| From the Editor's Desk |  | |
Retail requires focus - Lessons from the IndiaBulls story
After a hasty acquisition, several leadership changes and several 'rebranding' efforts, Indiabulls has officially decided to 'freeze' its retail expansion. Retail is traditionally a competitive, low margin business with long gestation periods. Without sufficient capital, management bandwidth and domain expertise, running a retail business is a recipe for disaster. Companies that got into retail because it was the flavour of the moment in 2006-2007 are now suffering. Even the big giants have survived only because of their deep pockets and are now focusing on fixing their operations. Note to big businesses - Enter retail only if you are prepared to make the capital, time and management commitments required to run this highly competitive business.
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| At a Glance | |  |
| News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ... | | |
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The LN Mittal-backed Indiabulls group has put its retail expansion plans on the backburner, focusing instead on its core business of financial services and real estate, said a top executive from the group. Store One, the retail arm of the group, which runs three stores in Pune and Nagpur, had plans to open stores in Mumbai and Delhi, among other places. Indiabulls also had plans to foray into the cash and carry (wholesale) business. "As of now, our stores in Pune and Nagpur are doing well. But retail is a very competitive business. Hence, we are not expanding our retail stores for now," said Gagan Banga, Chief Executive Officer, Indiabulls Financial Services. |
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As its partnership with Tata Motors failed to yield desired results, Fiat is charting out a new strategy to turn around its fortunes. The Italian car major plans to open exclusive company owned brand stores in major cities, apart from hiring a consultant to suggest a revival path. The brand stores would be an indirect way of starting its own retail format without involving Tata Motors, though the company has denied this. |
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Shoppers Stop announced that the company and Crossword Bookstores, its wholly owned subsidiary, have mutually agreed to terminate the franchise agreement, with effect from end of business hours of Sep. 30, 2010. Shoppers Stop had outperformed the market over the past one month, till Oct. 19, 2010, rising 2.40% compared with the Sensex`s 1.98% rise. |
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Electronics retail chain from the Tata Group, Croma Stores, which today tied up with German kitchen appliances major Miele, said it expects to gross about 10 percent of its revenue from private labels over the next one year. The company, which is upbeat about the growing demand for consumer electronics in the semi-urban and rural markets, will spend about 50 crore by the end of this fiscal to open 18 new stores, said Ajit Joshi, Chief Executive of Infinity Retail, which runs Croma Stores. |
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Shoppers Stop, the popular retail chain, is aiming to increase its pan India presence. Currently, it has 33 stores across the country and the plan is to add another seven stores by the end of this financial year. "New stores will open doors in Indore, Pune, Mysore, Vijayawada and Delhi by March 2011," says Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate and Managing Director, Shoppers Stop. |
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 | Tie Rack, the UK-based retail chain for men's and women's apparel and accessories, plans to open about 150 selling points across India, by 2012. The brand currently has nine exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) and five multi-brand outlets (MBOs) in the country. Tie Rack entered India through a tie-up with Genesis Colors, the Indian fashion conglomerate and holding company for major fashion retail brands and marketer of international luxury labels. |
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 | Canon, the Japanese imaging major, said it was planning a massive retail expansion in the country, to achieve a turnover of $1 billion (about Rs.4,600 crore) by 2015. The company announced the launch of 22 new products, including digital cameras and printers. "We plan to take our total retail presence to 6,000 outlets across the country and will increase marketing budget by 25 per cent to Rs.150 crore next year," said Canon India Senior Vice President, Alok Bharadwaj. |
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 | EVOK Mega Home Store, the home interiors destination brand by Hindware Home Retail Private Ltd, recently entered Uttar Pradesh by opening its first Mega HomeStore in the heart of the city at Hazratganj, Lucknow. The company had recently opened a mega Home Store at Zirakpur (Chandigarh) and plans to roll out more such stores across India. |
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| News: Food & Grocery, QSR ... | | |
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Brooklyn Lager, the legendary craft beer from New York City, was launched in India recently. Launched by the leading Craft Beer importer in India, Cerana Imports, the first American Craft beer in India was introduced simultaneously in select outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Chennai and Pune. |
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Here's another feather in India's (chef) cap. Two Indian restaurants - Bukhara and Dum Pukht - have made it to The Miele Guide's list of Asia's Top 20 restaurants for 2010/2011. The coveted list, drawn by an international panel comprising reputed critics, food writers, a public vote and a special jury, was announced at an exclusive casino-royale themed dinner in Macau, on Wednesday night. The Guide placed Bukhara at ITC Maurya, Delhi, fourteenth on the celebrated list, while Dum Pukht, Mumbai, bagged the seventeenth position. |
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| Retail Trends | | |
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New Delhi, September 2010: A great new shopping experience is about to launch in Delhi this November. The new 'Pacific' shopping center located in Rajouri Gardens and considered to be amongst one of the most promising retail catchments within India, is all set to enhance the shopping experience of the community. The project boasts of an exciting mix of retail and entertainment, with over 80% of the retail space having been leased out to leading international and national brands. "We have been extremely careful in managing the tenant mix as this will play a key role in the success of this project," says Ashwin Puri, CEO of Property Zone, who will be responsible for managing Pacific on behalf of the owners. |
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Future Capital Holdings, the financial service arm of Kishore Biyani-led Future group has acquired Mauritius-based Anchor Investment & Trading Pvt Ltd, to expand in the international market. Following the deal, Anchor has become Future Capital's wholly-owned subsidiary. Anchor is engaged in investment advisory services and has obtained requisite licenses and approvals from the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius, to undertake such activities. |
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The Diwali dhamaka has already surpassed most marketers' expectations, what with premium products across categories flying off the shelf much faster than volume pullers, in certain cases even wiping out supply. Most marketers and retailers, including the country's largest retailer Future Group, Samsung and Videocon's consumer durable chain, Next, are making last-minute changes in their product mix and marketing strategy to make the most of the big money rush. |
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 | This is one list India could have done without topping. During the year July 2009-June 2010, India recorded the world's maximum number of theft cases in retail stores and malls, causing a revenue loss of a whopping Rs 1,040.11 crore, according to a study released. The retail shrinkage study was conducted across 42 countries by the Centre for Retail Research, Nottingham ( UK) for Checkpoint Systems Inc, a retail shrinkage management firm. Retail shrinkage includes shoplifting, theft by employees and fraud by suppliers and vendors. |
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As the just-released Bain Global Luxury Goods Study forecasts a 10% increase in luxury goods sales worldwide in 2010... India is still far behind in the luxury race. The new factor in the Bain report is the focus on the male customer. It points out that many 'female brands' are entering the male luxury market and there are more stores dedicated to men being opened, accompanied by targetted communication campaigns. |
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| Retail Insight | | |
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| The Value of Retail Search and Position |
| iProspect |
Internet retailers are forced to be the savviest and most demanding online marketers due to the commoditized nature of their products, the low profit margins their sales produce, the high volume of transactions they must generate to be successful, and the intensity of competition of their marketplace. While this survey looks at shopper behavior for consumer electronics and computer products, the same trends are at play across all segments of the retail marketplace. The research also closely analyzes the role of various search influences, and better understand how search engines and retail sites work together to deliver the most complete shopper search experience. |
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