In a recent workshop on fashion styling, we were discussing how the retail seasons have evolved. In the developed economies, from the traditional two seasons - spring-summer and autumn-winter - the number of seasons grew as fashion brands discovered or invented (take your pick!) sub-seasons to create and satisfy distinct demand in specific time periods. For many companies, the number of "seasons" has grown to 10-12 now including transitions and “promo season” series. India, you would think, essentially has two seasons, the summer and the festive season. However, in the last decade or so, as exposure to the global culture…
Wal-Mart has just opened a new store Supermercado de Walmart in Houston (Texas). The Houston Chronicle reports that the Supermercado aims to reach out to the Hispanic population, tailoring the foods more to Hispanic tastes and needs and adding signs in Spanish. Wal-Mart is also reportedly planning to open a Mas Club this summer, based on its Sam's Club warehouse outlet, but focussed again on Hispanic customers. (The original article is here: Wal-Mart gives its Supermercado concept a tryout). Going by some of the negative comments attracted by the article, it is legitimate to ask: what will Wal-Mart's existing customers think, and how…
An article in Convenience Store Decisions wonders "Can Packaging Boost Sales?" According to the article, in November 2008 McDonald's reported that 82 percent of its packaging in its nine largest markets is now made from renewable materials. And "convenience store retailers are following Mickey D’s lead, seeking to capture a greater share of takeout sales as well as respect the earth with reliable, environmentally friendly packaging that won’t drive up the cost of takeout meals." The question is: how much of a selling point is green packaging at retail? Is the sales lift worth the investment in green packaging? (At the…
Retailwire.com prompted a discussion on what, if anything, should grocers and other stores be doing to accommodate the growth in stay-at-home dads?According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the recession is putting more men out of work than women, which has led to an increase of stay-at-home dads who are increasingly taking on the traditional women's roles of childcare, housework, school life, and shopping. Here's my contribution to the Dad wishlist: salespeople who don't look down their noses when asked a ("stupid") question Mom would never have dreamt of asking. (Also, considering this is the gender that apparently never…
Advertising Age recently carried an article titled "The Death of Customer Segmentation", by Michael Fassnacht. He questions the traditional marketing hypothesis that the better we segment consumers, the better we know what is relevant and the better we can market to them. Fassnacht argument is that: Segments are becoming more volatile [totally agree!] Consumers are never part of just one segment [fashion companies discovered that a few years ago, and began marketing to "purchase occasion segments" rather than plain-old consumer segments defined by demographic and static psychographic profiling], and Consumers are preferring to choose what information would be relevant and…
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.
