(Published in ETRetail.com on 6 December 2013) Franchising isn’t rocket science, but advanced space programmes offer at least one parallel which we can learn from – the staging of objectives and planning accordingly. A franchise development programme can be staged like a space launch, each successive stage being designed and defined for a specific function or role, and sequentially building the needed velocity and direction to successfully create a franchise operation. The stages may be equated to Launch, Booster, Orbiter and Landing stages, and cover the following aspects: Launch: assessment of the franchiser’s own readiness to launch and manage a…
Vandana, The Week Mumbai, December 2, 2013 Online buying might be in vogue these days, thanks to a growing tribe of youngsters shopping online. But there are old-schoolers, like Srikant Bahal, who do not believe in virtual shopping. The 36-year-old human resources manager at a private firm loves his weekly rounds of malls. For Bahal, the touch-and-feel experience is paramount while shopping. “One cannot judge the quality of a product by just seeing it. Even though I buy movie and airline tickets online, when it comes to products, touching is believing for me,” he says. However, when Titan started its…
Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard Mumbai, November 28, 2013 India's retail sector needs no bigger testimony than the one it got from the CEO of Britain’s largest clothing retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S), Marc Bolland. On a recent trip to India, he said the company has plans to make India its biggest international market, outside its home market. In fact, India tops its list of priority markets, ahead of China too. The British retail chain, which has a joint venture with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, plans to more than double its stores in the country and open some of world's first…
Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard Mumbai, November 25, 2013 As French menswear brand Celio looks to become the sole owner of its Indian business, it has drawn up plans to not just open more stores, but make them look better as well. Celio, whose joint-venture with Kishore Biyani's Future Group is called Celios Future Fashions, has got clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to increase its India stake to 100 per cent in July this year. Celio has already increased stake in the JV to 65 per cent. It is planning to increase the count of both its standalone…
Leonie Barrie, just-style.com November 15, 2013 Marks & Spencer has so far failed to make much of a dent in the Indian clothing sector since it first stepped into the country in 2001. It currently operates 36 stores in there since forming a joint venture with local conglomerate Reliance Retail in 2008. But it's easy to see why India appeals. The Indian apparel and footwear market is valued at US$51bn and is the third-largest market in Asia-Pacific following China and Japan, according to data supplied to just-style by market research company Euromonitor International. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
