All roads lead to CENTRAL…

 

It was a bit nostalgic for me to be present at site for this event – after all, it was the 18th mall of Central that was getting inaugurated. When the first Central Mall opened in May 2003, I was, along with the Asst. Mall Manager regulating traffic at the entrance of the Mall. I didn’t know to drive a four-wheeler then, so while my colleague was undertaking “valet parking” himself, I was directing visitors to the Mall entrance. The first Central at Bangalore was spread over a lakh square feet, located strategically at the confluence of MG Road, Commissariat Road and Residency Road, opposite Mayo Hall, one of those historic buildings that served as a Civil court and was used for additional car parking during the weekends. Being the first so-called Mall in Bangalore, we witnessed thousands throng the Mall over the first few days, thanks to a four-page advertorial along with the main newspaper released on its day of opening. Within a year, Central Malls opened at Hyderabad and Pune. Founder and CEO of The Future Group, Kishore Biyani envisioned this format as a bridge between the Department Store and a large Mall, what I would term as a “Neighbourhood Mall”. While neighbourhood malls, typically spread between 2-3 lakh square feet are quite famous in the US and Europe, it is indeed new in India. Meanwhile, Central grew from town to town and finally came up of age (18) at its birth place of Bangalore. This is the third Central Mall in town and is also the largest among its other locations in India. Spread over 3.25 lakh sft. across four floors, the Mall has everything that a family needs – from Grocery to Fashion, Restaurants to Home Care. Cafe Coffee Day, Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut & KFC are four strong F&B players while Ezone and Food Bazaar are other anchors that are expected to pull crowds. Cinemax will open its first cinema hall with five screens and a Foodcourt will accompany shortly. While there is parking availability for over 400 four wheelers and about 200 two-wheelers, CENTRAL was the first Retail format which introduced a full redemption of parking fees eight years ago – a feat that has remained so over the years and has been one of the strongest reasons for repeat footfalls.

On 29th May 2011, Central 3, as it is famously referred to was inaugurated among much fanfare and enthusiasm of employees and associates of India’s largest Retailer. Mr. Biyani himself was present at the function, an act that he rarely does. While lighting the traditional lamp at the Cafe Coffee Day outlet within the mall, he quipped, “I am not a fan of such inaugurations, I don’t cut a cake”. True. With the speed at which the group is expanding, he would certainly not have the time to visit every store that opens every other day, in some format, in some town or city across the country. Under the able leadership of Mr. Vishnu Prasad, who has remained the CEO of Central Malls (along with Brand Factory – the discount format department store), Central has not just grown in number of locations, but has maintained its consistency, discipline, growth and profitability over the years. In my second job at one of the upcoming Retail companies in India way back in 2003, I was reporting to him – as a Relationship Manager looking after the non-apparel businesses within the Mall. I chose to move on after a while, but the brand kept growing – and this is where they are. Not that I am complaining, thanks to where I am.

Neighbourhood Malls serve an important purpose in developed Retail markets, especially the West and in some parts of SE Asia. it’s a place where people in the locality congregate; where local events like concerts and cookery shows are held frequently; where consumers frequent with their families, for shopping and dining. The best part about such a format, is it doesn’t take too much space – the Mall itself is a third or fourth the size of Large Destination Malls spread usually over 0.8 – 1.0 million sft, has 2-3 anchors, usually a Department store, a QSR and a Hypermarket and a bunch of vanilla stores ranging from electronics to personal care, fashion, household etc. Parking is limited, due to space constraints, but there is ample public transport connectivity either through Metro trains or road transportation. In fact, some Malls in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand even offer complimentary pick-up / drops in Buses from a central point such as the closest Metro train station or a suburban Bus Terminus – a key attraction for families. The Buses, which undertake round trips operate on a set-frequency, which is published through various media such as the Mall’s websites, brochures, at train and bus stations, sometimes even in the newspapers and FM radios. The cost of managing the free transportation is recovered through advertising within the buses – by Brands who operate within the Mall as well as consumer brands such as Airlines and Telecom players. This not only provides enough cash to the Malls, but also a small surplus that goes directly into the Mall’s profitability.

One of the biggest challenges India is facing today is public infrastructure – from Metro connectivity to wide roads, there is severe crunch on mass transportation. As I see, such malls are the future of large Indian Metros and Mini-Metro cities. It is not just a waste of time and money to travel long distances to visit a large mall, but also a terrible use of liquid gold aka fuel for vehicles. These neighbourhood malls should ensure that they not only serve as a shopping destination but may also help build stronger communities in the locality, for the locality, by the locality. Just that the Mall Developers should walk the extra mile to create social awareness such as a Cycle rally to promote fitness or a Yoga session to beat office stress among the the working middle class that spends over 50 hours a week at work. Ideas galore – wonder who would implement first.

For sure, I plan to visit my neighbourhood Central over the weekend – riding on my bicycle. Not to save fuel, not even to serve as an exercise – just that the traffic is expected to be pathetic due to a huge flyover construction under progress outside the Mall; and I can navigate my way through the monstrous four and six – wheelers. See you there!

Best Price - Best in Class!

 

I have seen a few abroad, I have read a quite a lot but today was the first time I was part of the inauguration of a Hypermarket Store. The sixth Cash & Carry store of Bharti-Walmart, rightfully named “Best Price” opened its doors for customers today at Ludhiana. Spread over 50,000 sft on a single level, the store has almost all categories including Grocery, Fruits and Vegetables, Fresh Meat, Personal Care, Home Needs and Home Care, Electronics and General Merchandise. Café Coffee Day is the only F&B point, right after the cash counters – smart planning by the store designers. This is the third CCD after opening within Best Price stores at Amritsar and Jalandhar. Addressing a small gathering of the Press & Media, Employees, Vendors and Guests, Mr. Rajan Mittal, Vice Chairman of the Bharti Group emphasized the relevance of Organized Retail and such formats in the current Indian scenario. He expressed his pride that the group was able to open at their hometown of Ludhiana where he had lived for over 20 years and thanked well-wishers for their stupendous success. Drawing an example of the telecom industry which was in its nascent stage fifteen years back, and which was fully controlled by the Government through its own bodies, he said that the sector was opened up to private players and today, India has a remarkable tele-density. Similarly, the group is pioneering Organized Retail through two formats, the B2B model (Best Price) and B2C model (Easy Day markets) in association with Wal-Mart, the world’s largest Retailer. He also drew comparisons of how China had opened up Organized Retail, how employment is generated and millions are benefitted. Mr. Raj Jain, President of Bharti-Walmart said that the company intends to expand outside of Punjab in states such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan etc. South India would also be a focus with one out of the three Distribution Centers expected to come up at Bangalore. He explained how small retailers can benefit immensely by becoming members of the Best Price format – registration is simple, just a few documents to be provided and patrons can benefit from the prices offered by the store. To ensure only genuine buyers are using the facility, he said that the membership is renewed annually. Credit Cards are not accepted but Kotak Bank, which is the strategic partner to the Retailer, provides 14 day’s credit to members who are part of its own credit program.

While the discussions on FDI is raging all along, Mr. Mittal expressed that the intellectual debate was over and it is now time to act – to open up the Retail sector and allow 100% investment across various formats. The white paper on allowing FDI was published by the Government and the industry has replied their thoughts and concerns. Currently 100% FDI is allowed only in the B2B model while 50% FDI is allowed in the B2C formats, although foreign companies can invest upto 100% in single-brand Retail. Such investments would allow multinationals to invest in back-end supply chain, only which would fuel front-end business. Bang on.

Well. It is easier said than done but eternal optimists like me who intend to spend our lifetimes in this ever exciting industry believe that this should happen sooner than later, for the larger benefit of the society. If one such store can offer direct and indirect employment to over 200 people, it is not so difficult to gauge the overall employability that the sector can generate. Currently, over a million people are part of Organized Retail in India but this number should increase significantly – by 5 times or more in the next 10 years, if only the Industry is allowed to grow. Specific to the Cash & Carry format, small traders and retailers can benefit immensely, thanks to the EDLP or “Every Day Low Pricing” philosophy (although founded by ASDA) but  implemented aggressively by the Grand Old Man of Modern Retail, Sam Walton – the founder of Wal-Mart. He believed that consumers must benefit everyday with lower prices – the reason was two-fold – one, that customers would not hoard commodities for the future; two, that they would visit the store more often, a smart way of driving repeat footfalls. For a nation that has over 10 million small and medium retail stores, India doesn’t have even 50 Cash & Carry Stores! Metro AG, the German Retailer opened for business in 2001 and operates half-a-dozen stores, while the French Retailer Carrefour commenced in 2010 and is still studying its first store located in the suburbs of Delhi.  The Future Group and Reliance Retail are also carefully monitoring and are expected to launch their own Cash and Carry formats soon. Expect a lot of action in this space. And if you are a professional running your own business, be sure to reap rich benefits from such stores. Long Live, Organized Retail. 

Obituary - Raghu Pillai, the Retail Wizard

If there is any regret I would nurse all my professional life, it would be not meeting Mr. Raghu Pillai, whose sudden demise this morning (April 10, 2011) has left me baffled with life’s uncertainties. Last month, I was at the Corporate Office of Home Town, which is also the Head office of Future Value Retail, where he had moved in a few months ago as CEO after being at the helm and putting up Reliance Retail to shape. I saw him walk past the cabin in which I was in a meeting; when I walked out, couldn’t spot him and left in a hurry for the next meeting. Little did I imagine that I would never see him again! It is ironical that I write this column on board a flight from Chennai to Kolkata where I started my career a decade ago at Musicworld Entertainment, part of RPG Retail for which we was the founding CEO since 1995. He suffered a massive heart attack and passed away at his Chennai home this morning and is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Raghu Pillai was one of my first inspirations into Retail. I was among those 40 other Management trainees who were deeply inspired and influenced by his baritone-voice inaugural speech even as we were settling in our chairs that morning during the first day of the induction session at the RPG Retail’s former headquarters at Spencer’s Plaza at Chennai. He came across as a very simple and down-to-earth person but was a towering personality. His trademark Cotton half-sleeve shirts and Chinos trousers with a notebook and some papers on one hand and a box of Classic cigarettes on the other was an inspiration that many of us imitated, although out of sheer fan-following and respect than anything else. I had the privilege to interact closely with him during his regular visits to the RPG Headquarters in Kolkata – he would silently walk into the Musicworld store at Park Street and would be browsing the shelves, observing Customers and ideating new ways that we should be taking-up. Later on, when I moved to Foodworld Supermarkets Ltd., which was the Food & Grocery chain of RPG Retail, I continued to have interactions with him as I was heading the flagship store of Foodworld located at RA Puram, a South Madras residential locality where he was instrumental in opening the first Foodworld store, which was inaugurated by the late Carnatic Music Legend, Smt. MS Subbulakshmi. He used to frequent the store, usually on his way back home as we were also preparing for the store’s renovations in 2003.

Raghu was a big fan of music, as he spent many years with Gramophone Company of India (popularly known as HMV, a company that RPG Group bought over many years ago). He was a Retail Wizard – after all, he was the first working professional who had commenced the organized Retail set-up in this country. At RPG Retail, he was responsible for the introduction of various formats such as Foodworld, Musicworld, Health & Glow and Giant Hypermarkets and later on moved to Reliance Retail where he was the Group CEO for Strategy, Operations and Business Development. In Oct. 2010, he joined The Future Group as CEO of Future Value Retail and also as an Executive Member of the Board. His keen sense of understanding of markets and consumers came from his hands-on extensive experience – he used to spend a lot of time at the Retail stores. He was one person whom the entire Retail Industry looked up to – the first Retail Professional in this country to pave way for thousands of us who followed this unchartered territory.

I write this column with deep regret; it’s a pity I cannot attend his funeral on Monday morning at Chennai, but Sir, you will remain in our hearts forever as a great role-model and as an inspirational leader. May your Soul rest in peace…