Background Music, A tool to boost sales in organised retail

Music is a passion today. People like to listen to their favourite numbers. Music creates a healthy environment in the store. A better music will help in keeping the customer for a longer time in the store. It also keeps the staff fresh and gears them for the sales. These employees may have a work schedule of 12 hours a day.
Departmental stores were the first in India which started the trend of playing background music. The new retail formats which are up coming up and with stores being visited by the youth to a larger extent, stores started playing music because variety is what liked by the youth in anything they experience. The selection of music should be in sync with the type of store and the instrument used to play the music need to be properly installed and operated. Playing music at the right volume has been found to lower down the movement of customers going out from the stores which results in the increased sales. According to the survey conducted by coco-cola when the background music in shopping malls is decreased from 108 to 60 beats per
Minute, customers tend to move with their trolley slower and sales increase by as much as 38%. Background music thus has been found to influence the amount of time and money spent, both real and perceived, at the store by customers. It establishes an emotional attachment with a particular store.
Another important thing is to be considered is that the background music should complement with the store format and ambience as well as the brands sold over there. Music is a passion for every one hence appropriate music is played in a right way.
Do’s and Don’t in the case of music in stores
Playing music through proper medium such as through satellite or computer rather than playing through radio as commercials can break the mood. Selecting the right music system and number of speakers to be used in the store.
Multiple speakers should be places in the store at soffit height, as this will create surround sound quality. Selection of songs should be done in accordance with business being run. Music should be played at low volume.
If background music and TV are being played simultaneously, then try to mute TV. In sport stores and fitness centres, if TV and background music being played together, then prefer switching over to sports channel. Try to play background music at low but audible level so that customers can interact with each other and staff easily. Never play high pitched music in a crowded store as it increases the movement of customers facing to rush. have a good collection of songs and play through proper system without any cracking sounds.
The Retail stores that sell merchandise related to infants and kids generally play music like jingles and poetry. This makes kids feel comfortable and it also please their parents. Classical music and jazz are often played in apparel stores. A premium boutique dealing in ethnic and designer wears catering to the premium customer should play classical music with reinforces its upscale image. And in the case of restaurants classical and jazz music will provide a king size feeling. In the case of pubs and bars live music events, organised disco or karoke nights. The kind of music played in fitness centres is called foreground music as it played at higher volume, how ever at lesser volume compared to discos. So the latest national and international music can be played. This will encourage people to burn their extra calories.
Playing the right kind of music at the stores helps the retailers to establish an emotional connect with the customers and position the brand. The music is an integral part of shopping experience. The challenge for every retailer is to have just the right music mix so that it engages rather than annoys the customer. The music played in a store is a part of brand positioning, and it should be left to chance .If one wants to connect with customers on an emotional level, there is nothing more powerful than the right music.

Christy Sebastian
christychayan@gmail.com
PH:+91 9447373449

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions, running
on a very low budget, by relying on time, energy and imagination
instead of big marketing budgets. Typically, guerrilla marketing is
unexpected and unconventional, where consumers are targeted where they
would not be expecting, which can make the idea that's being marketed
memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally. The term was coined
and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla
Marketing. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary to also
describe aggressive, unconventional marketing methods generically.

Levinson says that when implementing guerrilla marketing tactics,
small size is actually an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Small
businesses and entrepreneurs are able to obtain publicity more easily
than large companies; they are closer to their customers and
considerably more agile.

Levinson identifies the following principles as the foundation of
guerrilla marketing:

1.Guerrilla Marketing is specifically geared for the small business and
entrepreneur.
2. It should be based on human psychology instead of experience,
judgment, and guesswork.
3. Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time,
energy, and imagination.
4. The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of
profits, not sales.
5. The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are
made each month.
6. Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying
to diversify by offering too many diverse products and services.
7. Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more
referrals, more transactions with existing customers, and larger
transactions.
8. Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with
other businesses.
9. Guerrilla Marketers should always use a combination of marketing
methods for a campaign.
10. Use current technology as a tool to empower your business.

Retail giant Future group’s Big Bazaar is a keen adapter of Guerrilla marketing, if we closely monitor their ads they are directly targeting Shoppers Stop and Westside. Shoppers Stop advertises using the slogan “Make a smart choice” and Big Bazaar advertises using a slogan “Change your lifestyle, Make a smart choice” and “Keep West-aside”
Thus we see that guerrilla marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to communicate to the target consumers.

Suraj Kumar
0091-9895568194

A study on Shelf space management

Relevance of Shelf space management
Impact of retail boom in India shows its reflection in Kerala also .Many of the global as well as domestic retail giants such as Lulu ,Reliance, Spencers , Big Bazar, More etc are trying to enhance their footprint by setting up new format of retail shops in Kerala. The market potentiality of Kerala market is one of the reasons for this. When these organised players are trying to strengthen their position, the existing retail players in both the organised and unorganised sectors in Kerala are struggling to gain competitive advantages. SupplyCo, which is going to face an immense competition from the retail giants, as it is a major retail player in the public sector in Kerala.
The State-owned Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation, popularly known as Supplyco, is readying itself to face the competition in retail market in the State. Supplyco, the biggest retail chain in India in the public sector with more than 2,700 retail outlets in Kerala, has chalked out strategies to attract new customers and retain the existing consumers. The new initiatives adopted by the company equipped to meet the competition from those retail giants are as follows:
 Computerised and networked all the depots and retail outlets.
 Stretch retailing (door delivery system).
 E-retailing.
 The privilege card facility.
 Modernisation of human resources to face the challenges.
 Managing the shelf space etc.
Among these initiatives, by realising the importance of shelf space in the organised retail, a study is conducted on the shelf space management of retail outlets of SupplyCo , as it represents the whole organised retail outlets in the public sector in Kerala. The main objective of the study is to check whether the shelf space management strategy of SupplyCo is competent to other major retailers in Kerala.
The shelf is the location where any product meets the consumer, whereas the shelf is also the final inventory location in the retail supply chain. Actually the shelves of a retail outlet is like a ‘silent sales man’, that is, it is in such a way that inspiring the customer to take product from the shelf and finally purchase it. Shelf space management is also called as category management. It can be defined as a retailer-supplier process of managing categories as SBU (Strategic business units), producing enhanced results by focusing on delivering consumer value.. It would be developed as a strategy for retailers to successfully compete in each retail category for the shopper’s loyalty and money. It recognises the interrelatedness of products in the category and focuses on improving performance of whole product category rather than the performance of individual brands.
By observing the shelf space allocation strategy followed the retail outlets of SupplyCo, it is being found that the shelf space management is not that much competent to in the following ways:
 There are no display staffs for displaying the products on the shelves attractively.
 Some products are having not that much movement (static) from their respective shelves. This leads to some brands in certain product category are accumulating in the shelves which in turn creating problems in supply chain management of the organisation.
 They are not following a systematic way of arranging the product in the shelves of outlets.
 Sales achieved per square feet for a category is comparatively low with that of retail giants in private sector.
 One of the main problems is that few of the product categories are utilising more space in the shelf but keeping low sales. This will adversely affect the overall sales of the retail outlet.
 Shelves are not attractive in nature. The retail shelves are having the duty of silent sales man, which encouraging the prospective customers into actual customers. For this purpose the shelves should designed to be attractive.
 The interrelated factor that affects the shelf space, the interior store design, is not attractive and competing.
 SupplyCo is having some private labels but not attractively packaged. If it is so, it would enhance the sales.
Recommendations regarding the improvement of shelf space management for the retail outlets of SupplyCo in order to gain a competitive advantage over the other retail giants in Kerala are the following:
 The shelf space allocation strategy become more effective and attractive only by appointing display staffs in the outlets.
 Making sure the right space is allocated for the right product is a key part of a store’s productivity.
 Attempt to improve the handling of their private label product development and also presenting it also in a manner (including advertising) similar to a national or an international brand. Private labels of SupplyCo should have to pack in attractive packages, which help to increase the sales.
 Ensure enough space for the smooth movement of shopping cart in between the shelves in the outlets. While shopping this would be convenient to the customers.
 Try to allocate more shelf space to FMCG products that contribute more sales per square feet.
 Apply JDA Software’s Space & Category Management solutions, which use advanced category management technology to create a bridge between the supplier and retailer. This allows valuable insight into each other’s business, so that shelves are carefully planned in line with a particular retailer’s sales goals.
 An area in a store that receives the most traffic can be used to sell the higher demand items or promote the seasonal products such as produce.
The allocation of scarce shelf space among competing products is a central problem in retailing. Shelf space allocation affects store profitability. Retailers are increasingly looking regarding how to stock shelves for maximum profitability, while improving the shopping experience for their customers. Understanding shelf space availability, along with consumer demand, allows retailers to develop a replenishment strategy to avoid excess inventory and plan for a rise in the purchasing of a product based on season or promotions. Hence by keeping all the aforesaid matters regarding shelf space management, SupplyCo could make a competitive advantage over the other retail giants in Kerala.

Posted by: RENJITH BABU.M
renjithbm@rediff.com

“DO OR DIE” BY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Introduction to Indian Retail Industry:
According to AT Kearney's annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), India holds a top most position for the most attractive market for retail investment across the globe and according to industry estimates the industry is estimated to grow from the US$ 330 billion in 2007 to US$ 427 billion by 2010 and US$ 637 billion by 2015. Simultaneously, modern retail is likely to increase its share in the total retail market to 22 per cent by 2010.
India has one of the largest numbers of retail outlets in the world. Of the 12 million retail outlets present in the country, nearly 5 million sell food and related products. Organised retail has increased its share from 5 per cent of total retail sales in 2006 to 8 per cent in 2007. The fastest growing segments have been the wholesale cash and carry stores (150 per cent) followed by supermarkets (100 per cent) and hypermarkets (75-80 per cent). Further, it estimates the organised segment to account for 25 per cent of the total sales by 2011.
The major reasons for this growth is due to large number of young population in the country (around 70% are below the age of 35) , Change in income profiles, Due to high spending and consuming power and increase in working women population etc.
IT – “The Backbone of Retail”
Information Technology plays a very important role for the development of retail in the country. IT helps the retailer as well as vendors and suppliers to work effectively and efficiently for their developments. It is estimated that over $2.5 billion will be spent on IT in the Indian retail sector by 2010. This will include the cost of acquiring new assets as well as looking after existing infrastructure. Over 40% of this will be spent on software and services,”
IT Innovation is happening not just at the backend, but also at the customer facing end. It’s taking place all over, right from where the customer enters a store to the point where he leaves. This essentially covers the whole process of buying of products, right from selecting to decision making and paying at the checkout counter. There are lot of applications and packages are available for helping Retail industry, I am going to discuss only the major applications and packages in detail.
List of Applications:
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) – For Tracking items
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software – For building customer loyalty
• Inventory management system – To reduce Shrinkage
• Supply chain management – For Profit maximizing
• Merchandise Management System (MMS) – For Effective merchandise planning
• CCTV systems – To control shoplifters and to count walk in
• E-Retailing – Future Retailing
• M-Retailing – Save your time

Main Advantage of IT use in Retail:
• Used for Demand Forecasting
• Easy knowing of Customer preference and their needs
• Reduces risk and cost
• Operational efficiency through better management of supply chain, inventory and store
• Improved productivity through automation, e.g. use of POS
• Enhanced customer experience through use of kiosks, mobile POS, digital signage
• Transparency in business process
• Increased ROI
• Easy tracking of inventory and leakage
• Allows performance management across locations, categories, etc.
List of IT -Retail solutions Providers in India:
• Wipro, Infosys and Microsoft for RFID systems
• Sify for ERP, Inventory management
• Qual soft for POS, Warehousing Management, Purchase Order Management, Inventory Management
• Zenith for CRM, SCM and MMS
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It is not a new concept. RFID is a system that uses radio waves to transmit an object's identity. There are several methods of identifying objects using RFID, but the most common is to store an ID or serial number that identifies a specific product along with other information, on a tag, which is a small microchip attached to an antenna. The antenna enables the chip to transmit whatever identification information it contains to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves from the RFID tag into digital information that software systems can use for processing.
Typically, when a reader reads a tag, it passes three things to a host computer system: the tag ID, the reader's own ID, and the time the tag was read. By knowing which readers are in which locations, companies can know where a product is, as well as what it is, and by tracking the tag data by time, they can know everywhere it's been. Radio Frequency Identification in the retail industry has solved major problems related to customer services. With the help of RFID it becomes easy for the sales staff to locate a particular item in the store and check its availability in less time.
RFID in Retail helps in the following ways:
• Improve security against shoplifting
• Automate product movement, identification and authentication
• Increase speed and efficiency throughout the retail process with fewer errors
• Improve efficiencies for billing, reporting and end of day settlement
• Gain greater control over costly inventory management
• Increases customers loyalty and level of services
• Provide real-time connectivity between production floor and retail floor, thus reduce minimum stock level requirement
• Increase overall labour productivity and decrease overall labour cost
The future of RFID is very bright in retail sector, as right from inventory management to product manufacturing, this system provides a more efficient and advanced retail experience to both the customer and the seller.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
Customer Relationship Management Software also known as CRM is software that allows a company to manage their relationships with their customers by capturing, analysing, and storage of customer, partner, vendor details and also internal process information.
The key functionality of a CRM system is divided into 3 basic modules these are Marketing, Service and Sales and the 3 aspects of the system are Operational, Collaborative and Analytical (See figure1.0).
The marketing module deals with providing functionality of short term execution of marketing related activities and long term planning within a company.
The service module focuses on how effective the system is of managing customer service which is planned or unplanned. The some of the functions of the Service module are Service Order Management, Resource Planning and Scheduling, Service Level Agreement Management and Planned Services management.
The sales module focuses helping the sales team of the company to manage and execute the pre-sales process, making it more organized. The sales team in most companies are responsible for capturing any leads or opportunities, capturing customer interaction, the CRM helps them process this data and monitor it in the future.

Inventory Management System

A powerful inventory management system is the base of the every good retailer. Let’s see in what way this system helps to the retailer in detail.

More Accurate Inventory

With an inventory management system, you can get minors to major’s reports on what you have in stock, on order, and in transit. Retail software with an inventory management system eliminates the guesswork from running your retail business.


Timelier Ordering

Inventory management systems can be set up to automatically notify you when it's time to order more inventory, such as when stock falls below a prearranged level. By always having your hottest items in stock, you'll be sure to not miss sales due to out-of-stock items. It will even generate purchase orders automatically

Identify What's Hot (And What's Not)

An inventory management system tracks which items are selling and which are not. By identifying your less moving items, you can adjust their position, pricing, or other issues earlier. You can also see which items are often purchased in pairs, so you can group them consequently in the store.

Future innovations in Retail:

Smart card Billing:

This is not a new technology for America. The main objective of this technology is to reduce the billing time .In which, each customer will be provided smart card by the respective retail store during customer purchases the goods .The customer just have to insert the smart card in their shopping trolley. This trolley will detect the customer profile which will be controlled by central server of the store.

While customer taking goods and putting into trolley the computer will identify the type, No of items and price of the good and this data will sent to billing counter. If, the customer again taken out goods from trolley the data will again calculate. So, the majority of billing is done by trolley just customer has to put goods in that. While the customer reaching the billing counters the bill will be generated and customer has to pay only money. So, the customer as well as retailer ultimately saves the time.

Conclusion
This are the various applications are used in Indian retailing. Today world is very competitive everyone is running to reach their targets. Since the government policies regarding retailing are liberal, so lot of foreign players like Wal-mart, Tesco, and Carrefour are already planned to enter into our country and many player are decided to come since India is a favourable destination for retail. These players will be well advanced in Technologies. So, this is the major threat for existing organised and unorganised players in the country.
India players like Pantaloons, Spencer’s, Shoppers stop are already adopted various technologies to compete with new players. So, my kind advice to existing and new players in both organised and unorganised has to implement Information Technology in their business to avoid loss and risk.

R.Muthukrishnan
muthupearl10@gmail.com

A Study on store atmospherics of a specialty store at Reliance Timeout

Abstract
Indian cities are witnessing a paradigm shift from traditional form of retailing, to modern outlets. Store atmospherics emerging as key stimuli is explored in the paper.

Keywords: Organised retailing, Store Atmospherics, Visual Merchandising, Store patronage

Store Atmospherics of a specialty store
The study undertaken looks at importance of store atmospherics in retailing. Indian retail is fastest growing sector in India, growing at a rate of 49%.Retail industry alone contributes to approximately 10% of the G.D.P and constitutes to around 8% of the employment. The new age malls and retail stores are showcasing the new face India, the emerging superpower.
Atmospherics refers to the sum total of the physical characteristics of a store. Atmospherics help build a store image and attract consumers. Atmospherics describes the physical elements in a store’s design that appeals to consumers and hence encouraging them to make purchases.
The study has been conducted in association with Reliance timeout, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ltd at Bangalore. Reliance timeout is a unique specialty store handling varied categories including books, movies, music, stationery, toys fragrances etc. The study helps gain insight into the finer impacts of visual merchandising and store layout.
Effectively increasing the per sqft earning of retail space is the primary objective of the study seconded by understanding shopping influences from store atmospherics. Research conducted includes descriptive studies from around 200 customers, interview and observational techniques. Comprehensive data analysis using Spss and ms excel has been undertaken. The study would help in brand building and customer retention.

For more information contact
Suraj Kumar Plakkote
surajearly@gmail.com

RETAILING

Retailing can be defined as all activities that adds value to the products and services sold to consumers for their personal or family use. A retailer plays an integral part in the distribution channel. Retailers functions to provide the consumers with a wide assortment of products and services and forms and sizes that can be easily consumed. Retailing in India is undergoing a paradigm shift from the mom and pop shops to heavy organized retail. India holds the record number of retail outlets in the world numbering 12 million, with almost 85% of it in the unorganized sector. Indian organized retail is growing at a brisk pace of around 49%. Indian retail is expected to employ around 3.5 million employees in the year 2008-09.
Understanding the huge potential posed by Retailing , we a team of young and dynamic students from SCMS-COCHIN have chosen Retailing as our specialization for our post graduation and this blog is a forum to share our views and discuss latest trends in retailing.

AMBUSH MARKETING

Ambush marketing a new innovative counter marketing strategy that is very prominent in today’s global environment.
Ambush can be defined as concealing yourself and waiting to attack by surprise.
Ambush marketing is a marketing campaign that takes place around an event but does not involve payment of a sponsorship fee to the event. For most events of any significance, one brand will pay to become the exclusive and official sponsor of the event in a particular category or categories, and this exclusivity creates a problem for one or more other brands. Those other brands then find ways to promote themselves in connection with the same event, without paying the sponsorship fee and without breaking any laws.
Ambush marketing is very prevalent in the sports world; prominent ambush marketing strategies have been witnessed in India namely Coke sponsoring the ICC Cricket World Cup and Pepsi coming out with “nothing official about it” ad campaign.
Ambush marketing arises out of the fact that there is a huge hype surrounding mega events like the Olympics, cricket and football world cup’s. The huge marketing potential for such events arises out of the fact that such events have huge customer viewership.
Ambush Marketing take two forms namely
• Association Ambushing- Where in the non-sponsor gives the impression of being an official sponsor by using words or symbols associated with the event
• Intrusion Ambushing- Where in the non-sponsor rides along with the main sponsor by gaining access to the exposure of the event, eg: advertising in near by areas.


Ambush Marketing can be identified as follows
1. Sponsoring media coverage of an event
2. Sponsoring a sub-category within a event
3. Sponsoring the physical elements like people associated with the event

Thus we understand that ambush marketing is a problem faced by some marketers who are not able to reap the full benefits from certain marketing strategies. We understand that there are legal loopholes that have to be rectified. Sponsorship to events should be restricted and regulated for we should understand that today’s advertiser could be tomorrow’s ambusher.

SURAJ KUMAR PLAKKOTTE

INDIAN FOOD RETAIL STORY IS A HIT

The Indian organized retail growth is the talk of the hour today, apart from every obstacle it’s growing 49.73% annually with a penetration of 8%, which was 1% in 2006 and it is expected to go up to 25% till 2011, which is a unbelievable figure and that’s why it is the most attractive market for last three years according to AT Kearney’s. In this growing retail segment the biggest share holder is the food industry which is nearly 75% out of that 14% belongs to organized sector and why it should not be, India’s population are worlds second highest, out of that population most of the people are young and having 20-30% disposable income which they like to spend on food mostly and other reasons like changing life style, increasing women working population, nuclear family in urban sector etc. The main reason why it is growing so fast is due to experiential marketing with a price conscious nature that it provides.
Traditionally the food retail is dominated by local kirana stores who sell dry foods and pushcart vendors who sell fruits and vegetables as it was protected from foreign players for long years. This scenario will be clear if Indian scenario will be compared to our neighbours, share of organized sector in Malaysia is nearly 50%, Thailand 40%, Philippines 35%. Also another major difference we found is the consumer consumption pattern, people here prefer more freshly cooked food rather than packed foods due to reasons like dietary patterns, low penetration of refrigerators, family structure are the primary reasons. Coming to rural segments the rural segment is worth US$ 45 Billion market by 2010 and it’s expected to grow at 36%.
So there is a need of understanding of changing pattern and trends in consumer behaviour and the future challenges for retailers. Impact of foreign retailers on Indian and analysis of the industry closely.

The factors why Indian consumer are heading for a change in there buying behaviour-
- Growing number of nuclear families, with male and female both working, changed the food preference of the family. Now they prefer packed food rather cooked food.
- Consumers are now more urban and more conscious for healthy and hygienic foods so this may go for packed foods.
- Due to lack in time consumer may prefer more shelf life packed food available in super markets.
- Convenience, large product line, quality and availability may result in shift from unorganized to organized retailing.
- Changing family structure, westernisation, up word trend in use of credit cards made it a attractive place for supermarkets.
- Increasing number of middle class families and increasing number of mortar cycle users is another reason for changing in buying pattern.

The above are about the changing consumer behaviour and in bellow I will be telling about what the benefits consumer are really getting from the organized food retailing-

- Now the Indian consumer is going through a transformation, they are now getting better shopping experience.
- Low price, easy accessibility and fresh vegetable is the main reason for heading for retail shops.
- New definition for retail shops like family outing and recreation centres for busy couples, so they can shop and spend time together.
- Multiple service and product under one roof.
- The friendly nature and behaviour of staffs made the shopping more lively for Indian consumers.

The above was all about the consumers of India what is there perception and the benefits they are going to get out of the deal then what about the Impact of foreign players on Indian retail industry –

As we know Indian market is a very lucrative market after all so all foreign players will be interested to enter it, this will open up new opportunities -

- Due to foreign players entrance efficient supply chain method will be practiced so that the gap between prices receive by farmer and price paid by consumer will be decreased. Benefit for both.
- Indians almost pays 4-5 time more than farm-get price compared to in developed countries consumer pays only 1.5 times more.
- Productivity gain will generate more employment and more income opportunities.

The foreign player entrance may close up so many opportunities in the industry like-
- Due to entrance of big giants small players will be pushed out of the business.
- Also it is seen that the big retailers are the main reason for down in wages.
- Also may lead to creation of monopoly condition where there are one or few buyers.
- Farmers may be pushed to produce single crop with the help of genetically modified crops which may kill the fertility of land.
- Following trend of big giants where bottom employs get salary bellow poverty level and top ones get millions may increase the division between haves and have not.
- Big players more prefer cheap source of goods from china, Thailand may lead to unfair competition and loss of livelihood in India.

As a retailer student I should analyse the industry so that organisation may use it in there strategic planning process, so there is a need of a SWOT analysis-
Strength of Indian retail food sector –
- Latest technology kept organized retailers one step ahead of unorganized once, like the use of cold chain process helps retailers to deliver foods fresh.
- International players experience in this field of supply chain process and technology is an added advantage.
- Shifting affinity towards supermarkets of young Indian consumers is another advantage.
- Efficient use of supply chain made big retailers to supply foods at very cheaper compared to unorganized once.
Weakness of Indian retail food sector –
- Stand alone shops were established long time back and have large loyal customer base. New giants are just appearing now, they need to settle dawn, expand and grow.
- Trained man power shortage is another disadvantage, its time taking to train and retain them.
- Real estate is another barrier which will add more cost to the operation finally, which retailers have to tackle.

Opportunity of Indian retail food sector –
- Indian food retail segment is nearly 75% of all, out of that organized one is nearly 14%. So huge gap is left to fill up.
- Changing consuming pattern of people.
- Growing potential of tire II & III cities opened up new opportunity.
- More disposables income made people to spend more basically on food.
- FDI allowed in single brand retailing up to 51% made a huge opportunity.
- Growing economy in rural sector and still it is untouched by big retailers is the future potential opportunity for all.
Threat of Indian retail food sector –
- Unorganized once are getting together to fight big giants.
- Shopping culture is just new for Indians.
- Indians mostly prefer cooked food rather packed and there is a huge need to bring dawn the packed food price to make it affordable to all.
- Lack in retail space and high real estate price is making a tough task for big giant.
Conclusion-
To sustain in the growing food market of India retailers have to look up on basic two factors – infrastructure development and change the mindset of people. Many people still think it’s expensive to shop in a air-conditioned room. The 70% rural Indians also need to be catered instead of concentrating on urban India. Also need to take feed back from consumers seriously, some complains coming frequently about food segment is the foods available in big retail units are not fresh, this factor made a way for unorganized retailers to come back and so many are coming back . The cold chain System has to be efficiently operated in India to supply fresh vegetables daily. Once these factors will be taken care nothing can stop organised sector growth.

SOME PLAYERS WHO IS PLAYING-
1. Pantaloon
2. Reliance Retail
3. Subhiksha
4. Jubilant Retail
5. RPG group.


SAMBIT KUMAR SAHOO
RETAIL, SCMS-COCHIN
PH- 09995218696

A New Wave of Merchandising – Indian Retail

Since the introduction of retail store format, merchants have always placed like items together for quick and efficient service. In both full service and self service stores, customers have liked to see the entire range of a product before deciding on a purchase. The customers felt they were making sure they got the best deal and the full value of a product when they shopped in this way. This method of merchandising or organising a store is called Category Merchandising. All items are placed together on one aisle or in one section of the store to get maximum exposure.

Changes in the demographic profile and the majority of women entering the workforce have altered much than just the obvious. Consumers have drastically less time to shop than before and shopping is seen as a pleasure and more as work, thus shopping habits have changed too. Stores that are attuned to their customers’ need are able to select a limited range of products and focus only on these, as they are confident about their customer’s choice. For example, Wal-Mart might stock an aisle full of lamps but Pottery Barn in the US or Kian in India will probably offer only 3-4 styles, which they are sure their customers will love, and incorporate them in their displays throughout the store. All the merchandise is displayed in a lifestyle setting so customers can imagine how it would look in their homes. Most of these stores have no separate sections for different items. Instead, the entire store is organised and displayed like a home, with living room furniture displayed with accessories, bedrooms with beds made in assorted linens complete with nightstands and sleeping attire. This method is called Lifestyle or Solutions Merchandising as it provides solutions to consumers. Consumers are not always looking for products; instead they often looking for solutions and might not have identified what exactly they want to buy.

Retailers who can provide consumers with products that simplify their lives will be winners. Today’s consumers don’t have time to decipher or even absorb all the marketing and the advertising information they are bombarded with. In these circumstances, retailer must do the job for them with solutions rather than too many options. A customer who has to decide between 10 types of floor lamps might just walk out of the store empty handed after being confused by too much information.
Customers are able to spend only a limited time on shopping, mostly on purchase of basic necessities. Shopping is no longer seen as a pleasure activity; most see it as a task that needs to be completed quickly to get back to more important things. Unless retailers are able to understand this distinction, they will lose out on an entire generation of consumers, especially women, who have learned to shop differently. In this scenario, these customers will be visiting stores that are able to provide them services and options that better fit their lifestyle.

With consumers lifestyles changing, shopping patterns have also changed. A smart retailers must keep up with these changes and may be even forecast what their customers will ask for next. Customers are quite willing to try new ways of buying products. the success of home delivery service for DVD’s is an example of how one retailer created a service that simplified customer’s live. On forecasting trends and moving with them, a retailer must not forget the target audience or they might move ahead of what their customers are ready for.

Lifestyle Merchandising besides being virtually more appealing to customers, is a more practical and modern approach. Customers are shown how products are best utilised and often solutions are found for problems that a customer wasn’t sure how to fix. They come to the store with a problem and they would like a retailer to find some solutions for them. Retailers must cautious on one front: they can practice this type of store organisation only they know their customers and their choices very well. If a retailer is not able to gauge the customer’s choice or they select the wrong items then they will end up not selling anything at all. These choices should be made carefully and cautiously.
These ways of organising retail store are not options any more. They are now the ground realities of running a successful business. Customers come to stores already quite knowledgeable on a number of products whether they are interesting in purchasing or not. They do not require instructive sales help like earlier days but instead some friendlier and hassle-free interactions. A retailer must adopt to this new wave of merchandising or be left in silence of empty cash registers.

SARIT HOTA
SCMS-COCHIN

Non-Fuel Retail: An emerging Business Model

One can see conventional market places in high streets and malls, but apart from that retailers are also interested in non-conventional area such as airports and railway stations for their expansion. At present due to unique facilities provided by these retailers at these outlets enabled high density of footfalls. So retailers thought petrol pumps to be the better places for their business plan. In earlier nineties, Bharat Shell Ltd, joint venture between Bharat Petroleum and Shell Overseas Investments of Netherlands, launched the first convenience store at its outlets and given a sign of new emerging business model. So oil companies are concentrating on more customer needs and they are involved in activities in providing all necessary facilities.

Hence the days of what the petrol pumps was vehicle-related is slightly converting into new business model and coming up with facilities ranging over convenience store, laundry, courier, medicines, flowers, fresh fruits, insurance, fast food etc. The purchasing of petrol is totally uninvolved process, so by enhancing such facilities would add value. In India this model of transformation is going on and would definitely in coming days it would contribute more to the retail and have wide range of services. And this provided all the oil companies to enter into the tie-up with the convenience stores, so petrol destinations are now one of the preferred destinations. After filling their vehicles, customers have no time to wait and they prefer fast service. McDonald’s has tied up with HPCL and BPCL, Café Coffee Day has partnership with BPCL and HPCL. IOC has tied up with Domino’s Pizza and Nirula’s; hence these initiatives would definitely going to cater the needs of the customers.

Since retail in India is gaining momentum, this model would offer convenience to the customers and would be a profit center for the company. If you talk about outlets on highways, there the prime needr of the customers is the refreshment and people looj For food jnints and tohlets in hygienic conditions. And to fulfill those needs BPCL is g/ihg tk invect Rs. 6 ballion in the .ext five years to set up _50 Ghar’ outlets_on highways to provide hoMe-away-from-home experience tk truckers and highw`y tra4elers. These outlets will provide non-fuel facilities like shopping, eateries and entertainment. Due to the art of infrastructure facilities of oil companies will attract customers and restaurants in this outlet will provide relaxing destinations for the travelers. Apart by catering the exact needs of the customers will be profitable business, like Café Coffee Day by offering varieties of coffees also had additional items like pakoras, bread and omlette.

The biggest advantage of this business model is the ever-increasing price of real estate and such retail venues become more reasonable options. Also maintenance cost is cheaper compare to outlets in mall and busy market. And more importantly such tie-up would result in cross-promotion of both the brands.

The retailing format will vary from place to place like in heart of city ATM and STD can be a good option, in highway as already discussed. But in rural areas since people are mostly engaged in agriculture, so company offer products according to their needs like HPCL has tie-up with Godrej Agrovet Ltd and the outlets offer fertilizers etc and also IOC has Kisan Seva Kendra where agro-based products like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides are made available.

If one is talking about the revenue share and the profit which both party will get from this model is that a certain percentage of turnovers will go to companies share and also the rentals. And for retailers since the retail space is cheaper, they would have better return on investment.

So in future this model is definitely going to serve the purposes of the customers by providing best services and will be more convenient for them. As such food joints have good future as well as impulse goods and car care products. So beverages, chocolate, ready to eat items, personal care products and diet products which is in demand, can serve better for the customers. Items not popular in these business format are electronic goods, music, cassettes, cosmetics, toys and gifts will face challenges. But overall the business format has good future and in coming day’s better implementation can be done. So if we analyze Oil Company could have strategies in three models- one is non-fuel retailing at their retail outlets, second is fuel at malls and the third is whether they should look at entering non-fuel retail as a business model.
VIKASH SAHU