Saumya Roy and Gouri Shah MINT (Partner to the Wall Street Journal) Wed, 23 Apr 2008, Mumbai Shopper's Stop Ltd, the 24-store retail chain, got a new look at a glitzy function featuring actor Shah Rukh Khan, nightclub lighting and hundreds of saplings that will be planted as part of the stores' Rs20 crore (Rs. 200 million) rebranding exercise.The chain, which started in a defunct suburban Mumbai movie theatre in 1991, got itself a new black-and-white logo, uniforms, print and television campaigns, carry bags and even an anthem and an in-store radio channel. It will also launch an Internet shopping…
By Sachin Dave & Vikas Kumar THE ECONOMIC TIMES 14 April 2008, BANGALORE Indian retailers are a worried lot these days. There has been a decline in margins and it's one of the lowest ever, avow some retailers. As inflation touched a 41-month high, chains across the country, especially the smaller players, have been trying every trick in the book to attract consumers, and keep them coming in, even as they struggle to grow profitably. The first and most critical area has been margins, and retailers have been bargaining harder with their suppliers. Says Pushpamitra Das, CEO of Wadhawan Food…
In the business of fashion, time has always been important. However, speed and efficiency are now both a strategic imperative and a tactical necessity. With greater unpredictability in the market, it is critical to have the correct product at the correct time in the right quantity. Fast fashion requires completely different thinking in the way product is developed, how pre-production processes are undertaken and how production is organised. The Fast Fashion Seminar will draw upon the live experiences of leading practitioners from the area of product development and supply chain. It will be structured as an interactive session. This Third…
April has opened eventfully around the world, when it comes to food prices. A leading Indian business daily opened the first week of April 2008 with a story saying that chain-stores may be as much as 15-40% cheaper than street vendors for staple vegetables and fruits. When we put this against the backdrop of concerns at skyrocketing global prices of rice and fuel, as consumers we may have a reason to thank the chains for helping to balance our monthly budgets. But is this really a victory for proponents of organized retail, or a blow against retail chains? The same…
I had the privilege of bringing the Prime Source Forum in Hong Kong (April 1-2, 2008) to a close. As in the previous year, the Forum had senior executives from companies based in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, as well as government officials and highly respected academics. The discussions covered wide-ranging topics, and with the variety of people on the panels, there was also some amount of difference in opinion. 8 issues came to my mind as key themes for the global industry, as I was preparing my closing speech, and I thought that those who were not present at…
The @ETNowSwadesh discussion on the dual challenge of a weakening rupee & rising crude oil prices driving "imported inflation". @devangshu on the panel with @davemansi145 as anchor
As legacy retailers balance speed with customer experience, is near-instant delivery a sustainable goal for fashion, or will the costs outweigh the rewards?
@devangshu
#Retail #SupplyChain #Strategy #India #Fashion #SupplyChain #Omnichannel
Ikea has been around in India for about eight years. and has taken a long-term view on India with product and format customisation, and future investment plans of over $2 billion.
