Retailers adopt unique models to differentiate and grow

Organized retail in India is characterized by quick expansion to tier 2 and 3 cities, unlike other countries where it has taken quite some years. Retailers are adopting different models and strategies for expansion and consolidation.

-Chillibreeze Business Research Team

General Plans and Information

Trader’s body says report on organised retail is biased

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an apex body of trader and federation association, has condemned the Government-sponsored Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) report on organised retail terming it as biased and overlooking the ground realities of Indian retail trade.

While demanding the Government to formulate a National Trade Policy for Retail Trade and Small Manufacturing Industries, the CAIT Secretary General, Mr Praveen Khandelwal, said, “the report is short-sighted and does not take into account the long-term impact on farmers, manufacturers and consumers. It has been designed in a manner to draw a rosy picture facilitating further entry of MNC retailers.”

He said the trader’s body will soon commission its own study to assess the impact on the unorganised sector. “We will hire a research agency within a week to prepare an impartial and transparent report,” he added.

Noting that small retailers have been showing a steady erosion both in turnover and bottomline with the entry of organised retail, Mr Khandelwal said, “Profit margins have come down to five per cent from 8-10 per cent a few years back”.CAIT also alleged that the multi-national retail chains employed predatory pricing where they cut prices so low to wipe out competition, and if this was allowed in India, it would add to the inflationary pressures.

The association also called for a cluster approach to convert the unorganised retailers into shops under cluster programme.

The ICRIER’s report on ‘Impact of Big Retail on Neighbourhood Stores’ was released on May 26.

The overall size of retail market in India at present is estimated at Rs 15 lakh crore.

Only about three per cent of the retail trade is in the organised sector, the balance 97 per cent is still unorganised.

May 31, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

`Retailers adopt unique models to differentiate

Organised retail chains in the country have adopted unique business strategies to distinguish themselves from each other in a bid to grow in the fast growing modern retail market, said a report on the impact of big retail chains from the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier).

The study took up retailers such as Subhiksha, Tata's Trent, Future Group, ITC, Spencer's, National Dairy Development Board's (NDDB) Mother Dairy for the study and said all of them adopted different strategies – no frills model, single brand model, joint venture and subsidiaries route, backward integration, "duck and the duckling" model, co-operative model – to increase footfalls and maximise revenues.

The study said Chennai-headquartered Subhiksha has used a low-price, high volume strategy, by keeping no fancy frills front-end and by becoming an intermediary at the back end. The report said that the Subhiksha model revolved around small-sized stores of 1,000-1,500 sq ft, situated in close proximity and locating in high population area.

"In a typical Subhiksha store in Delhi, the average footfall is around 600-700, of which, approximately 78 per cent turn into bills,'' the study says.

On the other hand, Spencer's, promoted by RPG group, has used a "duck and duckling" strategy wherein it has destination stores such as Spencer's Hyper and Super in one or two places and many convenience stores such as Spencer's Dail and Fresh in neighbourhood areas.

Spencer's has differentiated itself on product quality, assortment of imported food products and shopping experience. ‘'The company has used the perception of high-quality imported goods, attached to imported goods of old Spencer's & Co brandname,'' the study said.

Trent, owned by Tatas, has used single-brand strategy which focuses on high margin private labels and targets consumers in the socio-economic class B and C. ‘'This strategy allows Trent a better control over the product range, design, and merchandise pricing. Though, footfalls differ from store to store, average customer footfalls range between 800 and 3,000 a day at a given store,'' the study says.

According to the study, Kishore Biyani's Future Group has adopted a "capture all" strategy to increase revenues. ‘'The firm's business strategy is to capture a greater share of the consumer wallet by covering all customer segments in all age groups, in all product categories through multiple retail formats nationwide,'' the report said.

‘'In a lifestyle store, the average customer footfalls are around 1,000, of which, 350 convert into sales transactions. On the value segment, the company attracts an average of approximately 3,000 customer footfalls, of which the sales conversion is between 220 and 250,'' the report added.

According to the study, in 2006-07, retail firms generated a total turnover of Rs 6,472 crore with an average sales per sq ft of Rs 8,298. In 2006, the firms covered in the study had a total of 1,070 stores spread over nearly 5.3 million sq ft across formats. These firms have projected a cumulative increase to over 6,600 stores by 2010.

The report also mentioned that retail stores took three routes to grow – the acquisition route, which gave them a jumpstart and provided an already experienced manpower, infrastructure, front-end property; the JV partnerships, a preferred route for firms seeking foreign collaboration and lastly, greenfield investment route for market entry.

‘'A few firms are also following a mixture of acquisition and JV routes for quick market access. Additionally, firms are strategically expanding verticals by forming subsidiaries or holding firms that act as catalysts to their retail business,'' the report said.

May 28, 2008
Source: Business Standard

‘Organised retail enhances gains for consumers’

The report on the impact of organised retailing on the unorganised sector by the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER) says that organised retail could enhance gains for consumers. It explains that the emergence of organised retail “undoubtedly gives consumers a wider choice of goods, more convenience, and a better shopping environment, among other benefits.”

This, the report says, is feasible because organised retail can take several formats — from small neighbourhood stores in densely populated cities with high real estate prices to large air-conditioned malls on the periphery where real estate is cheaper. Organised retail can appear small but spread in all local markets, providing the convenience of a neighbourhood kirana store but with procurement on a mass scale that keeps prices low and provides greater variety.

The report goes on to cite the US example where with a reasonably long history of organised retail, the retailers have been able to hold prices down, especially for mass-consumption goods. Retailers like Wal-Mart, it quotes a study, have held the US inflation rate down by at least one percentage point (normal inflation hovers around 2–4 per cent). The success of such retailers to hold the price line comes largely from their efficient national and global sourcing and scale economies. “In India, given a very large price-sensitive population, holding the price line for a large mass of consumers could be a great boon to consumer welfare,” it elaborates.

However, the report strikes a word of caution. The lesson, it emphasises, seems clear: any relief in food prices makes consumers happy. But, policymakers need to remember that policies to rein in inflation should not conflict with the interests of other major stakeholders in the economy, especially producers (farmers). “If falling prices for food are achieved by making transportation, logistics, and procurement more efficient then both producers and consumers benefit. However, reducing consumer prices by suppressing prices for producers could lead to a conflict, and policymakers would have to make difficult policy choices,” says the report.

But the benefits on prices with the spread of organised retail won’t be quick, says the ICRIER report. Organised retailers, it says, tend to start off from first-tier cities with high purchasing power and then go to second- and third –tier cities with more price-sensitive populations. Several chains in India have started in cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore, which are prospering from the IT boom, to the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, and then very quickly moving to smaller cities like Jaipur and Chandigarh. In many countries, it takes decades for retail to extend into rural areas. In India, however, it appears that organised retailers are moving very fast in all cities and in all product segments (except meat and meat products). The expected benefits of that expansion are lower consumer prices for the same quality, wider variety, and a better shopping experience. “These benefits should soon percolate to the mass of Indian consumers, assuming that organised retailers have free access to global- and pan-Indian sourcing directly through producers, processors, and specialised agents,” elaborates the report.

May 28, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

‘More benefits for small players, not a threat’

Reacting to the ICRIER report, Mr Martin Dlouhy, Managing Director of Metro Cash & Carry India, said: “Governments of several fast developing States, including the Indian Government, have recognised the need for improved and efficient supply chains and the benefits that they bring to small retailers on the one hand and producers and manufacturers on the other. Such Governments have seen the benefits that cash & carry wholesale brings into the local trading environment and have allowed its entry to protect the interest of small unorganised retailers as well as small and midsized producers and manufacturers.

The ICRIER report validates the benefits accrued by the smaller players through cash & carry wholesale in India. We are fully convinced that Metro’s Cash & Carry concept will bring benefits to the smaller players of the Indian market as it has in 28 other countries around the world, including China – a case in point, mentioned in the study.”

According to Mr Kishore Biyani of the Future Group, kiranas and organised retail have always co-existed. Kiranas cater to daily and weekly needs while we have a different set of customers who are into destination shopping needs.

“Although we have a format (KB’s Fair Price) which is pitted against kiranas, there are limited stock keeping units in that format. An official from Trent Ltd, said, “We have never been competing against kiranas instead we still have a lot to learn from them in terms of logistics and supply chain management.”

Mr Mohit Khattar, President, Marketing of discount retail chain Subhiksha, says that organised retail, even if it grows at the same rate for the next ten years, will still be a fraction of the overall market. He says that operations by players such as Subhiksha have actually helped the farmer by cutting out middlemen, by ensuring correct weightage of vegetables and paying farmers promptly.

“The report has vindicated our stand that organised retailing would not be a threat to the small traders. We don’t say that there won’t be any impact at all,” Mr Anjaneyulu Kakkera, Chairman of Vah Magna, said.

“The report has reiterated whatever we have been arguing all these days. But when a big store is opened, there will be impact on the shops in the neighbourhood for the initial, say, six months. But after that, when everything settles down, it will be business as usual,” he said.

May 28, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Big players - plans and investments

Future Group clashes with Cadbury over price discrimination

The country's largest retailer, Future Group, is in conflict mode with the country's largest chocolates maker, Cadbury India.

Future has boycotted the Cadbury brand across various formats within the group. The group’s chief executive Kishore Biyani said Cadbury is not cutting uniform deals with all modern retailers and is giving better deals to international retailers who may have larger stakes in global markets.

The conflict has been brewing for some months now and discussions between the two finally broke down last week when the retailer sent instructions to all formats to boycott the brand. “Multinational companies have to respect the contribution of Indian modern retailers to their growth and treat us as equal partners in business,” Mr Biyani said.

A Cadbury India spokesperson said, “This has come as a surprise to us, we have received no official communiqué from Big Bazaar. As far as we are concerned, the negotiations are still on to finalise a mutually agreeable set of terms.”

Rejecting Future Group’s claim of discriminatory deals, Cadbury sources said the deals were always local and based on the retailer’s contribution to the local subsidiary sales. “Sales from emerging markets like India are vital to global sales and therefore, it is unlikely that Cadbury will discriminate on this front,” said a senior official.

Shoprite and Metro are dominant global retailers currently operating in India through cash-and-carry formats.

“We have found out from our intelligence network that the company is not cutting uniform deals with all retailers and probably has better deals with international retailers where there are larger stakes involved. We find their ‘conditional terms’ unacceptable, offering fill rates (stocks on shelf) of only 65%.

Such terms are unfair, especially when we have to pay the rent for the entire shelf space to the developer. Cadbury has also been insisting on payments only after an external audit which, for retailers like us who buy and sell and not really stock up, is unacceptable. These are age-old terms offered to wholesale dealers and now forced upon us by Cadbury. In fact, we have been having a dialogue with them over the past few months over this and other issues like non-payment of dues,” said Sadashiv Nayak, Food Bazaar CEO.

However, sources said the growing rift between the chocolate maker and Future Group began after the latter began stocking its shelves with competing chocolates brands at higher profit margins.

In fact, in the past few days, the retailer has also entered into an exclusive tie-up with Tiffany’s to launch its brands at various Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar outlets.

Increasingly, the Future Group has been demanding its pound of flesh from consumer goods makers who have also begun relaxing their stand with modern retailers. Earlier, the retailer had taken on other international companies such as Frito-Lay and GlaxoSmithKline over similar issues, although both are now back to closely working with each other.

Sales from modern retail are now roughly estimated to be around 10-15% of total FMCG sales. Retail watchers say the move was an indication of the changing equation between manufacturers and the growing clout of modern retailers like Future Group.

Over the past three years, Cadbury India has seen over 20% topline growth. Emerging markets already provide one-third of the company’s confectionery revenues and represent its main source of growth. Cadbury Schweppes, which sees India as a ‘battleground and must-win market’, has substantially scaled up capital and revenue investments in the Indian subsidiary.

June 3, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Wadhawan Food Retail mulls integrating brands

Wadhawan Food Retail, which owns Spinach, Sabka Bazaar and Home Store retail formats, is likely to integrate all its brands and has planned an investment of over Rs 1,500 crore in its retail venture.

Wadhawan Food Retail Ltd (WFRL) Director, Mr Gaurav Modwel, told Business Line that the company is in the process of finalising its brand strategy.

“We are in the process of finalising our brand architecture and shall announce the strategy in the near future. It is imperative to take cognizance of the similarities and differences in brand promise and service offerings of each of the brands, and brand perception in their respective locale,” Mr Modwel said. However, sources close to the company said that one of the strategies the company is looking at is integrating all its brands, but have a common supply chain.

Mr Modwel also said WFRL will float an IPO sometime next year though the amount of funds it plans to raise through this route has not been finalised. He said WFRL plans to open 1,500 stores in the next four years in the ‘convenient stores’ format and will invest over Rs 1,500 crore in this venture.

It currently has 179 retail stores across various brands and plans to open over 500 stores by the end of the financial year.

Wadhawan has made a series of acquisitions over the last two years which includes Sangam Direct, an Internet-based direct to home retail venture from Hindustan Unilever, Sabka Bazaar in Delhi, Home Store and the Bangalore-based Smart Retail. It also has its own high-end food chain called Spinach and these will be extended to some of the cities in the East.

The company also plans to open more branches of its ‘Aurus’, a high-end fine-dine restaurant, in the UAE and Europe apart from taking its lifestyle global brands such as Ed Hardy and Christin Audigier to other metros during the current financial year. In the food and grocery segment, Wadhawan Retail plans to venture into larger formats, though Mr Modwel did not give more details.

Mr Arvind Singhal, Chairman of management consulting company Technopak Advisers, which advises clients on businesses such as retail, said retail players acquire smaller firms not for brand names, but to learn some part of the business, like testing a few things and experiment in areas such as supply chain. “In the process, they will also integrate the new businesses into their own.”

He said Reliance Retail which acquired Sahakari Bhandar, a chain of 20 stores in Maharashtra, was one such example.

“This experiment was primarily to test out a few things in the business and now they are integrating it into the business.”

May 29, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Aditya Birla Group to focus on apparel retail as grocery retail loses weight

The Aditya Birla Group is understood to be revisiting the strategy for its retail businesses which could result in greater long-term emphasis on apparel retailing, according to sources close to the development.

In a series of review meetings held recently at the Mumbai-based conglomerate’s office, the top management and the retail team are understood to have taken a relook at the design, positioning and merchandise offered by More, the supermarket format under Aditya Birla Retail, which has recently seen slow growth, a trend that has also hit other players in the industry.

The review meeting, which according to group sources is conducted every six months, was called to focus on the challenges that Aditya Birla Retail has been facing, especially on issues such as managing the more competitive food and grocery format and related challenges like supply-chain, merchandising and competitive pricing in the face of high operating costs. Aditya Birla Retail currently has 550 outlets under More and a hypermarket.

At the same time, the group’s thinktank is also learnt to be keen on increasing spends and focus on apparel retail currently being undertaken by Madura Garments, a unit of Aditya Birla Nuvo, which has comparatively seen a significant jump in sales. Madura Garments currently targets all class segments with its multi price points.

The food and grocery retail, where Aditya Birla Retail is a key player along with other industry heavyweights such as the Future Group and Reliance, has seen a slowdown in expansion plans in the wake of an unrelenting real estate prices. Although property prices have started to soften, the impact could likely take some more time. An industry executive admitted that since retail is a new business in India, there are bound to be hiccups.

“From time to time, everybody keeps reviewing their business format and there are various issues which we are new to,” he said. However, the Aditya Birla Group is giving a closer look at the right retail segments and formats to be present so that it makes better business sense, sources said. It is also felt that there could be some significant announcements in this regard sometime in the near future.

Another area that is proving to be a critical challenge for Aditya Birla Retail has been identifying the right catchment areas which also means higher lease rentals. While locating outlets in far flung suburbs was done to lessen the real estate impact, the move has affected conversion rates of footfalls into revenue, that is customers making actual purchases. This tells on the revenue per square feet.

The slow growth has already shown its impact with Andrew Denby, expat CEO of Aditya Birla Retail’s supermarket business quitting following differences with top management over business targets. The retail business, currently in the second year of its operations, has already put in place a new organisational structure with Aditya Birla Retail CEO Sumant Sinha directly overlooking the supermarket business. When contacted, Mr Sinha declined to comment.

The group thinks that it would be comparatively easier to make higher investments in the core business of textiles and apparel, where profit margins are far higher than the low-margin-high-volume grocery format. The group has a strong presence in apparel retail through Madura Garments which owns and markets brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England. The company has said that the brands have been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 27% over the past three to four years.

Madura Garments recently opened a large family store in Mumbai called Peter England People, its first in a proposed number of 90 of such stores, with an investment of over Rs 400 crore, across metropolitan cities such as Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi. Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla is also confident that the apparel retail’s business would see revenue of $1.5 billion or Rs 6,300 crore in five years. The target looks ambitious for a company like Madura Garments which last year posted a revenue of Rs 1,025 crore.

“Apparel retail has been growing at a faster pace in the past few years due to a shift in the way garments are being marketed and sold,” said Aditya Birla Nuvo business director (textile and apparel) Vikram Rao. “In organised retail, you can also sell apparel, like they do in the US. It is now possible to sell apparel in multi-format stores.”

It is also learnt that the group has been planning on developing the two formats independently to evaluate growth patterns later. Like the plan to develop the Peter England People family apparel store was formulated a year back and the subsequent appointments and choice of cities was initiated six months back.

May 29, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Planet Retail to add 10 Debenhams stores in 3 yrs

Britain’s largest retailer Debenhams has announced plans to expand its presence in India in order to achieve its target of more than doubling its international sales over the next four years.

The company, which opened its first store in India at Gurgaon in October 2007 in partnership with Planet Retail, will set up 10 exclusive stores of in the next three years.

The next store is going to be launched by the end of June at Oberoi Mall in Mumbai.

Sameer Prasad, chief operating officer, Planet Retail Holdings Pvt Ltd, told DNA Money, “Our plan is to open 10 stores in the next three years. By the end of this year, we’ll have three stores, including one each in Mumbai and Delhi.”

These stores will be of 15,000 sq ft to 60,000 sq feet in size. As per industry estimates, each store is likely to see an investment of $3-5 million. However, Prasad declined to comment on investments numbers.

“I would be disappointed if we do not have 30 stores in India in 10 years,” said Francis Mc-Auley, the company’s international director. “The Indian market has a real appetite for Western brands and the education and understanding of the young people is second to none,” he added.

The company’s 43 international franchisees are on track to meet the company’s £280 million sales target for the financial year to August. For the next four years, Debenhams wants its sales to touch £600 million from 90 department stores, said Mc-Auley.

May 28, 2008
Source:DNA

International

Tesco in talks with Wadias, Parsvnath to formalise its India plans

After going slow on their ambitious India game plan, UK’s Tesco is once again on the prowl. Europe’s second-largest retailer after France’s Carrefour is in talks with multiple potential partners to formalise its much-awaited India plans.

The international retailer is believed to be in talks with the Wadias, Parsvnath Developers and Kalpataru Properties.

Industry sources, clued on to the developments, claim Tesco is in talks with prospective Indian partners for a joint venture to roll out its cash-and-carry outlets and also enter into a franchise arrangement for front-end retail.

Though early days, sources said Tesco’s India business model may be along the lines of the Bharti-Wal-Mart alliance. Incidentally, Tesco was also negotiating with Bharti though the deal fell through midstream when Bharti teamed up with the iconic US retailer.

When contacted by ET, none of the players were willing to part with any information on the proposed deal. In response to ET’s email query, a Tesco spokesperson said: “We have made no secret of our interest in the Indian market and believe it could represent an exciting opportunity for the future. We continue to discuss potential partnerships. However, it is important to get the right partner and when we have anything more to say on this we will announce it.”

Parsvnath Developers chairman Pradeep Jain said: “We are talking to global retailers and hope to finalise our retail venture over the next two-to-four weeks.” Mr Jain refused to disclose the names of the global retail chains it is negotiating with.

A Wadia Group spokesperson said: “We do not respond to speculation. We have no comment to make on your query.” Mumbai-based realty firm Kalpataru Properties spokesperson too refused to comment.

While India allows 100% FDI in cash-and-carry retail, it allows up to 51% in single-brand front-end retail. Since FDI is not yet permitted in multi-brand front-end retail, players like Tesco can enter front-end retail only by entering into a franchise arrangement with an Indian partner.

Retailers are seeking partnership opportunities with Parsvnath Developers and DLF. Tesco has sourcing offices in Bangalore and Delhi. They source products from India for its global operations. The UK retailer also operates a global support centre in Bangalore — Tesco Hindustan Service Centre — which provides IT and business services to Tesco operations in Europe and Asia.

May 28, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Regional News

Om Daily Needs plans 100 convenience stores

Delhi-based convenience store chain Om Daily Needs Retailing Pvt Ltd plans to open about 100 convenience stores, under the brand name Pratidin, across north India by the end of 2008.

Pratidin is a franchise-based format with an average area of 400–800 sq ft, offering economics of scale for grocery shops via bulk buying. Its major focus is on FMCG grocery staples and private labels.

Currently Om Daily Needs Retailing Pvt Ltd has two retail formats for Indian consumers: Daily Needs and Pratidin. The company has already kick-started its retail business with the opening of 10 grocery outlets under the brand name Pratidin in Delhi in March this year in areas such as Sangam Vihar, Chatarpur, Bhogal, Tilak Nagar, Dwarka, Dakshin Puri, Chirag Delhi, and Savitri Nagar.

Vivek Nanda, MD, OM Daily Needs Retailing Pvt Ltd, says, “Our intention is to change the way people shop, by offering them more than what is available in the neighbourhood shops. We are focusing more on the franchisee model to partner with the smaller stores in segments like food & beverages, farm products & FMCG to provide more benefit to consumers through Pratidin.”

June 3, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Food & Grocery

Cafe Coffee Day to have 900 outlets by year end

India’s biggest coffee cafe chain, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), has just upped its growth target. CCD marketing president Bidisha Nagaraj says the latest plan is to grow from the present level of 590 cafes to 900 by the end of FY09. This works out to a growth rate of almost 68% for the remaining nine months of the fiscal. If one takes 520 cafes CCD had at the beginning of the fiscal as the base, the growth rate will be a whopping 92%.

“We are constantly revising our target upwards,” she says. “We planned to end the previous fiscal with 480 cafes, but exceeded it by over 8% and set up 520 cafes. The basis for our growth strategy for this fiscal is a brand archetype study, which indicates that there is a growing market for CCD in both the 15-29 age group and the 29-plus segment. We are averaging 500 footfalls per cafe per day. At present, 80% of our consumers are in the 15-29 age group.”

CCD plans to have more lounge cafes — at present there are only five — to provide snacks and low-cholesterol meals in an ambience where the music is more subdued. Instead of Indipop and heavy metal, there will be, she says, jazz, rock ’n’ roll and older Hindi movie songs.

While the nitty gritty for growth during this fiscal is still being finalised, the existing cafe format will be, she says, tweaked to cater to the 29-plus age group. “We intend to have a greater proportion of cafes which are open 24/7.

At present, we have 49 24/7 cafes throughout the country. Our aim is to increase the number so that we are within reach of our customers whenever they have the time and inclination to touch base with us. The rationale for 24/7 cafes is to cater to IT-BPO types and to be present round the clock at tourist destinations and airports. CCD has seven 24/7 cafes in Goa.

It also has twenty-four 24/7 cafes at the eight airports of Bangalore (two in the new international airport and one outside), Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Jodhpur. We will also be adding to the number of cafes on the country’s National Highways.”

Future growth will also be, she adds, event-driven. “For instance, CCD is there at the MA Chidambaram stadium after signing a contract with India Cements to be the official food sponsors for the Chennai Super Kings. There we have 20 kiosks operating during T20 matches.”

Intriguingly, CCD’s growth rate is accelerating at a time when the world’s biggest coffee chain, Starbucks, is slowing down after crossing the 11,000-mark. “Indians are not just eating more as Bush pointed out the other day, but downing more cafe coffee,” quips retailing expert Harish Bijoor!

May 28, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Easy Day bakery & non-vegs

Easy Day, the small format model from Bharti retail, is planning two distinct signature categories within the store.

One is a bakery section and the other an area for non-vegetarian items. The categorisation is part of Easy Day’s attempt to provide a differentiated offering vis-a-vis competitors, apart from the standard food and grocery products on the shelves.

The new format also rides on the close ties with Wal-Mart, since the company is stocking up household consumables using Wal-Mart’s global sourcing prowess.

May 28, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Apparel & Accessories

Indus Fila all set to enter domestic retail

Bangalore-based apparel exporter Indus Fila is set to enter domestic retail.

The company hopes to open 30-40 stores in the country by September, starting with a store in Bangalore. It has set itself an ambitious target of 500 stores in two years in the country, as well in West Asia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The stores promise to retail “affordable” apparel for men, women and children. Indus Fila is toying with various formats such as small stores catering to a single consumer category and mid-size family stores, said Mr Nitin Mandhana, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Indus Fila. This move is in line with the company’s vision to tackle the volatile forex situation. About 40 per cent of the company’s revenue comes from exports.

While 35 per cent of export revenue comes from the US, 50 per cent comes from Europe. The company is constantly looking to reduce dependence on the US, said Mr Mandhana, at the sidelines of a press meet to announce the Fabrics & Accessories Trade Show in the city.

Russia, East Europe, Turkey and the Africas are attractive emerging markets for exports, he added.

Indus Fila is looking to close this year with a turnover of Rs 515 crore.

June 3, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Luxury & Lifestyle

SRS Group forays into jewellery retailing

Business conglomerate SRS Group has announced its foray into branded jewellery retailing through the launch of its first exclusive jewellery store under new brand 'SRS Jewels'. The firm plans to open 10 such stores by the year-end, entailing investment of Rs 50 crore.

"We are proud to expand our retail repertoire with SRS Jewels, our first exclusive jewellery retail store. We are confident that we will be able to carve a niche for ourselves in the organised jewellery retail segment," SRS Group Managing Director Sunil Jindal said in a statement.

SRS Group has planned to make around 10 such stores operational by the end of 2008 in the metro of the country, in the first phase. The total investment in these stores in the first year would be around Rs 50 crore, the statement said.

Going ahead the company is looking a adding around 25 stores every year to enhance its presence in the country's retail space. "Next year onwards, we shall aim to increase the number of the SRS Jewels stores by at least 25 every year and reach out to every major city and town across India," Jindal added.

The stores offer a collection of hallmarked jewellery comprising 80 per cent diamond and 20 per cent gold, ranging from daily wear to party wear.

SRS Group has business interest spanning across verticals like real estate and township development, multiplexes, retail, hospitality and aviation.

Headquartered in Faridabad, Haryana, the group has a turnover of Rs 700 crore.

The group is currently developing large infrastructure projects valued at over 1,250 million dollars including townships, group housing, hotels, full service malls, food courts, cinemas, IT parks and business parks.

June 2, 2008
Source: Economic Times

e-Commerce

MobileNXT Online launches online specialty retail store

MobileNXT Online in partnership with MobileNXT Teleservices is launching country's first online specialty retail store dedicated to mobile phones and accessories. Vijay Menon (CEO – MobileNXT Teleservices) says “Via this initiative we now operate in a multi-channel environment which includes an online shopping portal and the widest pan India store presence to reach high quality products and services directly to customers across the country. The idea is to give customers a completely seamless experience. MobileNXT.com gives us capability to reach customers from all over the country and our PAN India retail presence help us to support order fulfillment and deliveries. We have tied up with India Post which will help us to deliver to more than 1200 towns across India.

MobileNXT.com has a comprehensive range of mobile phones with over 250 handsets to choose from. The accessories range from memory cards, head sets, mobile carry cases, and batteries to Bluetooth devices, iPods and many more. And it comes with the most competitive prices and offers you can’t refuse. MobileNXT.com website is built with Web 2.0 features which encourages user generated content; making it social and interactive. Rahul Sethi (Business Head – MobileNXT Online) says “MobileNXT.com is being launched as an end to end mobile ecosystem which covers the online and offline space seamlessly, enabling visitors to research and buy a phone from this ecosystem. The proposition is to provide most comprehensive range in handsets and accessories to our customers with complete information, detailed expert reviews and more”. Our prerogative is to make available each and every handset on the website; from an Apple iPhone to a Moto Yuva. The site has detailed product specifications, customer ratings, expert reviews and shopping features like phone comparison so you can make an informed purchase decision with ease. We have kept special emphasis on simplicity & ease of use of the website; to make it an inclusive portal for everyone on internet to feel comfortable to transact on”.

MobileNXT.com strives to provide superlative quality and exceptional value from the stage of product selection, to placing the order & all the way to the final delivery of the product at the customer’s doorstep – an experience that he can depend importantly; our offline existence will give our customers a comfort level to transact with us unlike a pure play ecommerce companies. The simple shopping features, detailed information, customer ratings and expert reviews on the website make MobileNXT.com the ultimate mobile shopping destination.

As a special launch offer, MobileNXT.com is offering mobiles at cost price with the most unbelievable minimal shipping charge of Rs.2 only.

June 1, 2008
Source: Moneycontrol via GCI - The PR Division of Grey Group