Retail insight as on 14th June 2010

June 14, 2010

News for the Retail industry

Previous Issues

At a Glance

• Gitanjali sees lifestyle division leading growth
• PVR to open entertainment centres
• Marks & Spencer set to replicate AP green story
• Mama mia: Maternity clothes mkt set to touch Rs 1000cr
• Bestseller redefines fast fashion
• Olympus opens its new store in Pune
• Havmor mulls overseas expansion
• Enter the gourmet cafe
• Full of beans
• Mall culture slow to pick up, as kiranas remain favourite
• Inditex Group: Fast fashion
• Q&A: Jean-Christophe Babin, President & CEO, Tag Heuer

News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ...

Gitanjali sees lifestyle division leading growth Daily News & Analysis Gitanjali Group, the leading branded jewellery manufacturer and retailer, is looking at major growth in its lifestyle division this year and eying markets like Middle East, China and Japan to grow its international business, even as India remains the prime focus for growth, Mehul Choksi, chairman, has said. "At the moment we have four markets, India, Middle East, China and Japan, on the radar," Choksi said. The company has a significant presence in the US with 135 exclusive stores and 2,000 shop-in-shops through its recent acquisitions of two jewellery brands viz. Samuels and Rogers.

PVR to open entertainment centres Economic Times Multiplex operator PVR group is diversifying its business with plans to invest around $60 million(Rs 275 crore) to launch entertainment centres that would house skating rinks, gaming zones and food court besides cinema theatres and bowling alleys. "We aim to become a complete integrated retail entertainment company and offer various lifestyle entertainment options under one roof," said Pramod Arora group president PVR. He said the move will help the company have better profit margins and leverage on the various in-house entertainment formats.

Marks & Spencer set to replicate AP green story Business Standard UK's largest apparel retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) said its "cotton sustainability project" in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh (AP) had started bearing fruit. The company is ready to increase the number of farmers under the project from 1,500 to 10,000. The two-year-old project, rolled out with WWF India as the local partner, has enthused the retailer to consider such projects in other cotton-producing areas in India and other parts of the world.

Mama mia: Maternity clothes mkt set to touch Rs 1000cr Times of India Until a few years ago, options were restricted to brands like Mothercare, which was brought to India by Shoppers Stop and local boutiques like Vanilla Place in Chennai, Green Bell in Mumbai or 9 Months in Delhi. Most women simply bought large size clothes which invariably gave them a slightly clumsy appearance. "But now pregnancy is really not about 'confinement' as it was in the yesteryears. Women are working even in their ninth month and need clothes that would look smart at the workplace. Even homemakers are used to dressing up well and don't want to give up their sense of style during pregnancy," says Deepa Kumar, founder of women's fashion company Yashram Lifestyle that introduced the brand Morph Maternity around three years ago. Morph is retailed out of the Lifestyle chain and a host of outlets across 10 metros.

Bestseller redefines fast fashion FashionUnited.co.uk Bestseller, the makers if apparel brand Jack & Jones, a complete wardrobe brand is chalking out retail expansion plans in India. The company plans to add 50 exclusive brand outlets to its existing nine. Vineet Gautam, Country Head India, Jack & Jones avers, "We are targeting the metros, Tier I and II cities for the next one to two years. We have already finalized few markets like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Baroda, Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Dehradun, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Our ideal format is a 2,000 sq. ft. store but in key markets we would be opening bigger flagship stores."

Olympus opens its new store in Pune Expressindia.com Pune Olympus Imaging Corporation, launched its new store 'Olympus Zone' in Pune that offers the most compelling and comprehensive range of digital cameras, film cameras, voice recorders and a host of other products under one retail roof. The store was inaugurated by Kinya Yoshimura, General Manager India Operations, Olympus Imaging Corporation. Laying the foundation for major expansion, this is the third store launch in the country.

News: Food & Grocery, QSR ...

Havmor mulls overseas expansion Business Standard Ahmedabad-based Havmor Ice cream Limited is considering overseas expansion for its chain of restaurants and ice cream parlours. The largest ice cream manufacturers in Western India are looking at enquiries for setting up franchises in US and Dubai. "We might give Dubai a shot but have our hands full at the moment with India. Earlier, we had explored Singapore for overseas expansion but did not take it up for the same reason," said Ankit Chona, CEO of Havmor group of companies

Enter the gourmet cafe Financial Express Despite its misnomer of a name, The International Diner, newly opened in Delhi, is quite a charming cafe really. The food is strictly international, even if it is dominated by Mediterranean flavours, hummus and pita alternating with spaghetti aglio olio and lasagna not drowned in cheese. Casual bites, to be accompanied by a leisurely sheesha, for the young crowd that steadily streams in.

Full of beans Times of India Caf Coffee Day and Barista were the first homegrown chains. In the last few years, foreign chains such as Costa, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Segafredo Zanetti have rushed in to make the most of our newfound caffeine addiction. Starbucks, which coffee enthusiasts have been waiting for, demitasse in hand, is said to be nearly ready to pour into India. According to the Coffee Board, India's burgeoning caf culture has helped spur coffee consumption by five to six per cent every year. It estimates that in 2010 we will consume 100,000 tons of coffee.

Retail Trends

Mall culture slow to pick up, as kiranas remain favourite fnbnews.com Kirana stores and local retailers remain the most preferred destinations for majority of the shoppers across the country as compared to sprawling shopping malls as they provide for cheaper purchases to an extent of 25% and also offer options for avoidance of payment of duties such as VAT and other local levies on articles sold by them. According to a country-wide survey done under the aegis of Assocham Social Development Foundation, it was discovered that goods disposed of by the malls are devoid of these twin benefits and thus attract only the upmarket buyers.

Inditex Group: Fast fashion Business Standard What the industry takes six or nine months to do, Zara does it in 15 days. The brand of clothing and accessories pioneered the term 'fast, affordable fashion' in the apparel industry and is the global benchmark in a sector with one of the most complex supply chains. Till now, Indians needed a ticket to Europe, the Americas or South-east Asia to get Zara products. With Zara's Spanish parent, the euro 11-billion Inditex Group, forming a 51:49 joint venture with Trent, Tata's retail division, they needn't venture beyond Delhi and Mumbai.

Q&A: Jean-Christophe Babin, President & CEO, Tag Heuer Business Standard The luxury market, once considered immune to the ebb and flow of economic fluctuations, faced its worst slump last year. The decline in global sales was steep, off 8 per cent. Tag Heuer, the Swiss watchmaker, says it was better off than others in the industry; and as the market picked up this year, it has recovered strongly. India is one of its key markets. Tag Heuer President & CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, who was in Delhi recently to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary, spoke about the key drivers of the brand, and his global and India growth strategy.

Retail Insight

Pursuing Private Label Strategies in Retail PRTM In these tough times; consumers are demanding greater value which often translates into lower retail margins. Retailers are taking matters into their own hands; building private labels that compete with well-known brands.