researchers also found that people responds favorably to mixed-language advertising. A classic example for mixed-language advertisement can be that of Frooti the first tetra pack fruit juice of India by Parle Agro Foods. They use the jingle “Mango frooti, fresh-n-juicy” with their Hindi advertisement effectively. Whereas use of Bengali language by all major advertisers for their products during Durga Pooja in Kolkata (rather whole Bengal) can be an example for use of local language to influence masses.

Coke in Bengali

- Rajeev Damani

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With a strong sense of passion and committment towards the society, the TATA Group has created spaces in millions of beating hearts over the years. One such mentionable act was when Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) set up the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) in 1980 to promote its social objectives for the communities in and around Mithapur and Babrala, where its facilities are located.

Under this initiative, the women of Okhlamandal (Gujrat) have their own flagship brand called the OKHAI (http://okhai.org). Their traditional art has come alive; mirror work, patchwork and embroidery are all a vibrant expression of their way of life, their rituals and their legends is now out into the open for all cultures to see. The brand now has its first store launched 4th July in Himalayan Mall in Ahmedabad and plans for more.

The most important thing about this retail initiative is just the cause behind it. It supports hundreds of women in the region and has become their livelihood for a better future. There is no factory production or a line up to facilitate more churn out. All products in the store are very much made the same way by the women in the Mithapur Facility itself. Though there are efforts being made to make it large scale. Okhai has a websire of its own where you can shop too!. Hints of modern retailing linked to rural roots. Now thats rural retailing according to me.

- Sudip

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