indiaretailing.com, Payal Kapoor 3 September 2010 As the competition heats up among shopping centres, what would differentiate one from the other? The answer lies in localisation of the shopping centre in line with local tastes and preferences. This becomes all the more important, because today's consumer is an evolved creature, who owes no loyalty to a shopping centre unless it meets her high expectations and offers a unique shopping experience. In a poll question asked by IndiaRetailing — “Shopping centres are still not unique when it comes to retail offerings” – 68.22 per cent of the respondents said “yes”, whereas…
MINT (A partner of the Wall Street Journal) Delhi, 26 August 2010 Shuchi Bansal A writer friend who is so not into shopping was recently spotted at an upmarket Delhi mall. He was, well, shopping. His wife was pleasantly shocked when he picked eight T-shirts, a couple of trousers and a pair of shoes. “I just couldn’t believe it when he quietly asked if he could visit the BOSSINI store,” she says. The wife—who claims a bout of depression four years ago turned her into a big time visitor to the malls—is clearly surprised by her reticent husband’s new-found comfort…
Daily News & Analysis (DNA) Mumbai, 23 August 2010 Shailaja Sharma Back then, the sales were a much-awaited annual affair. Today, discount sales run all year round. Modern retail appears to be learning its lesson on right-pricing the hard way - the Indian consumer will go where the value is. In other words, those who decide against taking a direct correction by bringing down prices to realistic levels, have to take an indirect cut through frequent discount sales. "Retailers whose prices did not match with the requirements of consumers have experienced that their highly-priced products may not sell too much,"…
Most of the people reading this would be familiar with fast food, and think of it as a cheap, tasteless, "throw-away" excuse for food. You may think of it as a deeply penetrated product category, close to being ubiquitous. Here's a picture that tells the other story. For these kids, who are clearly not able to afford the products, the fries, burgers etc. are aspirational and exciting. For them, McDonald's is clearly not open early enough (in their lives). It's a different perspective when you look through the other side of the glass, I guess.
Retailwire hosted an interesting discussion on ethical consumerism, based on Andrew Benett's description ofย the decline of hyper-consumerism, and the emergence of a more conscious, frugal consumer in his new book, "Consumed: Rethinking Business in an Era of Mindful Spending". In a recent article Benett identified 10 public figures who also act as beacons for mindful consumption. The list includes people as diverse as US first lady Michelle Obama, talk show host & actress Ellen Degeneres, investor Warren Buffet, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyiย ย and rapper Ludacris. Of course, Ellen, Ludacris or Oprah have a communication reach that most marketers would kill for.…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
