Sales & MarketZing !

The upmarket retail sector seems set for a virtual explosion with the entry of a whole host of domestic players while foreign companies are waiting and watching eagerly on the sidelines. With India being one of the biggest emerging markets, it is no wonder that retail giants like Wal-Mart and Carrefour are eager to make an entry. India is estimated to have around 15 million retail outlets, making it the country with the highest retail outlet density in the world. It also tops AT Kearney's list of emerging markets for global retailers. Currently the value of the retail market is estimated at around $270 billion with a growth rate of 5.7 percent per annum according to the India Retail Report 2007. For the time being, however, domestic giants like Reliance, Pantaloon, ITC, RPG, Rahejas and the Bharti group have jumped into the fray. These big retail chains seem to be visible at virtually every street corner lately but the question is, what happens to the neighbourhood grocer? The fac

........sounds quite complicated , but when one gets into the bottom of this , its quite a simple method of checking state of business or the efficency of operations , GMROF :: stands for Gross margin return per sqft , = Gross margins / sqft , gross margins ( GM ) = sales - cogs ( cost of goods sold ) , so to state the obvious the higher the GMROF the better , evolved retailers use this as a benchmark in getting efficency of departments within a store and between stores comparison , Strategies for GMROF increase :: Trick of increasing the GMROF , is by obviously increasing the mix of pvt labels share sale , increasing the sell thrus better margin negotiation from suppliers and vendors Operational Measures Put your best people to sell more of the high GM category Effective Use of VM to drive sell thru's All this gets measured by a strong MIS back up , which makes the measurement of the same effective as the same gets delivered Fresh on managers desktop almost daily /weekly ,indian r

For those just getting into retail , must add that most discussions in organised retail would revolve around :: 3 C's of retail :: C for catchment getting this rite is the start , then C for conversion ( no of bills generated by the number of customers who walked in during that period .the trick is to have a strong brand pull or advertising model to drive traffic to the store , get customers to buy more ( increase converions ) this easier said than done , as vm /merchandise /ambience/service/promos/loyalty program etc have a say in influencing this . Then efforts to increase the cash memo size or ticket size , by various means , like change of mix being sold ( say in apparels may increase its business by changing the bottoms to tops mix ) Big retailers by just being focussed on these 3 c's have made a difference to their business .however the experience shows that the dependence on anything in this business on People is huge so any idea is as good as how was it executed a

..........There is more to retail than just handing over goods /services across , the counter , if you look at some highly evolved retail business , you will find that there is a constant up heavel to take data based decision , the upheavel is caused because of data correctness ( hours are spent at boardrooms ,pondering over data accuracy !!! ) ,a number of retailers are taking decision based on gut only !! however the ones taking decision based on data seem to be getting it rite ( maybe the rate of growth doesnt give the true picture on whats happening , i mean all the analysis whether it is working or not ) however consider these for some INTERESTING data based decision in Retail in India :: There is a retailer in India who will decide space in Malls based on Car parks , they have developd an alogrithm that estimates this , based on past data There is another retailer who talks only GMROF , GMROI ,GMROL , ie gross margin return on sqft ( GMROF ) , inventory etc There is another set

India is experiencing , a phenomenon similiar to the Gold rush of the US , the great Indian rush for space in Retail , retailers are willing to cough up money for prime locales , even if the payouts are huge and returns spread over many years ! Space booking has become more of real estate deal than science , what i mean is that,rarely is any study done on the catchment , there is no look at the potential of a market ( other than say the MPV index by RK Swamy , thank god for that !) spends for the category , etc for all this , One has no time for getting the property is more important than getting it rite ! Bigger the better ! my gut is better that His ! its worked in other location ( by pure chance ! ) why shouldn't it work here ,is the modus operandi . Time will tell of the results , but i guess the Indiasn retail market with its virgin stature , will roll over such risks. No one one will know ! may be this blog mite,provide answer to anyone interested 25 yrs from now ! Real est

Lifestyle department stores plus other categories :: http://www.pantaloon.com/ http://www.shoppersstop.com/ http://www.lifestylestores.com/ http://www.globus.in/ http://www.cafecoffeeday.com/ http://www.mywestside.com/ http://www.bombaydyeing.com/ Indian retail Information & services ::links http://www.retailyatra.com/ http://www.indiaretailservices.com http://www.eindiaretail.blogspot.com/ http://www.rvgonline.com/ Malls Directory of India http://www.megamalls.in/ Indian Apparel Brands http://www.levis.com/ http://www.maduragarments.com/ http://www.arvindmills.com/ http://www.dinesh.com/ http://www.indigonation.com/ http://www.raymondindia.com/ http://www.colorplusonline.com/ http://www.parkavenue.co.in/ http://www.provogue.net/ http://www.arrowshirt.com/ http://www.indusclothing.com/ http://www.allansolly.com/ http://www.turtlelimited.com/ http://www.benetton.com/ http://www.giniandjony.com/ E Retail @India http://www.futurebazaar.com/ http://www.indiaplaza.in/ http://www.ebay

Kabir Lumba, managing director of the Rs 500-crore Lifestyle, informs that the company is targeting 50 per cent growth in next 3 years. The expansion plans include taking Lifestyle stores from its current count of 12 to 36, and Home Centres from 5 to 15.• Hong Kong-based kidswear company Keona Kidz plans to re-launch its brand in India. It will be retailing through MBOs like Ebony. With an initial investment of US$50,000 the brand targets the higher middle-class customers. Apart from the North, it plans to capture the southern and central India markets including Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai.• Tony Brett, Retail Management Consultants Ltd, feels that brand loyalty is not present in the United Kingdom and Europe because the shoppers desire to have their individualistic style and purchase what they want from a plethora of shopping points. • To share its knowledge and expertise with retailers in tier II cities, JLL Meghraj is expanding its network in towns like Ludhiana, Lucknow and Bhu