My first brush with Zara and Inditex (Zara’s parent company) was in the 1990s, when we were comparing product development and supply chain best practices for another European retailer. In 2002, after writing a case study on the Zara business model, I was (and continue to be) surprised at the number of downloads from the website (referenced at the bottom of this article). In 2004, the interest at the Images Fashion Forum was so intense that the Q&A after the presentation exceeded the allotted time, to the extent that I was almost declared persona non grata by the organising team!…
Erica Lee Nelson Span, May-June, 2010 Despite some concerns in India regarding foreign direct investment (FDI), Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of the retail and consumer goods consulting firm Third Eyesight, has witnessed many improvements in the Indian supply chain as large U.S. companies, such as McDonald’s, have set up operations here. He recalls the improvement in skills, technology and quality the company imparted to Indian vendors as it required them to meet its exacting global standards. In the retail sector, the government of India allows FDI of up to 51 percent for single-brand retailers, and 100 percent for wholesale cash…
REVIEW: FLIP THE FUNNEL: Joseph Jaffe (John Wiley & Sons) I’ve read Joseph Jaffe’s book across multiple air journeys, nationally and internationally. I agreed with the principles described and saw parallels with excellent services businesses over the past few years. However, the implications didn’t quite strike me in the gut until I realised – while writing this on board an aircraft – that the journeys I had taken with this book had also been with just one airline. My loyalty to this airline is not because of the mileage card I hold, although their mileage programme is certainly among the…
Diwakar Kumar IndiaRetailing, June 2, 2010 Customers visiting a store are looking for either the width of merchandise – the variety of product lines offered – or the depth – the number of each item or particular style of a product on offer. For most department and brand stores, a superior merchandise width generates better sales results, especially if the target audience is trendy or style conscious. In a bid to satisfy the discerning customers, large format retailers generally focus on the width of merchandise. And for them it becomes mandatory to give the 'feel of everything' in a store;…
Are you being carried, or are you carrying others? To know the answer to that question, bear with me while I take you on a short mental journey through the emerging landscape of “ethical business” and to the stories at the end of this piece. (Okay, you can cheat and skip ahead, but I would really prefer you to read through the whole thing.) For the most part sustainability and responsibility – or “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) to use the proper jargon – is seen as more relevant to the western economies, rather than the emerging economies like China, India…
Speciality Restaurants expanding into high-margin QSR and cloud kitchen spaces - @devangshu shared his perspective on the opportunities and realities of managing a diverse "house of brands" in the food service sector #India #strategy #diversification
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
