tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85722973641666325142024-03-06T09:20:18.425+05:30RetailiaThis blog will update you about the latest happening in the Indian retail industry.
You can also contribute into it by sharing your knowledge here.Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-38906992973962679582009-12-27T00:59:00.007+05:302011-07-29T18:34:10.684+05:30World Space India is no more!!Yes , Its confirmed . When you would turn on your world space on 1st of January , you would get no song , no channel ,no ads from it. Today i got the call from one of my store stating that World Space is going to quit India from 1st of next month. First i was shocked , then i tried to call the local World Space representative , his phone was unavailable. Then i called its customer care and there i got the news that yes , its true. It was a shocking news for all Music lover and also concernful for those who just invested in it or in its subscription. World Space India is a part of WorldSpace, Inc which has been been under bankruptcy protection since October 2008. India is a major market for company as almost 95% contribution come from here. On refund of unused services , the company is denying to give any claim.<br /><br /><p>According to reports, US-based media company Liberty Media has already bought out WorldSpace’s liabilities from its creditors. Interestingly, Liberty Media holds 40% stake in Sirius XM Radio and as per reports, chief executives of both the companies had said that there is a possibility of a joint Sirius XM/Liberty Media global satellite radio venture between the two.</p><br /><p>WorldSpace has offered a claim procedure to be undertaken next year under US bankruptcy law. However, more than the claims, what bothers Indian subscribers most is the discontinuation of a quality music service, which Indian FM channels have failed to provide.</p><br /><p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uSZW39c4rD8&hl="" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" fs="1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-72826172053152899562009-12-27T00:24:00.004+05:302010-10-05T00:13:06.282+05:30Future Value Retail :A fancy name for Big Bazaar and Food BazaarBig Bazaar and Food Bazaar = Future Value Retail..<br /><br />Finally the decision has come from Future Group MD , Mr. Kishore Biyani this week. All pantaloons employees were shot a mail about this stating the changes from 1st of January.<br />According to me these changes have made to focus more on their target customer . I think it is a smart move as it will help building a strong brand name in mind of customers and they also will be able to relate the stores with them. As Wal-Mart has already began its operations in India and in expanding mode , it is crucial to be very clear for PRIL on its branding strategies.<br />Currently there are around 120 Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar stores across India and company is planning to make it to 140 in 4 to 5 years of span.<br />They also have come out with a decision to limit their KB's Fair Shop format to Mumbai , Delhi and Bangalore. Company has the plan to open 1200 stores and want to be penetrated across these cities.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-13170513685037532262009-05-14T22:58:00.007+05:302009-07-05T08:12:12.877+05:30A new beginning in Advertising : ZooZoo by VodafoneZooZoo is the new revolution in advertisement in India. Everyone loves them and now watching ad has become much funnier than ever. ZooZoo are the characters which is being used in Vodafone Advertisement for VAS (Value Added Services). These ads are designed by keeping in focus of INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE - Season 2. The idea of the company is to introduce one new ad daily during the course of IPL.<br />The Chracter ZooZoo is the discovery of O&M (Ogilvy & Mather India) , an advertisement agency, and the company has made ads for Fevicol , Amaron , Perfetti , etc.<br />One thing i really like about Vodafone that they always come up with creative way of advertising. They never used any celebrity in their ads unlike their rivals in india. That cute puppy of Vodafone was a huge brand recall for the company.<br />Such innovation did wonders for company as the campaign got wide success and that too without spending any huge amount on celebrities. And this ZooZoo campaign is going in the same way.<br /><br />Here are all the ZooZoo ads in one Video<br />Enjoy..<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/rllHmz9D8Pc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/rllHmz9D8Pc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-81265774754794382252009-05-12T00:58:00.003+05:302009-05-12T10:10:39.903+05:30RPG's Music World launches first outlet of "Mera World" in BangaloreRPG's Music World finally opened its new format store by the name of "Mera World" in Bangalore.<br />Its a 7000 Sqft store and the offering includes Music , Books , Gifting Items , Digital Cameras , Photography solutions and all. Now Music World is working with 3 brands.<br /><br />First one is its core brand "Music World" which deals in Music , Home videos , Accesseories , Ipods , Digital downloads and so on. Music World is having very strong presence across India by having more than 250 retail stores. Music World provides the best ambience to the customers in the store with great customer service. The highly trained staff always make sure that you find what you are looking for. Its flagship store is present in Kolkata at Park Street. The Park Street store is one of the best Music Store in the country. It is the belief of the people that if u dont get something in parkstreet's Music World , you wont get it any where. Some of the major competitors of Music World are Videocon's Planet M , Tata's LandMark , Odyssey , Raheja Group's Cross World and Rhytm House.<br /><br />The Second Brand they are operating with is "Books and Beyonds". As the name suggests this is a book store and beyond reflects to toys. Books and Beyond is currently operating in Gurgaon , Chandigarh , Kolkata , Hyderabad and Bangalore. The company is planning to open some more outlets by the end of this year. Some major competitors of Books and Beyond are Crossworld , Odyssey and Landmark.<br /><br />And "Mera World" is the third brand. Its a new format and still in the learning phase. Company is planning to penetrate it in all metros by the end of this year.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-49797870135236489102009-05-10T12:48:00.005+05:302009-05-10T12:55:00.808+05:30Enrique Iglesias India concert 2009Enrique Iglesias upcoming India concert is nothing but a big misleading communication from some notorious guys. He hasn't confirmed any dates for India and its clearly mention at the front page of his <a href="http://www.enriqueiglesias.com/">official website </a><br /><br />So stop asking for tickets and venue details of the concert.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-6628924562926476082009-05-05T12:56:00.001+05:302009-05-05T12:58:53.740+05:30Consumer Rights : Know your powers<div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Some of the government and consumer organisation websites where one can lodge consumer complaints in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> are:</span></span><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </div> <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><a send="true" href="http://www.cag.gov.in/">http://www.cag.gov.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.cai-india.org/">http://www.cai-india.org/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.cccindia.net/">http://www.cccindia.net/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.cercindia.org/">http://www.cercindia.org/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.cgsiindia.org/">http://www.cgsiindia.org/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.confonet.nic.in/">http://www.confonet.nic.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.consumercomplaints.in/">http://www.consumercomplaints.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.consumerhelpline.in/">http://www.consumerhelpline.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.consumeronline.org/">http://www.consumeronline.org/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.consumer-voice.in/">http://www.consumer-voice.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.corecentre.co.in/">http://www.corecentre.co.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.icrpc.org/">http://www.icrpc.org/</a> <br /><a send="true" href="http://www.iepf.gov.in/">http://www.iepf.gov.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.investorhelpline.in/">http://www.investorhelpline.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.irda.gov.in/">http://www.irda.gov.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.karmayog.org/">http://www.karmayog.org/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.ncdrc.nic.in/">http://www.ncdrc.nic.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://www.pgportal.gov.in/">http://www.pgportal.gov.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="http://investor.sebi.gov.in/">http://investor.sebi.gov.in/</a><br /><a send="true" href="https://secweb.rbi.org.in/BO/compltindex.htm">https://secweb.rbi.org.in/BO/compltindex.htm</a> </span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-84154384995631636122009-05-05T00:32:00.002+05:302009-05-05T00:36:24.252+05:30AdSense Alternatives...Some of the options where u can earn money if u r not having adsense account.....<br /><br />1)Adsense by Google - Without any doubt google adsense is the biggest and the most profitable publisher’s program. You can get them at https://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_US/<br /><br />2)Adlandpro- Adlandpro offers a lot of advertising method. You will also paid $5 per 1000 impressions of your referral page, and $2 per 1000 impressions of referral’s custom page. You can get them at http://www.adlandpro.com<br /><br />3)Adbrite - Best alternative for adsense and day by day it is increasing popularity. You can get them at http://www.adbrite.com/zones/publisher_dashboard.php<br /><br />4)Bidvertiser - Another alternative for adsense and it's lay-out is like adsense. You can get them at http://www.bidvertiser.com/<br /><br />5)Clicksor - It is also good and pays a good amount to the publisher. You can get them at http://clicksor.com<br /><br />6)Advertising.com - One of the biggest and pioneer in publishers advertising network. You can get them at http://advertising.com/publishers.php<br /><br />7)24/7 Real Media - It has both Advertiser and publisher program and is best for american audience. You can get them at www.realmedia.com<br /><br />8)Burst Media - Another publishers advertisement program paying in CPM. You can get them at www.burstmedia.com<br /><br />9)Commission Junction - Big advertiser and affiliate network available wordwide. You can get them at www.commissionjunction.com<br /><br />10)Knoodle - This site pays upto 50% of ad revenue. Their website is https://kanoodle.com<br /><br />11)Linkshare - Another big affiliate network for publishers. Their website is www.linkshare.com<br /><br />12)Valueclick - This great program is best for bloggers. Their website is www.clickvalue.com<br /><br />13)Yahoo Publisher Network - Created to compete google adsense. Not available worldwide. However you can get them advance in http://publisher.yahoo.com/<br /><br /><br />Other available advertising networks.<br /><br />1) Accelerator Media - Accelerator is an intelligent ad network that features predictive ad serving technology.<br /><br />2) AdAgency - The leading provider of Internet direct-response adverytising solutions<br /><br />3) Adynamix - AdDynamix has evolved into a full-spectrum interactive provider delivering ad management, video and digital media services to agencies, entertainment clients and direct marketers.<br /><br />4) Adengage - Engaging internet advertising<br /><br />5) Agenta - Agenta is an easy and powerful way for you to unlock the revenue potential of your website or blog.<br /><br />6) Adknowledge - Expand your reach beyond Google and Yahoo by accessing Adknowledge’s multi-channel behavioral targeting network.<br /><br />7) Adpepper - The e-advertising network.<br /><br />8) Adsmart - Digital marketing made clear<br /><br />9) Adtegrity - Get paid for your hard work! Maximize the value of your traffic and build revenue with us.<br /><br />10) Affiliatefuture - If you are responsible for a website and want to increase its earning potential, join AffiliateFuture’s network to earn more revenue from your visitors.<br /><br />11) Affiliatesensor - Get the ease of Pay-Per-Click publishing<br /><br />12) Azoogleads - The leading performance-based marketplace<br /><br />13) Bannerconnect - Advertising without boundaries. Many company use them and is becoming popular.<br /><br />14) BardzoMedia - BardzoMedia is a world wide focused advertising network that can help you monetize your U.S, Canada and Europe internet advertising inventory on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis.<br /><br />15) BlinkAds - BlinkAds is an online media company dedicated to client services<br /><br />16) BlueFN - Blue FN, LLC. is the financial services industry’s leading Cost-Per-Action (CPA) Advertising Network with a targeted high-quality publisher base and top brand name financial services advertisers.<br /><br />17) BlueLithium - BlueLithium is the data driven performance marketing company.<br /><br />18) Casale Media - Advertising online is better here.<br /><br />19) Chitika - See how you can fulfill your brand advertising and direct marketing goals in one program. This is becoming popular day by day.<br /><br />20) ClickBooth - Publisher CPA and affiliate networks.<br /><br />21) Clickshare - In the Click-Share advertising marketplace, you decide where to target your ads and what price you want to pay per click.<br /><br />22) ClickXchange - Turn your site traffic into cash!<br /><br />23) ContexWeb - Online advertising exchange solutions.<br /><br />24) CPX Interactive - CPX Interactive is a progressive online ad network, dedicated to optimizing revenue generation for both its Advertisers and Publishers.<br /><br />25) Enhance - Expand your pay-per-click search campaigns now.<br /><br />26) Esource Media - As Publisher Partner you get access to over 50,000 advertisers and earn 70%.<br /><br />27) Etype Europe - eType is the UK’s leading online advertising sales house<br /><br />28) Etype USA - eType USA holds exclusive advertising contracts with a number of the world’s largest and most respected websites.<br /><br />29) Expoactive- Start Advertising Your Website With ExpoActive In 5 Minutes!<br /><br />30) Fluxads - Guaranteed on-time payments.<br /><br />31) Hyperbidder - The Only Ad Auction Network where all bidders win!!!<br /><br />32) IncentaClick - Their Goal is to bring your online advertising campaign to the next level<br /><br />33) Industry Brains - You can try of it.<br /><br />34) Interclick - Transparent ad network.<br /><br />35) JoeTec - JoeTec is a full service online marketing company. We specialize in display advertising and lead generation for our many clients across many different verticals.<br /><br />36) Kontera - Leader in content link advertising.<br /><br />37) Mamma Media Solutions - With Copernic Media Solutions you’ll find the Internet advertising and marketing tools you need to boost your site traffic and drive revenue. MaxBounty Affiliates - with MaxBounty earn revenue from advertising sponsors on a pay-for-performance basis.<br /><br />38) Mirago 2 revenue streams - Geo-targeted organic / Pay-Per-Click (PPC) search and contextual results.<br /><br />39) MIVA AdRevenue Xpress - Earn more Revenue from your web site with MIVA MC.<br /><br />40) Nixxie - UK’s first contextual advertising company.<br /><br />41) Oridian - Online media solutions.<br /><br />42) Oxado - Oxado enables you to insert contextual ads on your website within minutes.<br /><br />43) Paypop-up - According to them every Visitor to your Site is a Potential Customer!<br /><br />44) Popup Traffic - Popuptraffic is the intelligent way to make extra cash from your website traffic.<br /><br />45) Quigo - This one is content-Targeted Ad Serving and Search Engine Marketing Solutions<br /><br />46) RealCastMedia - They say they represent over 500 Web sites and serve 300 million monthly impressions.<br /><br />47) RealTech - This is average for both publisher and advertiser.<br /><br />48) Revenue Pilot - Good for monetize your site.<br /><br />49) Righmedia - Interactive advertising and transparent marketplace.<br /><br />50) Searchfeed - A leader in pay per click search engine advertising, Searchfeed.com helps online advertisers attract targeted leads while offering Web publishers a greater opportunity to monetize Internet traffic.<br /><br />51) Share A Sale - This site is for real time reporting - On time payments.<br /><br />52) TargetPoint - Increase your advertising profits<br /><br />53) TextLinkAds - For text based ads this is good one.<br /><br />54) Tremor - Come gradually in the world.<br /><br />55) Tribal Fusion - Many one says this is good one.<br /><br />56) Valueclick Media - Quality, control and a robust publisher platform make ValueClick Media a trusted partner to earn the most revenue from every form of online advertising.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">credits: http://forum.gol.ge/index.php?act=Print&client=printer&f=62&t=62432</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-76683097263947180492009-05-04T20:52:00.006+05:302009-05-04T22:05:14.241+05:30Brand Game : Google finally won it....After a very long wait the moment has arrived. We got a new winner of No. 1 spot in brands, Google.<br />It was become so monotonous to see Coca Cola on the number 1 spot from so many years.<br /><br />It was actually predicted that from the speed the google was going it was only a matter of time which will make it a king in the world of brands. The innovations which google has maintain to introduce in its service offering is unprecedental. From a fastest search engine to innovative adsense , everything which was introduced by Google was taken like a craze which never came down.<br /><br />Here is the list of top 10 Brands of 2009 with their brand Values....<br /><br /><br /><br /><table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 279pt;" width="372" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><col style="width: 158pt;" width="211"> <col style="width: 121pt;" width="161"> <tbody><tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl64" style="height: 15pt; width: 158pt;" width="211" height="20">Brand<span style=""> </span></td> <td class="xl64" style="width: 121pt;" width="161">Brand Value (In $M)<br /><br /></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">Google</td> <td class="xl65">100039</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">Microsoft</td> <td class="xl65">76249</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">Coca Cola</td> <td class="xl65">67625</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">IBM</td> <td class="xl65">66622</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">Mc Donald</td> <td class="xl65">66576</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">Apple</td> <td class="xl65">63113</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">China Mobile</td> <td class="xl65">61283</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">GE</td> <td class="xl65">59793</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">Vodafone</td> <td class="xl65">53727</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15pt;" height="20"> <td class="xl65" style="height: 15pt;" height="20">Marlboro</td> <td class="xl65">49460</td> </tr> </tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">You can get the complete list from <a href="http://www.brandz.com/upload/brandz-report-2009-complete-report%281%29.pdf">here</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Source :www.brandz.com</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-85159294890180531092009-05-04T00:56:00.003+05:302009-05-12T01:37:42.383+05:30I am BackI am Back....<br /><br />Its been almost 1 and a half year since i post anything here.....<br /><br />I dont really know why i was away from it for so long. But its never too late and here i am , running after retail news again.<br /><br />Right now the retail in India is facing tough time. Retailers are unable to pay their suppliers on time and emphasizing on returns like anything. The main reason ofcourse is the customer entry in the malls and stores. It has gone down drastically and those who are entering into the malls are not spending free handindly. Some of the big retailers are finding very difficult to survive in this situation. Vishal Retail is one of them and has lost a huge money in the venture. Spencer's is finding very difficult to keep the opexes on track. Subhiksha , as we all know has been doomed because of the wrong management practices.<br />This is the era of cost cutting and the retailers are ready to sell their space to the concessionaires. Today they are open to give spaces in their stores to anyone irrespective keeping in the view of nature of thier business and concessionaire's business.<br />The rent is the biggest culprit of increasing opexes , but thank god , the fallen prices of real estate gave some sort of cool breeze to the retailers. The companies are approaching the owners of the real estate and they are more then happy to reduce it (at least they are getting something , because in current situation it doesn't seem that any one would be ready to give such higher prices).<br /><br />We all are hoping that this global turmoil will come to an end pretty soon the retail industry in India will soon become a shining industry as it was an year ago.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-14044907774796652652007-12-30T23:54:00.000+05:302008-01-01T10:36:33.107+05:30Orgainsed Retailing: A threat to traditional Retail? RPG's Spencer doesn't think so......With organized retail having a mere four per cent market in the country, it did not pose any threat to the traditional kirana traders, a top official of supermarket chain, Spencer’s said on 14 December. <div>“We are in the Indian market for about a century now and do not pose any kind of threat to traditional trade which still dominates about 96% of the total market,” said Samar Sheikhawat, vice president, Spencer’s Retail Ltd. </div><div>Asserting that supermarket giants had the right to operate anywhere in the country, he said it was quite unfortunate that retail traders in Kerala’s Malabar region were opposing entry of MNCs in the retail sector.</div><div>“In China, where foreign direct investment was allowed in the retail sector 10 years ago, traditional trade enjoys 90% of the total market even now,” Sheikhawat said, adding even in India Spencer’s was able to peacefully co-exist with other retailers in different parts of the country.</div><div>Part of the multi-crore RPG Group, Spencer’s has 350 stores in 55 cities across the country and is planning to open up 5,000 outlets by 2011, he said.</div><div>Announcing the launch of its first “Hyper Format” in Kerala here, Sheikhawat said it would provide international shopping experience to the customers.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-51924556369865052112007-12-06T02:40:00.000+05:302007-12-06T02:49:45.411+05:30Booming middle class makes it exciting time for lifestyle clothing- An interview of Mr.Ashish Dikshit, president (Lifestyle & Retail) Madura Garments<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><div class="section1"><div class="Normal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > Extension of the erstwhile men’s only brands –– Louis Philippe, Van Heusen and Allen Solly –– into segments such as women’s wear, youth and fashion is an attempt by the country’s biggest apparel marketer to leverage the country’s changing demographics, says Ashish Dikshit, president (Lifestyle & Retail) Madura Garments, a division of Rs 3,578-crore Aditya Birla Nuvo. Excerpts from a recent tête-à-tête: </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div> <div style="position: relative; left: -5px;" align="left"> <table style="width: 8px; height: 42px;" align="left" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"> <colgroup> <col width="2%"> <col width="97%"> </colgroup> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="background-color: white;" width="2%"> <div class="Normal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div> <div class="Normal"> </div> <div class="Normal" style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </div> <div class="Normal"> </div> <div class="Normal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"> </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div class="Normal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > What are the opportunities in the apparel market? </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> The burgeoning of international brands and ever increasing consumerism are the two big opportunities that India is witnessing right now. I think it is an exciting time for lifestyle clothing because of the expanding middle class. The disposition that they have towards brands is one reason that will boost the growth of branded apparel clothes. It enhances the scope of more brands and creation of sub-categories. Home-grown brands have learnt lessons from international clothing brands. What they require is to scale up the volumes and focus on categories more sharply.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > What are challenges for Madura Garments? </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Louis Philippe, Van Heusen and Allen Solly were, at one point of time, classic men's wear brands. We had a very strong positioning for these brands. But slowly we saw distinct and different facets emerging in the Indian demographics. We spotted the opportunity in the women's wear segment as early as 2001. With Allen Solly Woman we introduced our casual and formal wear for women. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> We witnessed (Allen Solly) women's wear reaping the success and (thereafter) we started pushing other brands (into other segments) as well. It is still very small but choices are expanding. Apart from it, we also witnessed a new set of shoppers emerging –– youth. So now we have fashionable clothing range under all our brands. The extensions are made in casual and leisure wear for youngsters and we are also working on the new positioning for these brands.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > Recently you introduced casual dressing styles with few of your brands? Are these brands getting a young repositioning? </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> We are surely extending our brands and targeting women and youngsters. But it will be over stretching to say that we are making the brand ‘young'. We think that there is a huge market opportunity by targeting women and youth. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> We have to make our brand relevant in the present scenario and we cannot afford to miss the critical mass of consumers. The workplaces are increasingly being dominated by women and younger talent. Broadening the apparel into categories such as formal wear, casual dressing and leisure wear for them is just a tip of the iceberg. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > Madura Garments is conspicuous by its absence in the Rs 15,000-crore kidswear market. Why? </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> I agree that we have not yet addressed the kidswear market. We are still researching and studying the market dynamics. We are doing a SWOT analysis and think we will soon enter this market too. It's surely the next big thing for us. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > How is the partnership with Esprit shaping up? </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Esprit is one of the leading international fashion brand that we decided to bring in during 2005. We saw a huge potential in youth fashion industry and thought it to be an appropriate time to introduce a brand that could cater to this segment. The market was prime for lifestyle clothing and Esprit played in the premium casual wear market. With an inclination to set footprints in new segment and attract more consumers, we got sharply focused brand Esprit. We have reached the critical mass and hope to grow three-fold next year.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > Any other international brands that you’re planning to launch here? </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> We are constantly working on making the premium dressing a significantly large business. There are few international brands that we are planning to bring in India but are currently working on a feasibility report for them. Currently, we are focused on making Esprit a highly recalled brand. We will also invest around Rs 400 crore in establishing exclusive stores for Esprit, increasing the retail space and investing in brand extension. <br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com</span><br /></span></div> </div><!--google_ad_region_end=article--><script type="text/javascript"> var RN = new String (Math.random()); var RNS = RN.substring (2,11); b2 = '<iframe align="left" src="\" width="255" height="250" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" bordercolor="\"> </iframe>'; if (doweshowbellyad==1) bellyad.innerHTML = b2; </script></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-11776610449899642932007-12-04T22:04:00.000+05:302007-12-04T22:09:20.429+05:30An Interview on Private Labels in India of Mr. Nirmalya Kumar<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" class="blk_12" id="ibef140"><span id="MainText"><p> <b>Nirmalya Kumar</b>, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Aditya Birla India Centre, London Business School, and co-author of Private Label Strategy, speaks to <i>Govindkrishna Seshan </i>on the new strategies for private labels that retailers are using and the challenges brand manufacturers face to develop an effective response. Kumar says private label brands, which occupy less than 5 per cent of the market in India now, are likely to corner 50 per cent of the market as the retail space opens up and matures. Excerpts: </p> <p> <b>Q: What role do private labels have to play in Indian retail? </b> </p> <p> <b>A: </b>Retailing in India is still very primitive. At the moment, private labels almost do not exist in the country. They are less than 5 per cent of the retail business and still have a long way to go. But Indian retail is extremely hot and it offers a proposition that can’t be seen anywhere else in the world. Only in China and India can retail chains have as many stores as they have in the US. In no other country can one imagine companies having 5,000-6,000 stores of their own. </p> <p> Here’s a little calculation: in a few years, most retail chains will have close to 5,000 stores in India. A profit of, say, Rs 5 lakh a store a month would mean a profit of Rs 250 crore. Ten such companies would mean profits of Rs 2,500 crore with their combined turnover being more than Rs 25,000 crore. </p> <p> In the next 20 years, the richest Indian or one of the top three richest people in India will surely be a retailer. Private labels will have a huge role to play in this. As much as 50 per cent of Indian retail will be occupied by private labels. The question is not whether this will happen, but when? If the government opens up retail, we would see it happen within the next 10 or 15 years. </p> <p> <b>Q: How have private labels evolved in developed countries? </b> </p> <p> <b>A: </b>Private labels have come a long way over the last three decades. They started with retailers wanting to offer cheaper substitutes. This was for two reasons. One, having a private label meant that retailers could negotiate a better margin from the manufacturer. And the other, when they had private labels they had a differentiator. While every shop sold a Coca-Cola and Pepsi, a private label meant that the store now had something that other stores did not. </p> <p> The biggest change in the last decade or so has been the entry of premium private labels. They are no longer saying “buy us because we are cheap”, instead today, they are saying “buy us because we are the best”. By offering high quality products, many private labels have started charging more than regular manufacturers. </p> <p> Today, retailers have realised that by having top quality private labels they can differentiate themselves from other stores and be a destination store. For instance, Tesco in Europe has a range called the Tesco Finest line. It does have a Tesco Value line, which is cheaper, but the Finest line only sells premium products at premium prices. Tesco’s Finest chocolate, for instance, sells at 50 per cent premium over, say, Cadbury’s. </p> <p> Similarly, its yogurt sells at more than 50 per cent premium over Danone and other yogurts. Retailers are now doing everything it takes to create premium brands. They advertise on television, take up brand-building exercises, and most importantly, they focus on developing a better product than the existing manufacturers’ brands. </p> <p> <b>Q: Is the same likely to happen in India as well? </b> </p> <p> Yes, the economics will remain the same. The share of private labels in any country depends on how consolidated the retail chains are. Developing a good quality brand has a high development and innovation cost attached to it. To be able to absorb such costs, Indian retail chains will need to scale up. </p> <p> In India, the largest retail chain today has around 300-400 stores. Retail chains in developed nations on the other hand have around 3,000-5,000 stores each. So it will start with retailers reverse engineering manufacturers’ brands, and as organised retailers grow larger, their labels, too, will move up the value chain. However, the transition will be faster in India. </p> <p> <b>Q: What would be your advice to Indian retailers? </b> </p> <p> <b>A: </b>Indian retail is ranked 50th in the world, so there is a lot that retailers here can learn from the 49 countries ahead. My advice to them is don’t do cheap and nasty private labels. Private labels won’t work by just keeping the products cheap. Retailers must look at developing good quality and value-added products. </p> <p> Also, they must make sure that they don’t over exercise the private label option. If they fall into the trap of using too many private labels, they will end up losing customers. It has been seen that when retail chains rely heavily on private labels, customers feel they lack choices. </p> <p> Many retailers have suffered due to this; Sainsbury is a classic example. The UK-based retail chain was a mainline traditional retail chain, but when it used too many private labels, customers did not find regular brands at its stores, and as a result, sales dropped. </p> <p> <b>Q: Can private brands ever generate the type of consumer loyalty some of the iconic manufacturer brands such as Marlboro and Coca-Cola have? </b> </p> <p> <b>A: </b>Yes definitely. In most developed countries, private labels have managed to achieve that. Study after study has ranked Aldi in Germany as the nation’s number one brand. In a recent study, its brand name in terms of consumer trust was ranked ahead of even DaimlerChrysler. </p> <p> Again, Tesco is among the top 10 brands in the UK. Similarly, French retailer Carrefour is one of the 10 most recognised and trusted brands in France. So good quality private labels definitely generate a very high level of loyalty amongst customers. </p> <p> <b>Q: How can manufacturers compete with private labels? </b> </p> <p> <b>A: </b>Innovate brilliantly, this is the first thing manufacturers need to do. They need to keep coming up with new products and new value additions continuously. By doing this, they ensure that they are a moving target and not a sitting duck. </p> <p> We have seen that in industries where manufacturers have innovated and upgraded their products regularly, the share of private labels has been low. Gillette is an excellent example. Worldwide, Gillette has constantly innovated its product. It has launched new razors, new blades and upgraded its products regularly, hence the share of private labels in razors is very low. </p> <p> <b>Q: Considering that the private label phenomenon has not yet happened in India, what can Indian manufacturers do to prepare themselves for it? </b> </p> <p> <b>A: </b>Manufacturers here need to realise and respect the strength of the retailer. Today, most companies see retailers as the owners of small mom-and-pop stores and not as a social or intellectual equal. But they need to understand that retailers have equal weight and will soon wield a lot more power than them. Hence manufacturers must start partnering with retailers. </p> <p> They must start working closely with them as soon they will have to work around them. In most developed nations like the US, the UK, South Africa and Australia, manufacturers work closely with retailers. Even in countries like Brazil, Mexico and Thailand one has witnessed this change. </p> <p> Hence Indian companies can begin to build a partnership from now. Large FMCG companies such as P&G and Unilever have learnt to do this well. Consider this: Wal-Mart purchases $10 billion worth of products from P&G, and hence P&G has to organise itself to work around them. </p> <p> The other thing that Indian manufacturers can do is to fight selectively. To do this, they must move out of categories where they are not the number one or two brand. As things move forward, it will make no sense to hold on to number three and four brands simply because a retailer would charge very high margins to stock these products. Retailers would only want to stock those brands which are at the top because they attract consumers. </p> <p> Since they don’t benefit by stocking the rest, it is best to move out of such categories. Also, companies must move out of those categories where their products do not make a symbolic or emotional difference to consumers. In categories where additional benefits are not seen such as in bread, butter, milk or paper towels, private labels tend to sell more. </p> <p> <b>Q: What is the future of private labels? </b> </p> <p> <b>A: </b>Private retailers will occupy 50 per cent of the market the world over. At 50 per cent, they begin to saturate. If they try to occupy more than this, then consumers feel that there aren’t enough choices. In countries such as Switzerland and the UK, private labels have reached this limit and these markets have saturated. But they will continue grow in the other countries till they reach the same level. And this will happen very soon in India, too.</p><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">source: http://www.ibef.org</span><br /></p> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-84521827810269612572007-11-27T20:37:00.000+05:302008-12-09T14:09:15.816+05:30An Interview of B.S. Nagesh -Managing Director , Shoppers Stop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpl0TEn9fmTgc1bid9bfIAnNZ4T8DIJHVFcl8eCZ_1ht6VoktuNzUdtoxm_mljr81bfKfuHKbdEMLmUXS2wK8flyOVC03X-E6R5GpCJAdiNGJ7jy8B3tq1pH2ORCdZvAqxF5P6Nm2SUs/s1600-h/nagesh_index.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpl0TEn9fmTgc1bid9bfIAnNZ4T8DIJHVFcl8eCZ_1ht6VoktuNzUdtoxm_mljr81bfKfuHKbdEMLmUXS2wK8flyOVC03X-E6R5GpCJAdiNGJ7jy8B3tq1pH2ORCdZvAqxF5P6Nm2SUs/s320/nagesh_index.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137540300616813826" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><p class="headline-2"><strong><br /></strong></p><p class="headline-2"><strong><br /></strong></p><p class="headline-2"><strong>In the retail industry, the winner doesn’t take all.</strong></p> <p><strong>BS Nagesh</strong><br /> customer care associate and managing director, Shoppers’ Stop</p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. Let’s start at the very beginning. From a single store in Andheri, Mumbai, to 19 stores across India, how has the Shoppers’ Stop journey been? When Shoppers’ Stop was started, did you expect it to become the national network it is today?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Quite frankly, no, at that point, I didn’t anticipate that it would become this big! Before joining Shoppers’ Stop, I was managing around 128 stores for the footwear chain, Carona. Back then, my vision was that instead of running over 100 stores measuring 50,000 square feet in all, why not run one store, measuring the same? This is how I joined the Rahejas.<br /><br />The Rahejas had a property which they wanted to make commercially viable. The group saw an opportunity in retail, which is how Shoppers’ Stop came into being. At that point, I really didn’t have much clue on how to run a departmental store! I just went with what I learnt from books and newspapers and relied on the Rahejas’ knowledge on international retailing.<br /><br />Towards the end of 1995, we opened our second store. Till then, we didn’t have any national vision. That vision was formed only around 1996-98, which is when we opened our Hyderabad store. Only after 1998 did we go in for a national presence.</p><p class="jobsearchrow">"When we started Shoppers’ Stop, everything was a challenge! Retail was only an art then; the science of retail, which we see today,<br />was completely lacking."</p><p class="jobsearchrow"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. Shoppers’ Stop was started at a time when organised retail was in its infancy. What were the challenges before you then?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Oh, everything was a challenge then! (Laughs) Today, when one talks of retail, people say, ‘Yes, but…’, while back then, the situation was ‘If…, but…’.<br /><br />At that time, 99 per cent of Mumbai’s retailers were Kutchis (Gujaratis hailing from Kutch), while the largest retailer in the city was Akbarally’s. So, the belief that a professional could run a retail business was largely perceived as a case of ‘suitwala dukan chalayega’. There was nothing like store planning or organised layouts. Retail was only an art then; the science of retail, which we see today, was completely lacking.<br /><br />Personally, I think we were trying to open up an industry which existed, but in which nobody believed. One of the biggest challenges for us back then was recruiting people as no one wanted to foray into retail. The first six-seven months, therefore, were the toughest.<br /><br />Once our team was in place, running the operations was not an issue, as it was internal. The problem lay in external perceptions. Now, around 15 years later, the situation is exactly the reverse. The consumer is all gung-ho, but are the retailers internally ready?<br /><br />Anyway, we started off as a purely menswear store and became a departmental store much later. We had four options before us. Shoppers’ Stop could start off being a departmental store such as Akbarally’s, but that was ruled out because we couldn’t run such a store with 4,200 square feet, to begin with! It could be an electronics store such as Vijay Sales, but that, too, was ruled out. It could also be a supermarket, where we had KDs for reference. That looked good, but the margins in such a set-up were quite low then. So, we went with the fourth option – apparel. We decided to stock only menswear as we’d be the biggest men’s apparel store in town then; Raymond was the biggest at that time. We did a lot of research at that point to find out the issues in the industry and what customers were looking for.<br /><br />So, on October 27, 1991, we formally commenced operations with our first shop at Linking Road, Andheri. I clearly remember… that was around eight days before the Diwali celebrations.</p><p align="justify"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. What’s the thought behind adding the tag ‘Customer Care Associate’ to every staff member’s designation, including yours? How has a customer based orientation to the organisation proved fruitful over the years?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>There are two parts to this answer. Firstly, to tell you quite honestly, most of us in the organisation didn’t have a clue as to what the retailing business was all about; our customers are the ones who taught us that. It’s not just our marketing, even our merchandising is based largely on customer feedback. I remember this customer telling me that while he loved Shoppers’ Stop, he hadn’t shopped there for a while because he couldn’t find any orange coloured shirts in our stock. We hadn’t thought it necessary to stock these, as the perception was, ‘Who buys orange shirts?’ But we went with what he said and stocked some. Within a matter of time, the entire range got sold out. And that’s just one example of how customers shape what we do.<br /><br />The second story runs thus: I lost this great store supervisor once, which made me think. This guy was about to get married and his mother-in-law had a problem with his designation, which was that of ‘salesman’. As a result, he put in his papers. That’s when I realised that we needed to change the designations we give to our people. That’s how that tag was added.<br /><br />In fact, this was one of the ways of motivating our staff and reminding them that customer satisfaction is of utmost importance. If the media sends us an e-mail, we may take time replying. But if a customer sends us an e-mail, I will make sure the query is attended to promptly. And this system has worked for us.<br /><br />We even map regularly the following three indices, which appear in our balance sheet: Customer Satisfaction Index, Employee Satisfaction Index and Partner Satisfaction Index (for our stakeholders and partners). We also have a two-day open forum every year, where people can toss their questions and complaints to the top guys in the organisation, who sit on a dais, ready to brave it out. We have always tried to ensure transparency in our dealings, which is one of our integral values.</p><p class="jobsearchrow">"Personally, I think we were trying to open up an industry which existed, but in which nobody believed. It was also a huge challenge to recruit people back then because no one wanted to foray into retail."</p><p class="jobsearchrow"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. How did you market Shoppers’ Stop initially? How did the campaign idea emerge and how has it evolved over the years?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Internationally, in most parts of the world, retail is built mainly by merchandise and not by marketing, whereas in India, marketing avenues such as press, outdoor and events are used extensively to build a retail brand. We personally dropped into various shops, posing as customers, to get in-depth understanding of what consumers want. We discovered one thing in common: All our boys who went into these shops came out talking about their experience of shopping. And that is how our first campaign idea emerged: ‘Shoppers’ Stop: The Ultimate Shopping Experience’. That was something that we essentially wanted to say.<br /><br />After four-five years, we went back to the customers and took their feedback. We realised we could no longer continue with our earlier statement, as customers were telling us what they felt while shopping. We then twisted our punchline and made it revolve around the customer. Thus, ‘Feel the Experience while You Shop’ became our new mantra.<br /><br />Last year, in 2005, we again revisited our positioning and got inputs from our customers. What a typical customer was telling us was, “The experience is already there. I want something more.” So now, we have adopted the platform, ‘Beyond Shopping’. So, you see, our whole journey has revolved around what our customers feel and the insights they provide.<br /><br />Over the last three years, and particularly after the ‘Beyond Shopping’ campaign, our same store sales growth has increased from 9-11 per cent to 17 per cent; in the last quarter, we registered 24 per cent sales growth and that too with a huge customer entry jump.<br /><br />It works this way: You connect with the customer and, after some time, he grows bigger than you. So, you go back to the customer and find different avenues to revive the connectivity. It’s an ongoing process.</p><p align="justify"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. It is believed that the trademark black and white logo and campaign for Shoppers’ Stop happened because of a lack of budget! Is that true? It sure seems to have worked for the brand...</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Yes, that’s true! (Smiles) Our ad agency, Contract, had faxed us a colour layout of the logo. But since we had a black and white fax machine, I saw the logo in black and white. But I loved it immediately. I had no clue it was colour in the first place! I honestly thought this is what the agency had intended it to be. Besides, our budget was Rs 14 lakh and a coloured logo would have cost us Rs 28 lakh – double of that.<br /><br />Yes, it was a risk for us to go all black and white while other fashion brands were all about colour. But then, in the first three years of our start-up, everything was a risk. But our differentiation, which was accidental, mind you, worked in our favour and became our strategic tool.<br /><br />Having said the part about our fair share of risks, I must add here that we weren’t reckless in any way. In fact, we’re a fairly conservative company. I guess we’re not the most aggressive player in the country, but then, so be it. That’s the way we are.</p><p class="jobsearchrow">"No, HyperCITY is not an answer to Big Bazaar or Spencer’s in any way."</p><p class="jobsearchrow"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. The brand, Shoppers’ Stop, is spelt differently in different places. Why is it so? Don’t you think this is hazardous for the brand?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Well, it is spelt in two ways and I’ll tell you each instance. In the logo and within shops, it is spelt with an apostrophe after ‘s’ in the word ‘Shoppers’, whereas in the books of the Registrar of Companies, it is spelt with an apostrophe between ‘r’ and ‘s’ in the same word. See, we can design the logo the way we want, but when we went to register Shoppers’ Stop Limited, it had to be spelt as per British English, which is why it was registered as ‘Shopper’s Stop Ltd’. But that part is not exposed to the customers at all.<br /><br />But if you’re saying that it is spelt wrongly in the shop environment, which I doubt, then that is an error on our part, which we need to rectify immediately. It can cause confusion, no doubt. We’ll sort it out soon, now that you have brought it to our notice! (Grins)</p><p align="justify"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. In a price sensitive market such as India, can shopping malls beat ‘kirana’ stores just on the basis of ambience and shopping experience? Do you see this competition moving beyond just a price war?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>One has to see things differently. ‘Kirana’ stores target the 700 million belt, whereas organised retail services the 300 million one. To apply the same rules at both places, when they cater to two different sets of people, would be unfair. Let me explain the difference.<br /><br />In the 300 million belt (non-food segment), consumers are almost global, that is, they have moved from price to value. One will be surprised to find the substantial number of people who buy, say, a Mercedes, in Mumbai, but get it registered from Thane. This is to save a lakh of rupees, despite the fact that they spend around Rs 40 lakh on the car. So, this segment is more value conscious, as they will buy the most expensive item, and simultaneously will want to get the best price for it. A price conscious consumer, on the other hand, will look at price alone and opt for a product which is the cheapest.<br /><br />In the same belt (food segment), the consumer’s taste and choice are becoming global. And this is being driven by the media. I will give a small example. There are many cookery shows on television where they demonstrate continental cuisine. Now where will the consumer get the ingredients for these recipes – only at the supermarkets. However, I will also say that although the taste of the consumer has become global, the supply chain is still not global.<br /><br />What I can foresee is that as the number of SKUs and options increase, consumers will demand more and limitation of space will become a problem for the ‘kiranas’. Perhaps, what will happen is that the generalised retailer will convert into a specialised one. So, the special ‘paneer’/cheese centres which you have today will become even more popular, and their biggest competitors in that regard will probably be the food bazaars.<br /><br />To answer your question specifically, I think the ‘kirana’ store will be around for the next 30-40 years easily, as it is the neighbourhood store and convenience works in its favour. It also has two channels to buy from – traditional suppliers and hypermarkets. But SKUs will be a big problem area for it.<br /><br />To conclude, the ‘kiranas’ are under a format and product threat, but not under any business threat.<br /><br />As far as the price war theory goes, here are my views. Organised retail makes a person buy more for the same amount and offers tremendous scope for impulse shopping, which is very limited in a ‘kirana’ store. If we remove this impulse shopping factor, the consumer saves bucks at a hypermarket. For instance, if a person buys something at a ‘kirana’ and buys the same thing at a hypermarket, with no room for impulse shopping, he will save almost 5-10 per cent in the latter case. But that’s perhaps theoretical; one winds up doing impulsive shopping after seeing so many things on display! (Laughs)</p><p class="jobsearchrow">"Internationally, in most parts of the world, retail is built mainly by merchandise and not by marketing, whereas in India, marketing avenues such as press, outdoor and events are used extensively to build a retail brand."</p><p class="jobsearchrow"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. With the relaxation in the FDI regulations, the big foreign players such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco and Home Depot are just around the corner. Smaller players in India seem to be perspiring at the thought and strategising on the way ahead. How will Shoppers’ Stop hold its own before these big fish?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>I strongly believe that in retail, the winner doesn’t take it all. And this applies globally, too. Let’s take the example of a big giant, Wal-Mart, in the US. The fact is it has an approximate 9.8 per cent share of a $3 trillion market! Maybe we need to look at why Wal-Mart was not successful in Germany and Korea, or why it was successful in some other markets. It all boils down to market dynamics. You can’t take one model and apply it elsewhere.<br /><br />Anyway, I feel that players who are weak internally will suffer as a result of this competition.</p><p align="justify"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. In addition, even domestically, the scene is getting hot, with giants such as the Tatas, the Bharti Group and Reliance Industries eyeing the organised retail pie in India. The road sure doesn’t look simple.</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Nothing will change for Shoppers’ Stop, not in the next 10-15 years, for sure. Shoppers’ Stop stands at 19 stores at present; it should reach 39 soon and then go up to 50. Competition will, in fact, help us. It will help expand the organised retail market. Yes, where we will compete will be in the malls, but then, let the consumers take a final call. We’d rather concentrate on our strategy and our growth plan, rather than chase our competitors’ strategies. We are aware of the competition, but aren’t sweating over it.<br /><br />Shoppers’ Stop, HyperCITY and our specialty businesses will continue to concentrate on their respective goals and will be able to take on their competition due to its focus, range width and depth and consumer insight coupled with the trust we have built over so many years in the business.</p><p class="jobsearchrow">"It works this way: You connect with the customer and, after some time, he grows bigger than you. So, you go back to the customer and find different avenues to revive the connectivity. It’s an ongoing process."</p><p class="jobsearchrow"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. Shoppers’ Stop, too, has ventured into hypermarkets, with HyperCITY Retail (India). Is this the answer to your competitor Pantaloon’s Big Bazaar or RPG’s Spencer’s? Do you think you have already missed the bus?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>No, HyperCITY is not an answer to Big Bazaar or Spencer’s in any way. HyperCITY has been rated as one of the best 100 stores in the world, as per ‘Retail Week’, a magazine in the UK.<br /><br />Besides, I don’t think we’re competing with Big Bazaar at all, in terms of marketplace or customer base. The two of us cater to two separate markets altogether. HyperCITY has the same TG as Shoppers’ Stop – the mid to high end segment. This is a conscious strategy because this segment has the highest disposable income… the 300 million base which I spoke about earlier. Thirty per cent of Indian consumers contribute to 70 per cent of our sales. So, do we want to chase the other 70 per cent? Not really. It’s a business strategy, nothing else.<br /><br />In fact, we’re following international trends set by Wal-mart and Tesco. For instance, Tesco, which is the world’s second largest player, is entering the US market at this point.<br /><br />As I said before, the winner doesn’t take all. I really don’t feel as though we have missed the bus, even though externally, the media and investors may feel that way. There is always a right moment for everything. For instance, for HyperCITY, the best real estate deals and properties, which we got today, might not have been possible a decade ago. Speed is not an issue for us… we don’t have the craze to be number one there, or number two in so and so city.</p><p align="justify"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. Shopping malls have high footfalls. Are you satisfied with the way this medium is being used currently for advertising? Do you see a situation in which retail outlets will earn substantial revenue from advertisers and pass on a portion of this profit to the consumers?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>I’m quite satisfied with the way retail is being used for advertising. Plasma televisions to display and promote brands catch the eyes of the customers. Promotions in the atriums and sampling and test marketing of automotive products in car parks are some other good concepts.<br /><br />To answer the second part of your question, yes, it’s possible in the long run, but the end consumer generally gets his benefit from competitive pricing. Around 1-2 per cent of the bottom-line profits for retailers and mall operators will come from these advertisers.<br /><br />Retail poses a great opportunity for advertisers. Conventionally, they are targeting eyeballs; here, it is footfalls. Besides, customers are in a different frame of mind altogether while shopping, which is an advantage.</p><p class="jobsearchrow">"Yes, it was a risk for us to go all black and white, while other fashion brands were all about colour. But then, in the first three years of our start-up, everything was a risk."</p><p class="jobsearchrow"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. A majority of Shoppers’ Stop stores are in malls, which are characterised by higher footfalls and lower conversions. Shouldn’t Shoppers’ Stop have more stand-alone stores?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>For one, stand-alone stores don’t provide for the same kind of parking the way malls do and, in the near future, parking will be a major issue for shoppers. In fact, there are more real estate opportunities in malls, which is why they will grow faster than stand-alone stores.<br /><br />Conversions are low in malls in India as shopping is still a family thing… five people in a family may come to shop for something which only one of them wants. Thus, there is no proportion between footfalls and conversions. But that will soon change as shopping will become an individual thing.</p><p align="justify"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. What are your plans for Crossword? What is the idea behind this celebrity launches?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Crossword has 34 stores, with another 11 in the offing. It should reach a target of 100 stores over the next two years. But the truth is that book retail is yet to catch up in a big way in India, as most of the publishers of books are international ones. The book distribution business is in small hands therefore the brand, product or distributors push for the title is very weak. This is why we need to have the book launches with celebrities, which has certainly helped the store’s popularity!</p><p class="jobsearchrow">"I guess we’re not the most aggressive player in the country, but then, so be it. That’s the way we are."</p><p class="jobsearchrow"><br /></p><span class="headline">Q. Any parting thoughts on the retail industry?</span> <p align="justify"> <span class="red"><strong>A. </strong></span>Quite a few. For one, retail is a very simple business.<br /><br />Secondly, it’s also a loyalty led business. In fact, in the UK and Germany, 54 per cent people are loyal to a particular store. In India the figure would be in the range of 20 per cent. However, in case of Shoppers’ Stop, the loyalty contribution is more than 60 per cent.<br /><br />I will also add here that more than being unique, retail is about being consistent. This is what I have learnt through my experiences all these years.<br /><br />I feel that 500,000 square foot malls are the best.<br /><br />In Western countries, there is this emerging trend of smaller malls and more stand-alone stores. Will it catch on in India? I would like to wait and watch.</p><br /><p align="justify"><span style="font-size:85%;">Source : www.agencyfaqs.com</span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-25256650220876941592007-11-26T20:35:00.000+05:302007-11-26T20:37:54.649+05:30Madura Garments wins the prestigious "Most Admired Company of the Year" Award<span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >Madura Garments, India's leading branded apparel and retail company and a division of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., won the prestigious CMAI awards for excellence in apparels in three categories. The categories include:</span> <ul><li><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >"Most Admired Company of the Year Award"</span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >"Best Clothing Company of the Year Award - Domestic" and </span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >"Best Advertising Campaign of the Year - Louis Philippe" </span></li></ul> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >The award is instituted by CMAI (The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India), a premium association of the apparel industry in India. At a glittering ceremony held in Mumbai, these awards were announced for honouring excellence in the apparel industry.</span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >Says Mr Vikram Rao, Business Director - Textiles and Apparels, Aditya Birla Nuvo, "I am delighted that we have been recognised by CMAI for excellence in apparels in the three categories. At Madura Garments, quality and craftsmanship has been our core strengths and we continue to invest, develop and better the benchmarks that we set for ourselves".</span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >For these awards, CMAI tied up with Technopak, the premier global management-consulting firm to provide knowledge support and market research to recognise the best in apparel industry.</span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >The jury comprised of some well-known names from the industry such as Mr. Anil Biyani, Mr. Govind Srikhande, Ms. Meher Castilino, Dr. Hirji Nagarwalla, Ms. Falguni Zaveri, Ms. Krishna Mehta, Ms. Anita Dongre and Mr. C.K. Nair. </span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >Madura Garments has won many coveted awards in the fashion world like the "Best Retailer of the Year", "Best Apparel Company of the Year", "Best Trouser Brand of the Year", "Best Smart Casual Brand of the Year", etc at well-known fora such as the Reid and Taylor Awards and Images Fashion Awards. Moreover, in 2006, the company received the CMAI awards in five categories including the "Most Admired Company of the Year", "Clothing Company of the Year-domestic", "Best Mens Wear Brand in Formals - Louis Philippe", "Best Womenswear Brand in Western Wear - Allen Solly" and "Supply Chain Management of the Year Awards".</span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >The company enjoys market leadership in the branded garments business through its power and popular lifestyle brands - Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England. </span><br /> </p> <p align="left"><br /> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-33531084477658347642007-11-21T00:19:00.000+05:302007-11-21T00:44:56.849+05:30Seven Priciples of Supply Chain Management<table class="MsoNormalTable" style="margin-left: 6.75pt; margin-right: 6.75pt;" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt; background: rgb(255, 204, 51) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top"><div> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="">Seven Principles</span></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt; background: rgb(255, 255, 153) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><a href="http://www.scmr.com/article/CA185647.html#princ1#princ1">1</a>. Segment customers based on service needs.<br /><a href="http://www.scmr.com/article/CA185647.html#princ2#princ2">2</a>. Customize the logistics network.<br /><a href="http://www.scmr.com/article/CA185647.html#princ3#princ3">3</a>. Listen to signals of market demand and plan accordingly.<br /><a href="http://www.scmr.com/article/CA185647.html#princ4#princ4">4</a>. Differentiate product closer to the customer.<br /><a href="http://www.scmr.com/article/CA185647.html#princ5#princ5">5</a>. Source strategically.<br /><a href="http://www.scmr.com/article/CA185647.html#princ6#princ6">6</a>. Develop a supply chain-wide technolgy strategy.<br /><a href="http://www.scmr.com/article/CA185647.html#princ7#princ7">7</a>. Adopt channel-spanning performance measures.</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"><br /></span></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"><br /></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">To balance customers' demands with the need for profitable growth,<br />many companies have moved aggressively to improve supply chain<br />management. Their efforts reflect seven principles of supply chain<br />management that, working together, can enhance revenue, cost<br />control, and asset utilization as well as customer satisfaction.<br />Implemented successfully, these principles prove convincingly<br />that you can please customers and enjoy profitable growth from<br />doing so.</span></b></span> </p><br /><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="display: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0in;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <br /></td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0in;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Managers increasingly find themselves assigned the role of the<br />rope in a very real tug of war—pulled one way by customers'<br />mounting demands and the opposite way by the company's need<br />for growth and profitability. Many have discovered that they can<br />keep the rope from snapping and, in fact, achieve profitable growth<br />by treating supply chain management as a strategic variable. </p> <p>These savvy managers recognize two important things. First, they<br />think about the supply chain as a whole—all the links involved in<br />managing the flow of products, services, and information from their<br />suppliers' suppliers to their customers' customers (that is, channel<br />customers, such as distributors and retailers). Second, they pursue<br />tangible outcomes—focused on revenue growth, asset utilization,<br />and cost reduction. </p> <p>Rejecting the traditional view of a company and its component parts<br />as distinct functional entities, these managers realize that the real<br />measure of success is how well activities coordinate across the supply<br />chain to create value for customers, while increasing the profitability<br />of every link in the chain. In the process, some even redefine the<br />competitive game; consider the success of Procter & Gamble .<br /></p> <p>Our analysis of initiatives to improve supply chain management<br />by more than 100 manufacturers, distributors, and retailers shows<br />many making great progress, while others fail dismally. The<br />successful initiatives that have contributed to profitable growth<br />share several themes. They are typically broad efforts, combining<br />both strategic and tactical change. They also reflect a holistic approach,<br />viewing the supply chain from end to end and orchestrating efforts<br />so that the whole improvement achieved—in revenue, costs, and<br />asset utilization—is greater than the sum of its parts. </p> <p>Unsuccessful efforts likewise have a consistent profile. They tend to<br />be functionally defined and narrowly focused, and they lack sustaining<br />infrastructure. Uncoordinated change activity erupts in every<br />department and function and puts the company in grave danger<br />of "dying the death of a thousand initiatives." The source of failure<br />is seldom management's difficulty identifying what needs fixing. The<br />issue is determining how to develop and execute a supply chain<br />transformation plan that can move multiple, complex operating<br />entities (both internal and external) in the same direction. </p> <p>To help managers decide how to proceed, we revisited the supply<br />chain initiatives undertaken by the most successful manufacturers<br />and distilled from their experience seven fundamental principles<br />of supply chain management. </p> <p>Adherence to the seven principles transforms the tug of war between<br />customer service and profitable growth into a balancing act. By<br />determining what customers want and how to coordinate efforts across<br />the supply chain to meet those requirements faster, cheaper, and<br />better, companies enhance both customersatisfaction and their own<br />financial performance. But the balance is not easy to strike or to<br />sustain. As this article will demonstrate, each company—whether<br />a supplier, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer—must find the way<br />to combine all seven principles into a supply chain strategy that best<br />fits its particular situation. No two companies will reach the same<br />conclusion.</p><p><br /></p> <p><a name="princ1"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Principle 1:</span></b></a><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"> Segment customers based on the service needs<br />of distinct groups and adapt the supply chain to serve these<br />segments profitably.</span></b> </p> <p>Segmentation has traditionally grouped customers by industry, product,<br />or trade channel and then taken a one-size-fits-all approach to serving<br />them, averaging costs and profitability within and across segments. The<br />typical result, as one manager admits: "We don't fully understand the<br />relative value customers place on our service offerings." </p> <p>But segmenting customers by their particular needs equips a company<br />to develop a portfolio of services tailored to various segments. Surveys,<br />interviews, and industry research have been the traditional tools for<br />defining key segmentation criteria. </p> <p>Today, progressive manufacturers are turning to such advanced<br />analytical techniques as cluster and conjoint analysis to measure<br />customer tradeoffs and predict the marginal profitability of each<br />segment. One manufacturer of home improvement and building<br />products bases segmentation on sales and merchandising needs<br />and order fulfillment requirements. Others are finding that criteria<br />such as technical support and account planning activities drive<br />segmentation. </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->Viewed from the classic perspective, this needs-based segmentation<br />may produce some odd couples. <b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">For the manufacturer in Exhibit 1</span></b>,<br />"innovators" include an industrial distributor (Grainger), a do-it-yourself<br />retailer (Home Depot), and a mass merchant (Wal-Mart). </p> <p>Research also can established the services valued by all customers versus<br />those valued only by certain segments. </p> <p>Then the company should apply a disciplined, cross-functional process<br />to develop a menu of supply chain programs and create segment-specific<br />service packages that combine basic services for everyone with the<br />services from the menu that will have the greatest appeal to particular<br />segments. This does not mean tailoring for the sake of tailoring. The goal<br />is to find the degree of segmentation and variation needed to maximize<br />profitability. </p> <p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">All the segments in Exhibit 1</span></b>, for example, value consistent<br />delivery. But those in the lower left quadrant have little interest in the<br />advanced supply chain management programs, such as customized<br />packaging and advance shipment notification, that appeal greatly to<br />those in the upper right quadrant. </p> <p>Of course, customer needs and preferences do not tell the whole story.<br />The service packages must turn a profit, and many companies lack<br />adequate financial understanding of their customers' and their own<br />costs to gauge likely profitability. "We don't know which customers<br />are most profitable to serve, which will generate the highest long-term<br />profitability, or which we are most likely to retain," confessed a leading<br />industrial manufacturer. This knowledge is essential to correctly<br />matching accounts with service packages—hich translates into revenues<br />enhanced through some combination of increases in volume and/or price. </p> <p>Only by understanding their costs at the activity level and using that<br />understanding to strengthen fiscal control can companies profitably<br />deliver value to customers. One "successful" food manufacturer<br />aggressively marketed vendor-managed inventory to all customer<br />segments and boosted sales. But subsequent activity-based cost<br />analysis found that one segment actually lost nine cents a case on<br />an operating margin basis. </p> <p>Most companies have a significant untapped opportunity to better<br />align their investment in a particular customer relationship with<br />the return that customer generates. To do so, companies must analyze<br />the profitability of segments, plus the costs and benefits of alternate<br />service packages, to ensure a reasonable return on their investment<br />and the most profitable allocation of resources. To strike and sustain<br />the appropriate balance between service and profitability, most<br />companies will need to set priorities—sequencing the rollout of tailored<br />programs to capitalize on existing capabilities and maximize customer<br />impact. </p> <p class="exhibitref"><a name="princ2"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Principle 2:</span></b></a><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"> Customize the logistics network to the service<br />requirements and profitability of customer segments.</span></b> </p> <p>Companies have traditionally taken a monolithic approach to logistics<br />network design in organizing their inventory, warehouse, and<br />transportation activities to meet a single standard. For some, the<br />logistics network has been designed to meet the average service<br />requirements of all customers; for others, to satisfy the toughest<br />requirements of a single customer segment. </p> <p>Neither approach can achieve superior asset utilization or accommodate<br />the segment-specific logistics necessary for excellent supply chain<br />management. In many industries, especially such commodity<br />industries as fine paper, tailoring distribution assets to meet individual<br />logistics requirements is a greater source of differentiation for a<br />manufacturer than the actual products, which are largely<br />undifferentiated. </p> <p>One paper company found radically different customer service<br />demands in two key segments—large publishers with long lead<br />times and small regional printers needing delivery within 24 hours.<br />To serve both segments well and achieve profitable growth, the<br />manufacturer designed a multi-level logistics network with three<br />full-stocking distribution centers and 46 quick-response cross-docks,<br />stocking only fast-moving items, located near the regional printers. </p> <p>Return on assets and revenues improved substantially thanks to the<br />new inventory deployment strategy, supported by outsourcing of<br />management of the quick response centers and the transportation<br />activities. </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:225pt;height:148.5pt;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->This example highlights several key characteristics of segment-specific<br />services. The logistics network probably will be more complex, involving<br />alliances with third-party logistics providers, and will certainly have to<br />be more flexible than the traditional network. As a result, fundamental<br />changes in the mission, number, location, and ownership structure of<br />warehouses are typically necessary. Finally, the network will require<br />more robust logistics planning enabled by "real-time" decision-support<br />tools that can handle flow-through distribution and more time-sensitive<br />approaches to managing transportation. </p> <p>Even less conventional thinking about logistics is emerging in some<br />industries, where shared customers and similar geographic approaches<br />result in redundant networks. Combining logistics for both<br />complementary and competing firms under third-party ownership<br />can provide a lower-cost industrywide solution. </p> <p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">As shown in Exhibit 2</span></b>, the food and packaged goods industry might<br />well cut logistics costs 42 percent per case and reduce total days in the<br />system 73 percent by integrating logistics assets across the industry,<br />with extensive participation by third-party logistics providers. </p> <p class="exhibitref"><a name="princ3"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Principle 3:</span></b></a><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"> Listen to market signals and align demand<br />planning accordingly across the supply chain, ensuring<br />consistent forecasts and optimal resource allocation.</span></b> </p> <p>Forecasting has historically proceeded silo by silo, with multiple<br />departments independently creating forecasts for the same<br />products—all using their own assumptions, measures, and level<br />of detail. Many consult the marketplace only informally, and few<br />involve their major suppliers in the process. The functional orientation<br />of many companies has just made things worse, allowing sales forecasts<br />to envision growing demand while manufacturing second-guesses how<br />much product the market actually wants. </p> <p>Such independent, self-centered forecasting is incompatible with<br />excellent supply chain management, as one manufacturer of<br />photographic imaging found. This manufacturer nicknamed the<br />warehouse "the accordion" because it had to cope with a production<br />operation that stuck to a stable schedule, while the revenue-focused<br />sales force routinely triggered cyclical demand by offering deep discounts<br />at the end of each quarter. The manufacturer realized the need to<br />implement a cross-functional planning process, supported by demand<br />planning software. </p> <p>Initial results were dismaying. Sales volume dropped sharply, as<br />excess inventory had to be consumed by the marketplace. But today,<br />the company enjoys lower inventory and warehousing costs and<br />much greater ability to maintain price levels and limit discounting.<br />Like all the best sales and operations planning (S&OP), this process<br />recognizes the needs and objectives of each functional group but bases<br />operational decisions on overall profit potential. </p> <p>Excellent supply chain management, in fact, calls for S&OP that<br />transcends company boundaries to involve every link of the supply<br />chain (from the supplier's supplier to the customer's customer) in<br />developing forecasts collaboratively and then maintaining the required<br />capacity across the operations. Channel-wide S&OP can detect early<br />warning signals of demand lurking in customer promotions, ordering<br />patterns, and restocking algorithms and takes into account vendor<br />and carrier capabilities, capacity, and constraints. </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1028" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;margin-left:147.5pt;margin-top:0;width:187.5pt;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Exhibit 3 illustrates the difference that cross supply chain<br />planning has made for one manufacturer of laboratory products.</span></b><br />As shown on the left of this exhibit, uneven distributor demand<br />unsynchronized with actual end-user demand made real inventory<br />needs impossible to predict and forced high inventory levels that<br />still failed to prevent out-of-stocks. </p> <p>Distributors began sharing information on actual (and fairly stable)<br />end-user demand with the manufacturer, and the manufacturer began<br />managing inventory for the distributors. This coordination of<br />manufacturing scheduling and inventory deployment decisions<br />paid off handsomely, improving fill rates, asset turns, and cost<br />metrics for all concerned. </p> <p>Such demand-based planning takes time to get right. The first step is<br />typically a pilot of a leading-edge program, such as vendor-managed<br />inventory or jointly managed forecasting and replenishment, conducted<br />in conjunction with a few high-volume, sophisticated partners in the<br />supply chain. As the partners refine their collaborative forecasting,<br />planned orders become firm orders. The customer no longer sends<br />a purchase order, and the manufacturer commits inventory from<br />its available-to-promise stock. After this pilot formalizes a planning<br />process, infrastructure, and measures, the program expands to include<br />other channel partners, until enough are participating to facilitate<br />quantum improvement in utilization of manufacturing and logistics<br />assets and cost performance. </p> <p class="exhibitref"><a name="princ4"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Principle 4:</span></b></a><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"> Differentiate product closer to the customer<br />and speed conversion across the supply chain.</span></b> </p> <p>Manufacturers have traditionally based production goals on projections<br />of the demand for finished goods and have stockpiled inventory to offset<br />forecasting errors. These manufacturers tend to view lead times in the<br />system as fixed, with only a finite window of time in which to convert<br />materials into products that meet customer requirements. </p> <p>While even such traditionalists can make progress in cutting costs<br />through set-up reduction, cellular manufacturing, and just-in-time<br />techniques, great potential remains in less traditional strategies such<br />as mass customization. For example, manufacturers striving to meet<br />individual customer needs efficiently through strategies such as mass<br />customization are discovering the value of postponement. They are<br />delaying product differentiation to the last possible moment and thus<br />overcoming the problem described by one manager of a health and<br />beauty care products warehouse: "With the proliferation of packaging<br />requirements from major retailers, our number of SKUs<br />(stock keeping units) has exploded. We have situations daily where<br />we backorder one retailer, like Wal-Mart, on an item that is identical<br />to an in-stock item, except for its packaging. Sometimes we even<br />tear boxes apart and repackage by hand!" </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1029" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:262.5pt;height:166.5pt;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">The hardware manufacturer in Exhibit 4 solved this<br />problem by determining the point at which a standard<br />bracket turned into multiple SKUs.</span></b> This point came when the<br />bracket had to be packaged 16 ways to meet particular customer<br />requirements. The manufacturer further concluded that overall<br />demand for these brackets is relatively stable and easy to forecast,<br />while demand for the 16 SKUs is much more volatile. The solution:<br />make brackets in the factory but package them at the distribution<br />center, within the customer order cycle. This strategy improved<br />asset utilization by cutting inventory levels by more than 50 percent. </p> <p>Realizing that time really is money, many manufacturers are<br />questioning the conventional wisdom that lead times in the supply<br />chain are fixed. They are strengthening their ability to react to market<br />signals by compressing lead times along the supply chain, speeding<br />the conversion from raw materials to finished products tailored to<br />customer requirements. This approach enhances their flexibility<br />to make product configuration decisions much closer to the moment<br />demand occurs. </p> <p>Consider Apple's widely publicized PC shortages during peak sales<br />periods. Errors in forecasting demand, coupled with supplier inability<br />to deliver custom drives and chips in less than 18 weeks, left Apple<br />unable to adjust fast enough to changes in projected customer demand.<br />To overcome the problem, Apple has gone back to the drawing board,<br />redesigning PCs to use more available, standard parts that have shorter<br />lead times. </p> <p>The key to just-in-time product differentiation is to locate the<br />leverage point in the manufacturing process where the product is unalterably<br />configured to meet a single requirement and to assess options, such a<br />postponement, modularized design, or modification of manufacturing<br />processes, that can increase flexibility. In addition, manufacturers must<br />challenge cycle times: Can the leverage point be pushed closer to actual<br />demand to maximize the manufacturer's flexibility in responding to emerging<br />customer demand? </p> <p class="exhibitref"><a name="princ5"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Principle 5:</span></b></a><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"> Manage sources of supply strategically to reduce<br />the total cost of owning materials and services.</span></b> </p> <p>Determined to pay as low a price as possible for materials, manufacturers<br />have not traditionally cultivated warm relationships with suppliers. In the<br />words of one general manager: "The best approach to supply is to have<br />as many players as possible fighting for their piece of the pie—that's when<br />you get the best pricing." </p> <p>Excellent supply chain management requires a more enlightened<br />mindset—recognizing, as a more progressive manufacturer did:<br />"Our supplier's costs are in effect our costs. If we force our supplier<br />to provide 90 days of consigned material when 30 days are sufficient,<br />the cost of that inventory will find its way back into the supplier's price<br />to us since it increases his cost structure." </p> <p>While manufacturers should place high demands on suppliers, they<br />should also realize that partners must share the goal of reducing costs<br />across the supply chain in order to lower prices in the marketplace and<br />enhance margins. The logical extension of this thinking is gain-sharing<br />arrangements to reward everyone who contributes to the greater profitability. </p> <p>Some companies are not yet ready for such progressive thinking<br />because they lack the fundamental prerequisite. That is, a sound<br />knowledge of all their commodity costs, not only for direct materials<br />but also for maintenance, repair, and operating supplies, plus the dollars<br />spent on utilities, travel, temps, and virtually everything else. This<br />fact-based knowledge is the essential foundation for determining the<br />best way of acquiring every kind of material and service the company<br />buys. </p> <p>With their marketplace position and industry structure in mind,<br />manufacturers can then consider how to approach suppliers—soliciting<br />short-term competitive bids, entering into long-term contracts and<br />strategic supplier relationships, outsourcing, or integrating vertically.<br />Excellent supply chain management calls for creativity and flexibility. </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1030" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;margin-left:128.75pt;margin-top:0;width:168.75pt;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->For one manufacturer whose many divisions all were independently<br />ordering the cardboard boxes they used, creativity meant consolidating<br />purchases, using fewer and more efficient suppliers, and eliminating<br />redundancy in such processes as quality inspection. For many small<br />manufacturers, creativity means reducing transportation costs by<br />hitching a ride to market on the negotiated freight rates of a large<br />customer. <b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">For the chemical company in Exhibit 5,<br />creativity meant tackling the volatility of base commodity<br />prices by indexing them (rather than negotiating fixed prices),<br />so supplier and manufacturer share both the pain and<br />the gain of price fluctuations.</span></b> </p> <p>While the seven principles of supply chain management can achieve<br />their full potential only if implemented together, this principle may<br />warrant early attention because the savings it can realize from the<br />start can fund additional initiatives. The proof of the pudding: Creating<br />a data warehouse to store vast amounts of transactional and<br />decision-support data for easy retrieval and application in<br />annual negotiations consolidated across six divisions cut one<br />manufacturer's operating costs enough in the first year to pay<br />for a redesigned distribution network and a new order management system. </p> <p class="exhibitref"><a name="princ6"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Principle 6:</span></b></a><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"> Develop a supply chain-wide technology<br />strategy that supports multiple levels of decision making<br />and gives a clear view of the flow of products, services, and<br />information.</span></b> </p> <p>To sustain reengineered business processes (that at last abandon the<br />functional orientation of the past), many progressive companies have<br />been replacing inflexible, poorly integrated systems with enterprise-wide<br />systems. One study puts 1995 revenues for enterprisewide software<br />and service, provided by such companies as SAP and Oracle, at more<br />than $3.5 billion and projects annual revenue growth of 15 to 20<br />percent from 1994 through 1999. </p> <p>Too many of these companies will find themselves victims of the<br />powerful new transactional systems they put in place. Unfortunately,<br />many leading-edge information systems can capture reams of data but<br />cannot easily translate it into actionable intelligence that can enhance<br />real-world operations. As one logistics manager with a brand-new<br />system said: "I've got three feet of reports with every detail imaginable,<br />but it doesn't tell me how to run my business." </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1031" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:206.25pt;height:183pt;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->This manager needs to build an information technology system that<br />integrates capabilities of three essential kinds. <b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">(See Exhibit 6.)</span></b> For<br />the short term, the system must be able to handle day-to-day<br />transactions and electronic commerce across the supply chain and<br />thus help align supply and demand by sharing information on orders<br />and daily scheduling. From a mid-term perspective, the system<br />must facilitate planning and decision making, supporting the demand<br />and shipment planning and master production scheduling needed to<br />allocate resources efficiently. To add long-term value, the system must<br />enable strategic analysis by providing tools, such as an integrated<br />network model, that synthesize data for use in high-level "what-if"<br />scenario planning to help managers evaluate plants, distribution<br />centers, suppliers, and third-party service alternatives. </p> <p>Despite making huge investments in technology, few companies<br />are acquiring this full complement of capabilities. Today's enterprisewide<br />systems remain enterprise-bound, unable to share across the supply chain<br />the information that channel partners must have to achieve mutual success. </p> <p>Ironically, the information that most companies require most urgently to<br />enhance supply chain management resides outside of their own systems,<br />and few companies are adequately connected to obtain the necessary<br />information. Electronic connectivity creates opportunities to change<br />the supply chain fundamentally—from slashing transaction costs through<br />electronic handling of orders, invoices, and payments to shrinking<br />inventories through vendor-managed inventory programs. </p> <p>A major beer manufacturer learned this lesson the hard way. Tracking<br />performance from plant to warehouse, the manufacturer was pleased—a<br />98 percent fill rate to the retailer's warehouse. But looking all the way<br />across the supply chain, the manufacturer saw a very different picture.<br />Consumers in some key retail chains found this company's beer out of<br />stock more than 20 percent of the time due to poor store-level<br />replenishment and forecasting. The manufacturer now is scrambling<br />to implement "real-time" information technology to gain store-specific<br />performance data ... data that is essential to improving customer service.<br />Without this data, the manufacturer cannot make the inventory-deployment<br />decisions that will boost asset utilization and increase revenue by reducing<br />store-level stockouts. </p> <p>Many companies that have embarked on large-scale supply chain<br />reengineering attest to the importance of information technology<br />in sustaining the benefits beyond the first annual cycle. Those that<br />have failed to ensure the continuous flow of information have seen<br />costs, assets, and cycle times return to their pre-reengineering levels,<br />which undermines the business case for broad-based supply chain programs. </p> <p class="exhibitref"><a name="princ7"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">Principle 7:</span></b></a><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);"> Adopt channel-spanning performance measures<br />to gauge collective success in reaching the end-user effectively<br />and efficiently.</span></b> </p> <p>To answer the question, "How are we doing?" most companies look inward<br />and apply any number of functionally oriented measures. But<br />excellent supply chain managers take a broader view, adopting<br />measures that apply to every link in the supply chain and include<br />both service and financial metrics. </p> <p>First, they measure service in terms of the perfect order—the order<br />that arrives when promised, complete, priced and billed correctly,<br />and undamaged. The perfect order not only font></p> <p>Second, excellent supply chain managers determine their true<br />profitability of service by identifying the actual costs and revenues<br />of the activities required to serve an account, especially a key account.<br />For many, this amounts to a revelation, since traditional cost measures<br />rely on corporate accounting systems that allocate overhead evenly<br />across accounts. Such measures do not differentiate, for example, an<br />account that requires a multi-functional account team, small daily<br />shipments, or special packaging. Traditional accounting tends to mask<br />the real costs of the supply chain—focusing on cost type rather than the<br />cost of activities and ignoring the degree of control anyone has (or lacks)<br />the cost drivers. </p> <p>Deriving maximum benefit from activity-based costing requires<br />sophisticated information technology, specifically a data warehouse.<br />Because the general ledger organizes data according to a chart of<br />accounts, it obscures the information needed for activity-based<br />costing. By maintaining data in discrete units, the warehouse provides<br />ready access to this information. </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1032" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:225pt;height:180pt;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">To facilitate channel-spanning performance measurement,<br />many companies are developing common report cards, like<br />that shown in Exhibit 7.</span></b> These report cards help keep partners working<br />toward the same goals by building deep understanding of what each<br />company brings to the partnership and showing how to leverage their<br />complementary assets and skills to the alliance's greatest advantage.<br />The willingness to ignore traditional company boundaries in pursuit of<br />such synergies often marks the first step toward a "pay-for-performance"<br />environment. </p> <p>Consider the manufacturer of scientific products who kept receiving<br />low marks from a customer on delivery—even though its own measures<br />showed performance to be superior. The problem was that the two were<br />not speaking the same language. The customer accepted only full<br />truckloads; anything brought next week because it wouldn't fit onto<br />the truck this week was deemed backordered. To the manufacturer,<br />however, this term did not apply. </p> <p>A common report card can also help partners locate and capitalize<br />on synergies across the supply chain—as a manufacturer of health<br />products did by working with a major customer to develop a joint<br />return-on-invested-capital model and then used it to make such<br />decisions as where to hold slow-moving inventory most cost effectively.<br />Of course, such success is possible only between partners who begin with<br />deep understanding of their own financial situation. </p> <p class="exhibitref">Translating Principles into Practice </p> <p>Companies that have achieved excellence in supply chain management<br />tend to approach implementation of the guiding principles with three<br />precepts in mind. </p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><i>Orchestrate improvement efforts</i></b> </li></ul> <p>The complexity of the supply chain can make it difficult to envision the whole, from end to end. But successful supply chain managers realize the need to invest time and effort up front in developing this total perspective and using it to inform a blueprint for change that maps linkages among initiatives and a well-thought-out implementation sequence. This blueprint also must coordinate the change initiatives with ongoing day-to-day operations and must cross company boundaries. </p> <p><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1033" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'position:absolute;margin-left:185pt;margin-top:0;width:225pt;height:209.25pt;" allowoverlap="f"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->The blueprint requires rigorous assessment of the entire supply chain—from supplier relationships to internal operations to the marketplace, including customers, competitors, and the industry as a whole. Current practices must be ruthlessly weighed against best practices to determine the size of the gap to close. Thorough cost/benefit analysis lays the essential foundation for prioritizing and sequencing initiatives, establishing capital and people requirements, and getting a complete financial picture of the company's supply chain—before, during, and after implementation. </p> <p>A critical step in the process is setting explicit outcome targets for revenue growth, asset utilization, and cost reduction. <b><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 153);">(See Exhibit 8.)</span></b> While traditional goals for costs and assets, especially goals for working capital, remain essential to success, revenue growth targets may ultimately be even more important. Initiatives intended only to cut costs and improve asset utilization have limited success structuring sustainable win-win relationships among trading partners. Emphasizing revenue growth can significantly increase the odds that a supply chain strategy will create, rather than destroy, value. </p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><i>Remember that <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city> wasn't built in a day</i></b> </li></ul> <p>As this list of tasks may suggest, significant enhancement of supply chain management is a massive undertaking with profound financial impact on both the balance sheet and the income statement. Because this effort will not pay off overnight, management must carefully balance its long-term promise against more immediate business needs. </p> <p>Advance planning is again key. Before designing specific initiatives, successful companies typically develop a plan that specifies funding, leadership, and expected financial results. This plan helps to forestall conflicts over priorities and keeps management focused and committed to realizing the benefits. </p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><i>Recognize the difficulty of change</i></b> </li></ul> <p>Most corporate change programs do a much better job of designing new operating processes and technology tools than of fostering appropriate attitudes and behaviors in the people who are essential to making the change program work. People resist change, especially in companies with a history of "change-of-the-month" programs. People in any organization have trouble coping with the uncertainty of change, especially the real possibility that their skills will not fit the new environment. </p> <p>Implementing the seven principles of supply chain management will mean significant change for most companies. The best prescription for ensuring success and minimizing resistance is extensive, visible participation and communication by senior executives. This means championing the cause and removing the managerial obstacles that typically present the greatest barriers to success, while linking change with overall business strategy. </p> <p>Many progressive companies have realized that the traditionally fragmented responsibility for managing supply chain activities will no longer do. Some have even elevated supply chain management to a strategic position and established a senior executive position such as vice president-supply chain (or the equivalent) reporting directly to the COO or CEO. This role ignores traditional product, functional, and geographic boundaries that can interfere with delivering to customers what they want, when and where they want it. </p> <p>The executive recruited for this role must have some very special attributes—the breadth of vision needed to understand and manage activities from receipt of order through delivery; the flexibility required to experiment and make mid-course corrections, coupled with the patience demanded by an inherently long-term effort; the superior communication and leadership skills essential to winning and sustaining commitment to the effort at every level of the organization, including the translation of intellectual commitment into financial commitment. </p> <p class="exhibitref">Reaping the Rewards of Excellent Supply Chain Management </p> <p>The companies mentioned in this article are just a few of the many that have enhanced both customer satisfaction and profitability by strengthening management of the supply chain. While these companies have pursued various initiatives, all have realized the need to integrate activities across the supply chain. Doing so has improved asset utilization, reduced cost, and created price advantages that help attract and retain customers (and thus enhance revenue). </p> <p>At the same time, these companies have recognized the importance of understanding and meeting diverse customer needs. Such tailoring of products and services enhances the effectiveness of the supply chain and thus wins customer loyalty. This loyalty translates into profits—Xerox has found satisfied customers six times more likely to buy additional Xerox products over the next 18 months than dissatisfied customers. </p> <p>By simultaneously enhancing customer satisfaction and profitability, the seven principles of supply chain management can turn these once warring objectives into a formula for sustainable competitive advantage. </p> <div align="center"> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0in; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top"> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt; background: rgb(255, 204, 51) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><a name="partnership"><b><span style="">Procter & Gamble: The Power of Partnership</span></b></a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt; background: rgb(255, 255, 153) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Who says you can't please customers and achieve profitable growth from doing so? Certainly not Procter & Gamble. But even this consumer products giant recognizes the need for continuous change in order to enjot continued success. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">Since early in the century, P&G had based its strategy on delivering superior products to consumers. "Sell so that we will be filling the retail shelves as they are empty," said CEO Richard Deupree in 1911. By the late 1970s, this single-minded focus on consumers had earned P&G a reputation among wholesalers and retailers for being inflexible and dictatorial. Perceiving the growing power of these trade customers in the early 1980s, P&G revised its strategy to maintain a constant focus on reinventing the customer interface in pursuit of sustained competitive advantage. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">The first step was a series of merchandising and logistics initiatives launched throughout the 1980s under the banner of "total system efficiency." Such efforts as implementing more flexible promotional policies and a damaged goods program signaled a new emphasis on trade customers. These efforts paid off. In 1990, P&G ranked 15th among the Fortune 500, up from 23rd in 1979. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">In the early 1990s, P&G took the next big step-a sales reorganization creating multifunctional teams with key customers, notably Wal-Mart, to address issues in such key areas as category management and merchandising, logistics, information technology, and solid waste management. P&G simultaneously developed partnerships with suppliers to reduce cycle times and costs. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">The results have been impressive. For example, the Just-in-Tide marketing initiative uses point-of-scale scan data to determine how and when to replenish product. Warehouse inventory turns have almost doubled; factory utilization has grown from 55 percent to more than 80 percent; and overall costs have dropped to 1990-1991 levels. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">P&G more recently introduced the Streamlined Logistics program to improve customer service and supply chain efficiency. The first phase consolidated ordering, receipt, and invoicing of multiple brands, harmonized payment terms, and reduced bracket pricing categories. The implications for customers? As Steven David, vice president of sales, explained: "Now they'll be able to mix a load of soap or paper or food products on a full truck to get the best possible pricing. We're going to make available common-quantity pricing brackets across all our sectors. We're going to have multisector ordering for the first time." <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">To ensure customer satisfaction, P&G instituted a scorecard last year to enable both distributors and vendors to evaluate P&G's efficiency in such key areas as category management, assortment, efficient product introduction, promotion, and replenishment. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">In the last six months, P&G has undertaken Streamline Logistics II to reduce unloading time in food-retailer warehouses. By combining such tools as activity-based costing and Electronic Data Interchange with drop-and-hook programs and elimination of pallet exchanges, P&G expects to remove non-value-added costs and improve consumer value...in the process saving $50 million, which P&G intends to pass on to customers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"> <hr align="center" size="2" width="100%"> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-35673907294452210902007-11-21T00:09:00.000+05:302007-11-21T00:11:10.314+05:30An Ultimate Presentation on BrandingTHE BRAND GAP<br /><br /><br /><div style="width: 425px; text-align: left;" id="__ss_28886"><object style="margin: 0px;" height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=the-brand-gap-14630"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=the-brand-gap-14630" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><div style="font-size: 11px; font-family: tahoma,arial; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/?src=embed"><img src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/logo_embd.png" style="border: 0px none ; margin-bottom: -5px;" alt="SlideShare" /></a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/coolstuff/the-brand-gap" title="View 'The Brand Gap' on SlideShare">View</a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload">Upload your own</a></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-14106960072090204452007-11-20T18:45:00.000+05:302007-11-20T18:52:17.402+05:30Pantaloon plans major expansion drive even as Reliance goes slowEven as Reliance Industries Ltd’s Reliance Retail venture said it<br />would have a tough time meeting ambitious targets for expansion,<br />Pantaloon Retail India Ltd, India’s largest listed retailer, said it will<br />spend Rs800 crore to have 10-11 million sq. ft space for the year<br />ending June from the current 6 million sq. ft retail space.<div><div class="dvbxImg"><br /><div class="dvbxImgCapt" style="width: 128px;"><br /></div></div>The expansion will help Pantaloon compete with large domestic<br />and international companies entering the retail space, chief executive<br />Kishore Biyani had said at the company’s 20th annual shareholders<br />meeting on Thursday.Those competitors include Reliance Retail,<br />which has faced mounting protests in several states over its expanding<br />retail presence.</div><div>The company said on Thursday that meeting its target of 100 million<br />sq. ft of retail space by 2010/11 would be difficult after protests forced<br />the closure of some stores.</div><div>“It’s a tough challenge at this point of time but we certainly think we<br />would make a good go at it,” said Bijou Kurien, president and chief<br />executive of the lifestyle segment, referring to a target set last<br />November. The company currently operates more than 390 stores<br />in 16 cities, spanning 1.5 million sq. ft.</div><div>But in October, Reliance ended the services of about 400 franchisees<br />for planned operations in West Bengal state and has shelved a roll-out<br />in neighbouring Orissa because of protests from small traders, who fear<br />major job losses.</div><div>Reliance Retail in September laid off 1,000 staff in northern Uttar<br />Pradesh after the state shut 10 Reliance Fresh supermarkets following<br />similar protests. By spending more than $5.5 billion (Rs21,615 crore) on<br />its retail venture, the firm had planned to open about 500 Reliance<br />Fresh supermarkets in the Communist-ruled West Bengal and about<br />150 in Orissa. “2008, 2009 and 2010 would be the three critical years<br />in terms of property addition so far as we are concerned,” said Kurien<br />at the launch of the company’s first jewellery store in Bangalore.</div><div>Modern retail faces political obstacles in India because of fears millions<br />of small shopkeepers could lose their jobs in the fragmented but fast-growing<br />industry that is forecast to double in size by 2015 from an estimated<br />$350 billion.<br /><br /></div><div>India limits foreign multiple-brand retailers to wholesale or franchise<br />and licence operations. Talk of easing foreign investment rules have<br />cooled in recent months, prompting <b>Tesco Plc.</b> and <b>Carrefour SA</b> to<br />cool India plans.</div><div>Large Indian firms, including the Tata Group, the Aditya Birla group<br />and RPG Group have been stepping up investments to tap growing<br />consumer spending in Asia’s third-largest economy. Kurien said<br />Reliance Retail plans to open 300 jewellery stores across India in<br />the next three years.</div><div>Meanwhile, asked by several investors how Pantaloon would deal<br />with competition posed by large companies such as Reliance,<br />Pantaloon’s Biyani said: “We should not worry about competition<br />because the market is expanding. We are looking to create a dominant<br />position in the eight big cities.”<br /><br /></div><div>He said the company would seek to set up more stores of the existing<br />chains and its other brands to the metro cities to get a head start<br />on competition. “Our first-mover advantage will be big,” Biyani said.<br />“Retail is a business where you learn doing and others will go through<br />a learning curve.”</div><div>The company’s current 75- store discount hypermarket chain, Big Bazaar,<br />will get to 100 stores by February and 120 by June, he said. It will also<br />add four stores to its six Brand Factory stores—its discounted brand<br />store—and 20 E-Zone stores—its consumer durables and electronics<br />store chain— to its current seven stores.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-8647718209875662202007-11-19T23:12:00.000+05:302007-11-20T18:58:55.677+05:30ITC in expansion of Chaupal Fresh<span style="font-size:100%;">ITC is targeting a pan-India presence for its Choupal Fresh stores. Riding on<br />the success of stores in Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh, the company<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">is mapping out plans to open these in over 50 new locations. It will set up at<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"> least 10 stores in each location over the next two years.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> The proposed expansion will also focus on strengthening its farm linkages in<br />different states, besides setting up front end stores. The company is likely to<br />spend over Rs 200 crore by March 2008 to open these new stores. It is also in<br />talks with a host of retail chains for supplying fresh produce, again buoyed by<br />the experiment with Q Mart and Food Bazar.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> “We are not only talking to more chains for such an arrangement but are also<br />planning to ramp up this model with existing partners in other locations across<br />the country,” a senior ITC official told ET. ITC’s existing partners are retail chains<br />like Food Bazaar to whom it supplies fresh produce.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> This would mean bringing more than 2,500 acres under its farm linkages<br />programme. This model entails partnership with farmers along with a<br />commitment to source their produce. The company advises farmers on the<br />crops to be grown and the cropping patterns. It also helps in sourcing high<br />quality seeds to ensure that the end product matches ITC sourcing standards.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Apart from the ten stores planned for each city, ITC is also looking at creating<br />a couple of cash and carry outlets in all the locations. The company’s cash and<br />carry outlets — providing grade-A and grade-B vegetables and fruits in<br />Hyderabad - is reckoned to have been a success with push-cart vendors<br />and commercial establishments like hotels and restaurants, said company<br />officials.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> “Choupal fresh stores work on the model of selling the same day’s produce<br />that we source from local farmers,” S Sivakumar chief executive Agri<br />Business ITC told ET.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> In Andhra alone the company plans to scale up its farm linkages to over<br />,200 acres by the end of this fiscal. It plans to add 13 more stores to its<br />existing seven in the city of Hyderabad. “We may add another five clusters<br />soon and are already in talks with farmers for greater engagement,” he said.<br />ITC is also working with farmers on the cultivation of exotic varieties like<br />broccoli, yellow and red capsicum, Chinese cabbage, lettuce and so on.<br />For this, farmers are trying out both polyhouse and open-air cultivation,<br />which are inspected regularly by ITC agri field experts.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-47656888225969266242007-11-19T22:18:00.000+05:302007-11-19T22:28:33.003+05:30An Interview of Future Group's MD Kishore Biyani<span class="f12a"> In an interview with Chief Correspondent <b>Syed Firdaus Ashraf</b>, Biyani,<br />the founder of the modern retail group Big Bazaar, has redefined the<br />shopping for Indian consumers, gives his vision for the retail industry<br />and his company's plans in the coming years.<br /><br /><b>Why did you say in your speech that 2009 will be the defining<br />moment for Indian retailing industry?</b><br /><br />All the new malls that are in the anvil will be ready by then. We will<br />also have a retail policy in place and consumers too will be ready by<br />then, so we are ready for interesting times. We will see lifestyle<br />retails, high-end retail. Every retailer will be in the market. So,<br />2009 will be deciding factor for the retail market in India.<br /><br /><b>Will the bubble burst?</b><br /><br />We have too many retail forums and too many malls have come up.<br />The period to watch out for will be 2009 and it will be a testing time<br />for retailers, I feel. We will all know by then what the real demand is<br />and what the real supply is in the market. In the meantime, the<br />challenge will be to find the right kind of people and trained people<br />for the industry.<br /><br /></span><span class="f12a"><span class="f22"><b>Y</b></span><b>ou mentioned in your speech at the India Retail Forum<br />that the rising realty rates in India will be a challenge<br />to the retail industry. Can you explain the rationale?</b><br /><br />The consumer always saves money when there is inflation. He spends<br />less when things are expensive. Inflation affects the consumer's<br />psychology and people now tend to save money in such scenario and<br />not spend. It has been observed that when real estate prices keep going<br />up people tend to save and the consumption drops automatically.<br /><br /><b>Why have you started credit card banking and how is<br />the response?</b><br /><br />It is only 45 days old and the response has been good. It is one of the<br />future ways of the retail market and a learning business for us. We<br />are learning it. We have given loans to 500 customers so far. We are<br />learning while we are doing our business.<br /><br /><b>What has the learning so far?</b><br /><br />(Laughs) The first applications are always those of fraudsters.<br /><br /><b>What kind of potential do you foresee?</b><br /><br />There is a huge potential and we have just begun. We are creating<br />our checks and balances. In the last 45 days we have learnt a lot<br />on who is a trade-worthy customer and that is a business secret.<br /><br /></span><span class="f12a"><span class="f22"><b>Y</b></span><b>ou mentioned that there are two Indias today. The first<br />one are those people who have power to spend and the<br />second one are those who are dependant on them like<br />drivers, cleaners and housemaids. Can you explain this?</b><br /><br />Today, only one India is growing. The people who have aspirations<br />and brains, they are the big consumers of retail market. This class is<br />not making the other India grow. Lot of people have to do a lot of<br />things to change the scenario. One option is that those who have<br />a good income will have to create an income for the India that is<br />left out. I call that group as the second India. They have to be<br />protected in a network and we need to give them a chance to grow<br />and become one of the consumers.<br /><br /><b>You once said that social security system is bad in India<br />and that needs to be improved...</b><br /><br />Today, India's social security system is a family security system.<br />People save money for bad days but if you compare that with<br />developed countries people spend money because they know that<br />their government will look after them in bad days. They are not<br />afraid of spending money in the developed countries. In the same<br />way we need to create a system in India where people should not<br />fear to spend money and not bother about their insecurities.<br /><br /><b>What can private players do in such situation?</b><br /><br />The only solution to this problem would be to raise income levels.<br />If we do that, then everybody will have spending power.<br /><br /><b>Do you think the real estate market has reached its peak<br />and will crash?</b><br /><br />I cannot comment on it. I would however say that this is a game of<br />supply and demand. Price correction will always be there in such<br />situation.<br /><br /><b>You said that you are approaching the Brazilian and<br />Mexican ways to develop retailing business. Can you explain?</b><br /><br />Every retail shop has domestic finance scheme in some cities of<br />Brazil and Mexico. We are also looking at that model. If you study<br />their trend then you will find that there is 6 percent default and<br />I feel it is okay because 7 percent default is the norm in credit<br />cards too.<br /><br /><br /></span><span class="f12a"><span class="f22"><b>W</b></span><b>hat are the products that can be funded?</b><br /><br />Lot of products can be funded. We have started with some products<br />initially but eventually the idea is to fund consumption as much as we can.<br /><br /><b>Do you believe in customer brand loyalty?</b><br /><br />I believe there is something called emotional attachment to a brand.<br />People do switch over their loyalty at times. I feel that these days,<br />maintaining brand loyalty comes with a cost. I personally believe<br />that the customer is like a nomad. He will go from one store to<br />another store. He will only come to you if you give him value.<br /><br /><b>How did you crack the shopping woman's psyche so that<br />they eventually end up spending in Big Bazaar shops?</b><br /><br />(Laughs) We keep women in mind. We work with them. We understand<br />their emotions and therefore they end up spending in Big Bazaar.<br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-34291607148668243562007-11-19T21:59:00.000+05:302007-11-19T22:05:50.577+05:30Marks n Spencers with Food and kidswear in India..UK based retailer Marks & Spencer is all set to foray into high volume<br />food and kids wear retailing here in India. Marks & Spencer's presence<br />in India is through master franchisee Planet Retail.<br /><br /><br />Marks & Spencer has witnessed slow growth in India. To boost volumes,<br />the company slashed prices and is also getting into new verticals such<br />as food and kids wear. The first store that will retail this merchandise<br />is the 20,000 sft flagship store at Gurgaon in the NCR. Both these<br />segments will be part of existing stores and not be standalone stores.<br />The chain as a whole believes in large format stores.<br /><br />The food segment of the store will stock biscuits, confectioneries,<br />groceries, savories and a special celebration range of the festive<br />season priced between Rs 95 to Rs 1,800 for high end items. Company<br />official said that Marks & Spencer aims to provide ultimate quality of<br />food to the Indian consumer. Keeping mind the Indian taste and<br />international standards, the company plans to compete with other<br />retailers.<br /><br />In the Kids wear segment, the prices will range from Rs 395 to<br />Rs 3000. The company admitted that the prices will be higher than<br />local brands, but they said they are offering value to consumers.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-47678255621656949382007-11-14T02:16:00.000+05:302007-11-14T02:19:22.059+05:30India all set to become next luxury retail destinationInternational luxury goods makers are planning to foray into India in a big way,<br />perceiving the country as a major “retail destination” of top- end products.<br /><br /><div>“India is becoming the beacon of the future,” said Tikka Shatrujit Singh, advisor<br />to the chairman of Louis Vuitton company, a French leather and fashion<br />brand, that is set to expand its footprint in the country.</div><div>An environment has now been created for consumption of high-end luxury<br />goods and services, UB Global CEO Shashikanth said, which is all set to roll<br />out a luxury retail project, UB City-Collection, in first quarter of next year.<br /><br /></div><div>“The group had already signed up 10 international brands including names<br />like Dunhil Gucci, Mont Blanc, Van CLeef, Arpels, Zegna and would bring<br />in 12 others, Shashikanth added.</div><div>The luxury retail market which is currently in its nascent stage was roughly<br />estimated to be around Rs1,500 crore and expected to grow at 20% in<br />next five years.</div><div>The booming stock market and the recent news that India’s leading<br />industrialist, Mukesh Ambani, had even overtaken Bill Gates, to become<br />the richest person in the world, is an indication that the country was ready<br />for that ultimate ‘haute couture´ experience, Vivek Kaul, Retail and<br />Leisure Advisory of Jones Lang LaSalle retail advisory service, said. </div><div>“Indians have become global,” he said adding that the growing exposure<br />to international brands had changed the dice in favour of the luxury<br />retail segment.</div><div>The luxury retail market is all set to evolve in a major way. In the<br />beginning the consumer might go in for small things like a cufflink,<br />a purse, but you will soon see the consumer graduating to more high<br />end products and services, Vivek said.</div><div>The advent of ‘aspirational shoppers’ is expected to add a thrust to<br />this emerging segment.</div><div>These young shoppers who aspired to acquire a lifestyle that was<br />international and the best that the market offers, is what was going<br />to take this segment to the next level of growth, he added.</div><div>“It is not merely all about ‘I have arrived syndrome’. It is also<br />realising that the reputed brands bring along with world class<br />quality and were not beyond one’s reach,” he said.</div><div>India, one of the country with the fastest growing high net worth<br />individuals in the Asia-Pacific region, is being perceived now as<br />the next hub of luxury goods consumption, he said. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-11215564974723233882007-11-14T02:09:00.000+05:302007-11-14T02:14:06.707+05:30Mallya enters retail, ropes in Louis Vuitton<span style="font-weight: bold;">Mallya’s UB Group will hold a 55% stake in UB City -<br />the Collection, a Bangalore shopping mall exclusively<br />retailing luxury brands<br /><br /><br /></span>After starting a premium airline and buying one of the world’s oldest<br />scotch-whisky makers, flamboyant Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya announced<br />on 6 November a new venture in high-end retail.<div>Mallya’s UB Group, the world’s third-largest maker of alcoholic spirits,<br />will hold a 55% stake in UB City - the Collection, a Bangalore shopping mall<br />exclusively retailing luxury brands, the company said on 6 November.<br /><br /></div><div>Mallya, 51, the self-styled “king of good times,” managed to rope in France’s<br />Louis Vuitton as one of the anchor tenants of the mall, to be located on No. 1,<br />Vittal Mallya Road, named after his late father and due to open in early 2008.</div><div>“It has been purely driven by the vision of Mallya, who calls it a value<br />proposition,” said Irfan Razack, chairman and managing director of the<br />property group Prestige, which will hold the remaining 45% stake in<br />the venture. </div><div>“It will be an iconic landmark of Bangalore -- like what the Petronas<br />Towers is to Kuala Lumpur,” said Razack, estimating the cost of the<br />project at Rs300 crore ($76.26 million). “It will be an opportunity to<br />tap high networth individuals.”</div><div>Other brands who have signed on for space in the 1.5 million square<br />feet complex are Gucci, Fendi, Mont Blanc, Van Cleef & Arpels, Zegna,<br />Rolex and Omega.</div><div>The Venetian-style project will include a 250-room JW Marriot hotel,<br />serviced apartments and office space, already leased to Citigroup,<br />Toyota, ABN Amro, Jones Lang LaSalle, 3M, Ernst and Young and Yahoo!.<br /><br /></div><div>Mallya this year splurged 595 million pounds (869 million euros, $1.181<br />billion) to buy Whyte and Mackay, a 163-year-old scotch whisky maker,<br />two years after starting an airline named after his flagship beer, Kingfisher. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-66659051037000745242007-11-06T02:54:00.000+05:302007-11-06T03:00:28.272+05:30China, India Superpower? May be not that fastThe media, particularly the financial press, are all agog over<br />the rise of China and India in the international economy. <br />After a long period of relative stagnation, these two countries, <br />nearly two-fifths of the world population, have seen their incomes <br />grow at remarkably high rates over the last two decades. Journalists<br /> have referred to their economic reforms and integration into the <br />world economy in all kinds of colorful metaphors: giants shaking <br />off their "socialist slumber," "caged tigers" unshackled, and so on.<br />Columnists have sent breathless reports from Beijing and Bangalore <br />about the inexorable competition from these two new whiz kids in our<br /> complacent neighborhood in a "flattened," globalized, playing field. <br />Others have warned about the momentous implications of "three billion new capitalists," largely from China and India, redefining the next phase of globalization.<br /><br />While there is no doubt about the great potential of these two <br />economies in the rest of this century, severe structural and <br />institutional problems will hobble them for years to come. At this<br /> point, the hype about the Indian economy seems patently premature,<br /> and the risks on the horizon for the Chinese polity – and hence for<br /> economic stability – highly underestimated. Both China and India <br />are still desperately poor countries. Of the total of 2.3 billion<br /> people in these two countries, nearly 1.5 billion earn less than<br /> US$2 a day, according to World Bank calculations. Of course, the <br />lifting of hundreds of millions of people above poverty in China has<br /> been historic. Thanks to repeated assertions in the<br /><br />international financial press, conventional wisdom now suggests that<br /> globalization is responsible for this feat. Yet a substantial part <br />of China's decline in poverty since 1980 already happened by mid-1980s <br />(largely as a result of agricultural growth), before the big strides <br />in foreign trade and investment in the 1990s. Assertions about Indian<br /> poverty reduction primarily through trade liberalization are even<br /> shakier. In the nineties, the decade of major trade liberalization,<br /> the rate of decline in poverty by some aggregative estimates has, <br />if anything, slowed down. In any case, India is as yet a minor player <br />in world trade, contributing less than one percent of world exports. <br />(China's share is about 6 percent.)<br /><br />What about the hordes of Indian software engineers, call-center <br />operators, and back-room programmers supposedly hollowing out <br />white-collar jobs in rich countries? The total number of workers <br />in all possible forms of IT-related jobs in India comes to less <br />than a million workers – one-quarter of one percent of the Indian <br />labor force. For all its Nobel Prizes and brilliant scholars and <br />professionals, India is the largest single-country contributor to<br /> the pool of illiterate people in the world. Lifting them out of <br />poverty and dead-end menial jobs will remain a Herculean task for <br />decades to come. Even in China, now considered the manufacturing <br />workshop of the world (though China's share in the worldwide<br /><br />manufacturing value-added is below 9 percent, less than half that <br />of Japan or the United States), less than one-fifth of its labor force<br /> is employed in manufacturing, mining, and construction combined.<br /><br />In fact, China has lost tens of millions of manufacturing jobs since<br /> the mid-1990s. Nearly half of the country's labor force remains <br />in agriculture (about 60 percent in India). As per acre productivity <br />growth has stagnated, reabsorbing the hundreds of millions of peasants<br /> will remain a challenge in the foreseeable future for both countries. <br />Domestic private enterprise in China, while active and growing, <br />is relatively weak, and Chinese banks are burdened with "bad" loans.<br /> By most aggregative measures, capital is used much less efficiently <br />in China than in India, even though in terms of physical infrastructure<br /> and progress in education and health, China is better poised for <br />further economic growth. Commercial regulatory structures in both <br />countries are still slow and heavy-handed. According to the World <br />Bank, to start a business requires in India 71 days, in China 48<br /> days (compared to 6 days in Singapore); enforcing debt contracts <br />requires 425 days in India, 241 days in China (69 days in Singapore).<br /><br /> China's authoritarian system of government will likely be a major <br />economic liability in the long run, regardless of its immediate <br />implications for short-run policy decisions. In the economic reform<br /> process, the Chinese leadership has often made bold decisions and <br />implemented them relatively quickly and decisively, whereas in India, <br />reform has been halting and hesitant. This is usually attributed <br />to the inevitably slow processes of democracy in India. And though <br />this may be the case, other factors are involved. For example, <br />the major disruptions and hardships of restructuring in the Chinese<br /> economy were rendered somewhat tolerable by a minimum rural <br />safety net – made possible to a large extent by land reforms in <br />1978. In most parts of India, no similar rural safety net exists <br />for the poor; and the more severe educational inequality in India<br />makes the absorption of shocks in the industrial labor market more<br />difficult. So the resistance to the competitive process of market<br />reform is that much stiffer.<br /><br />But inequalities (particularly rural-urban) have been increasing <br />in China, and those left behind are getting restive. With massive<br />layoffs in the rust-belt provinces, arbitrary local levies on <br />farmers, pervasive official corruption, and toxic industrial dumping, <br />many in the countryside are highly agitated. Chinese police records<br />indicate a sevenfold increase in the number of incidents of <br />social unrest in the last decade.<br /><br /> China is far behind India in the ability to politically manage<br /> conflicts, and this may prove to be China's Achilles' Heel. Over<br /> the last fifty years, India's extremely heterogeneous society has<br /> been riddled with various kinds of conflicts, but the system has<br /> by and large managed these conflicts and kept them within moderate<br /> bounds. For many centuries, the homogenizing tradition of Chinese <br />high culture, language, and bureaucracy has not given much scope <br />to pluralism and diversity, and a centralizing, authoritarian<br /> Communist Party has carried on with this tradition. There is a<br /> certain pre-occupation with order and stability in China (not just <br />in the Party), a tendency to over-react to difficult situations, <br />and a quickness to brand dissenting movements and local autonomy <br />efforts as seditious, and it is in this context that one sees <br />dark clouds on the horizon for China's polity and therefore the economy.<br /><br />We should not lose our sense of proportion in thinking about the<br /> rise of China and India. While adjusting its economies to the<br /> new reality and utilizing the new opportunities, the West should <br />not overlook the enormity of the economic gap that exists between<br /> it and those two countries (particularly India). There are many <br />severe pitfalls and roadblocks which they have to overcome in the <br />near future, before they can become significant players in the <br />international economic scene on a sustained basis.<br /><br /><br />Source : http://www.supplychains.in<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-8093015696645173242007-11-06T02:39:00.000+05:302007-11-06T02:42:53.412+05:30Reliance Communication joined hands with MicrosoftReliance Communications and Microsoft have entered <br />into an eight-year exclusive alliance for IPTV services, <br />which the former plans to launch in India by March 2008.<br /><br />RCom will pay up to $500 million to Microsoft in licence fees<br /> for the US company’s Mediaroom IPTV software platform.<br /><br />“There is no other country where we have signed up an exclusive<br /> deal with anybody,” said Mr Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft, at <br />a press conference on Monday.<br /><br />The deal will also be unique in terms of the scale of deployment <br />that RCom is targeting, “India being a large country with a large<br /> population.”<br /><br />RCom will provide the service first in Mumbai and Delhi, moving <br />to 30 large cities subsequently, said Mr Anil D. Ambani, Chairman, <br />RCom.<br /><br />The service will be delivered through RCom’s fibre optic network,<br /> which covers 13,000 towns and five lakh villages in India.<br /><br />However, officials from neither company would comment on the <br />pricing strategy for the initiative.<br /><br />The platform will enable Reliance’s IPTV service to deliver <br />video-on-demand, digital video recording, instant channel<br /> changing and personal media sharing. Subscribers will be able <br />to watch popular standard definition as well as high definition <br />content.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8572297364166632514.post-58291602454302705892007-11-05T03:11:00.000+05:302007-11-05T04:28:56.067+05:30Some Inputs from Mr. Rakesh NarulaThis interview was exclusively taken by the retailia team. Mr. Rakesh Narula is a Senior Vice President (operations) - Nike Division has given us these inputs...<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q. What according to you is the relevance of category</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">management in evolving retail formats?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A. In India there are different types of people with different</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">demographic and psychographic profiles, tastes and</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">preferences. So it is very important to match the offerings</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">accordingly.Depending upon the contribution of various</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">categories we allocate shelf space to them. Category</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">management also involves taking into consideration local</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">taste and catering to their demand.This is the reason why</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">merchandise kept in one store varies from the other.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q.What future do specialty formats selling<br />sports merchandise have in India, where consumer<br />preference is still low towards such goods?<br /><br /><br />A.Over the last decade people have become more fitness<br />conscious. They are demanding more than ever before,<br />with their awareness level increasing by the day.<br />Customer's expectations are reaching heights for<br />customized products & services, which can be best<br />provided by Specialty stores like ours. The retail scenario in<br />India is changing rapidly with the customers' want of a<br />“healthy mind & body” prominently transforming into need.<br />Keeping in mind this want-to-need change factor, Specialty<br />stores like ours are stepping up to the forefront in giving a<br />delightful experience to their customers.<br /><br /><br />Q.How according to you a company can begin and<br />sustain a culture built on trust rather than suspicion?<br /><br />A.People are the most vital element of retail business.<br />Keeping that in mind, we pay a lot of emphasis right from<br />selecting the right candidate to training, trust -building and<br />inculcating attributes of “nothing is impossible”. We also<br />make them believe that our existence is only because of our customers.<br />We believe in employee retention by providing<br />them ample growth opportunities, acknowledging their<br />contribution and valuing them. All these factors have resulted<br />in low attrition rate, which is most critical in the changing retail<br />scenario.<br /><br /><br />Q. What do you think is the best strategy to<br />capture youth's mind set and interests?<br /><br />A.Youth have a very important role to play in our business.<br />Today's youth is much more aware of the happenings<br />because of the media exposure. Also coupled<br />with this the awareness level about fitness which has also<br />increased, making it extremely important to capture that<br />segment. Nike has tied up with Indian cricket team and<br />various gymnasiums across the country to capture youth's<br />mind and interest. We run several promotional activities in our<br />stores to capture their attention. Visual merchandising plays<br />an important role in promotions so that the entire store<br />presents a complete story.<br /><br /><br />Q. As India tops among the emerging markets. What<br />best retail practices from across the globe can be<br />adopted to create a win-win situation for both consumers<br />and retailers ?<br /><br />A. For creating a sustainable retail business one will have to<br />take care of all the elements of retail keeping the customer<br />in mind, which will include:<br />n Consumer satisfaction<br />n Appropriate product mix<br />n Efficient systems and tools<br />n Visual merchandising<br />n In-store hygiene<br /><br /><br />Mr. Rakesh Narula<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">To get this and many more such interviews<br />subscribe to our newsletter <a href="http://bimtech-retail.com/retailia">"Retailia"</a><br /></span><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://feeds.feedburner.com/Retailia</div>Abhishek Agarwalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09157932562329839167noreply@blogger.com0