Thank you!

It's exactly six months since I started actively writing on this blog. I would like to thank each one of you who have constantly supported me and encouraged with various ideas, suggestions and thoughts in this endeavor. I have been able to implement a few and the others would follow.

Keep visiting my site as often as possible; to make it easier and simpler for you, I have included RSS Syndicate as well as commencing a new E-Group titled Retail Enthusiasts. The Group would act as a platform for all the group members to share best practices.

Thank you again and look forward to being in touch.

give me more.

With a little bias, I would like to call them the BIG Four of Indian Retail (like the ones in the Auditing world such as E&Y, PwC, KPMG and Deloitte) – The Future Group, Reliance, Tata and Birla. My very close friends and associates are working in very senior positions in other Retail Organizations, but going by history, these four are expected to lead the Great Indian Retail Story that is unfolding faster than the world believes. While the Future Group came into Bangalore over six years ago, the Tatas and Reliance came over the past years. And last week, Birlas opened their first and largest (yet) Hypermarket in Bangalore. Aptly named more. MEGASTORE, it is located on the Outer Ring Road, quite equidistant from Marathalli, KR Puram and Whitefield. Approximately, over 1 million people are expected to be living in a 10 sq. km area from here (based on various studies on the internet that advocates catchment analyses) and over 100,000 households that appear to be the most relevant target segment. Within the same area, there is a Big Bazaar on Old Madras Road and Whitefield, Total Hypermarket on Sarjapur Road, and a few more expected. With a dozen malls in various level of completion in this area, it is indeed going to be one of the most watched markets in Bangalore as far as Organized Retail is concerned.



I managed to spend some quality time at the new hyper – more from an academic and learning perspective than from the main motive – shopping. My first impression – Wow. State of the art, world class Hypers have arrived and it was nice to see consumers’ acceptance too. By the way, if there is one place where the entire family visits over the weekend to while away time, to buy things that are “perceived” to be cheaper, to catch up with other relatives or to buy some grocery and household articles, then it is the modern Hypers! Yes – it was a sight to see last Saturday when everyone in the family was there – to see the new Outlet, to check out the offers that were being popularized, and to “save” – the new mantra of the modern household families.



While it is a continuing debate on what is the ideal size of the Hypers, how many SKUs should they carry and whether specialty Hypers would work, I believe what we need is higher penetration – more outlets within a locality than fewer “Big Boxes”. We already have a dozen players at a regional, national and international level within the country that are focusing on these models, so it would be possible to have more than one operator/retailer in a specific locality. And Indian consumers need a variety and seek a change quite often, so they would end up visiting different outlets over a period of time – and hence I wonder if “Hyper Store Loyalty” is anything but a big wish for the Retailers.



When one looks at the Store front, it is very welcoming. The “Free Parking” signage is soothing and sends a positive message to shoppers. That there are no other commercial attractions or hangouts close by would mean that visitors come into the store only. As you enter, the Clubmore Loyalty desk is visible. Again, this communicates shoppers that if they are loyal, then they would be rewarded. Smart. Large trolleys are located at the entrance to ensure that most shoppers pick it up as early as possible (for obvious reasons). Just after this, the confusion begins. There are over 18 Cash counters and to enter the ground floor, one has to weed through the customers who are billing! Strange. Almost no one would do that. So, I approached the gentleman who was standing near the check-out, observing and ensuring a disciplined and smooth flow of operations and asked him how/where should I begin my journey. He showed me a travellator that’s near the window and asked me to go to the first floor before I come back to the Ground. I did. I was fumbled to see that the travellator arrives at a dead end – only to be greeted by the Security Guard who is standing there clueless. And just as I pass by, I see another travellator that takes you to the next floor. As always, one couldn’t find a store directory at any of these places. Usually, shoppers who haven’t especially come to shop would have gone up.

But the sincere me who was on an academic tour went into the first floor only to get caught into the crowd. Men’s formals mixed with casuals and then the women’s categories and well, a large “Saree” and other Indian ethnic wear followed and at the end of the floor was stainless steel, plastic and other household items! The travellator at the end of this floor takes you to the ground floor. But I wanted to see the next floor above. So, I came back to where I started and took the way upward. Again, this arrives in a “no-man’s land” – so, I turn left and get into the electronics area which leads to home appliances which leads to sports equipments and ends with bicycles! One walks back all the way to take the travellator down to the next floor and then to the ground floor. Phew. I guess the planners have probably somewhere forgotten why the travellators are created/placed. They are not for moving people from one floor to another (a simple elevator would do that); rather, they are placed such that shoppers walk across areas which they wouldn’t have otherwise and so to see some conversions. So, then I finally came to the ground floor. Strangely, Fruits and Vegetables along with Meat and Dairy products were at the fag end. The philosophy that they must be kept at the entrance is defeated – probably because we expect shoppers to finish buying everything until they reach this area. We expect.

Suddenly realized that I had to pick up some stuff which my aunt had reminded the same morning, so took the list out and bought them. With just three products on hand, I walked towards the cash counters – and voila! All the counters were busy, with atleast three of four trolleys in each of them. There was no “Express Counter” according to one of the staff around, so I politely handed over all the products in his hand to bid adieu. Only to see the signage “Express Counter” at the end! Now, we all agree that most of the shoppers do not visit a hyper to buy the top-ups or the smaller articles, but what happens to those who do so? There were only two express counters and both had atleast six customers and usually, one doesn’t wait for so long.



Finally, I stepped out into the open area where I started my tour. It had taken me about 40 minutes for a full visit from start to finish. I would expect that it would be double or more if one had to shop. Decent enough time to convert as many as possible and also to increase bill values. I am not even talking about the promotions/pricing as they seemed to be attractive enough for families to shop (more than what they would have wanted to). At the entrance (or exit however you call), I didn’t find the customary short-eats – Pop Corn, Sweet Corn, Chat items and some fast food. Although this is not a mainstay, it contributes quite much to the total sales of the Hyper at the end of the day. And it does bring in regular shoppers to have a quick bite. As I stood on the other side of the road, looking at this marvelous structure, I was wondering if all the hype has paid off and what a challenge it would be to sustain the operations. There are large hoardings all over the city placed at strategic locations (one near my house that’s 22 km away from the store), but after all the waiting for the past months and a whole lot of effort by various team members, it was sense of disappointment for me. Of course, an average shopper would think/ interpret/ blog as much as I do, but what they look for in such outlets is not what they get – convenience. After all, Hypermarkets are not about the hyper space alone, it’s also about Hyper convenience of shopping. more.- convenience, if you may allow me to say so.

Mohandas, Mont Blanc and the Mahatma!

An eye for eye will make this whole world blind, said Mahatma Gandhi. Kamal Hassan, ace actor/director of Tamil Cinema recently co-produced a movie titled “Unnai Pol Oruvan” which translated in English means “Someone like you”. The movie is a remake of the recent Hindi super hit movie “A Wednesday”. The protagonist plays a dark role throughout the movie, only to reveal in the end that he was just reacting like a “stupid common man” scared of his environment who demands the Commissioner of Police of the city to discharge four terrorists only to kill them himself through a bomb explosion triggered through a mobile phone from a remote location. Interestingly, one of the characters is named “Karamchand” who plays the role of an “arms dealer & smuggler”. Kamal Hassan, who holds the world record as a male actor having played maximum number of roles, ten to be precise in the 2008 super hit Dasavathaaram (meaning 10 roles) has conspicuously named this character so. Many would know that “Karamchand” is the middle name of the Mahatma, which goes like “Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi”. When I saw this aspect on the movie, I was happy that the movie released two weeks before the Mahatma’s birthday – Oct. 02nd as I thought it was an insult to use the name of the Mahatma for a smuggler and a supporter of terrorists (even though it’s just a movie!). Kamal, 56, who is celebrating 50 years in Indian cinema, always had a different take on the Mahatma’s approach – of non violence and abstinence. In his previous movie on a similar subject “Hey! Ram” (the last words uttered by the great soul after he was shot dead by a Hindu sympathizer who along with many others believed that the Mahatma was solely responsible for the partition of India and creating a new entity named Pakistan) the hero goes to actually kill Gandhi. But before that someone else shoots him. It’s a shame that the legendary actor took this approach in his recent film where he propagates that the answer to terrorism is counter-terrorism. As actors, what they say is what they feel and hence, it is obvious to assume that this is the actors’ personal belief too.



While the whole country is getting ready to celebrate the Mahatma’s birthday next week, an international brand has used (or rather abused) the Mahatma’s name once again. After all, Luxury and the Mahatma do not go hand-in-hand. Gandhi, popularly known as the “Father of the nation” was a Barrister-at-law, worked abroad, returned to India and fought for India’s Independence. He believed that “non-violence” was the only way to fight or protest; His “Quit India” movement against the British was the turning point in the 200 year history of India’s freedom struggle and successfully ensured the country attain Independence at the stroke of the midnight on Aug. 15th, 1947. In the last part of his life, he wore only handloom products – a dhoti (wrap around) and a towel made of cotton (a natural fabric) while he and his supporters used the famous charka to loom cotton at his ashram near Sabarmati in Gujarat. He believed in simple living and intellectual thinking. While he never restricted his followers or well wishers to wear or use expensive products, he himself never used any such thing in the better part of his life.



World’s leading maker of luxury writing instruments Mont Blanc has announced the launch of the “Gandhi Limited Edition” in two collections, one that has 241 pens and the other 3,000. 241 is the number of miles that the Mahatma walked during the “Dandi march” over 24 days – he was protesting the salt regulation by the British and undertook a padayatra or a walking march from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi. And the other collection has 3,000 pens, the number of followers who joined him in this march. In the 241 collection, the pens are made of White Gold with 18K Gold threading and an Opel stone on the clip, which costs INR 11,39,000 (USD 23,729). The Luxury Brand promises to donate INR 50,000 (USD 1,040) for every pen sold to The Red Cross Society. In the other collection, every pen is made of Sterling Silver, Ivory lacquer and a garnet stone on the clip. While the Roller Ball is priced at INR 1,47,000 (USD 3,063), the Fountain Pen is priced at INR 1,67,000 (USD 3,480) and even has an imagery of the Mahatma on its gold-plated nib! The Brand promises to share INR 10,000 (USD 208) for Child Literacy for every pen that is sold. While half the total production would be sold all over the world, the other half is available across leading Mont Blanc boutiques in India. During a press conference in the first week of October ‘09, the Luxury Pen would be officially launched by the Brand.





While I have nothing against the Brand (I am myself a connoisseur of the Noblesse Oblige Roller Ball, an awesome Meisterstuck Visiting Card Holder and a Pencil and spectacle frame in the offing), I am surprised that the over-100 year old brand which is synonymous with “High Quality Writing” has taken this approach to make inroads into India. While I wouldn’t be surprised if this collection gets completely sold out in less than a year, I am yet to come to terms if this was the best approach for the Brand to reach out to the country at large. This blog is probably my first (and hopefully last) on Brand-Bashing, but I would never appreciate such an approach. While Corporate Social Responsibility is essential in today’s scenario, there could have been other themes than Gandhi to get popular. Many Organizations undertake CSR for the heck of it without meaning it really. Fine. But please, for nobility’s sake, spare Gandhi. Let him continue to show his smiling face on picture frames and postal stamps. And let's enjoy a public holiday every year on his birthday. My sincere apologies for this insult, dear Mahatma.