Picture an upper-middle class consumer out shopping groceries in a large, air-conditioned hypermarket after catching the new movie at the mall. Global best-practice is the standard here. The aisles are wide enough to allow two shopping-carts to pass each other comfortably, and are organized according to product categories. The shelves are neatly ticketed, and the products equipped with bar-codes to allow for quick checkout. The emphasis is clearly on convenience. But (surprise!) the store has apparently underestimated the demand for the conveniently pre-cut and packaged vegetables. The loose vegetables are going untouched, while the pre-cut packs are almost sold out.…
Recently there was some discussion online about the so-called "politics of organized retailing" in India (on Retailwire). I believe these are no different from the politics of anything else. There are interest-groups and pressure-groups with different objectives, who pull-and-push economic and regulatory policy with varying degrees of success. In that, India is no different from any other country, whether the US or China. After China began opening up its economy in 1979, it took more than a decade for it to begin allowing foreign retailers to enter the market, and it was not before domestic retailers were given time to…
Among the frenetic activity of large stores opening and the expressed visions of organized retail taking over the market in the past couple of years, the competition is becoming more intense with each passing month. What would set the winner apart is not just the customer experience and satisfaction but also customer loyalty – where, for instance, an "unorganized" kirana store can still beat a much-larger organized retail business due to the intimate understanding of their customer base and micromanagement of the store. What it would take for the organized retailers to replicate that experience is the people who create…
Spread of organized retail has brought both expansion opportunities and growth pangs for stand-alone eateries Saumya Roy, Mumbai - MINT, 3 March 2008 There's nothing even remotely North American about Tushar Jaiswal's Red Indian pizza - replete with paneer, red peppers, onions and capsicum toppings. But it's held its own against exotic offerings from large pizza chains in Vadodara. Jaiswal's Pizza Inn vegetarian pizza chain has grown to three restaurants over the last six years, even as some overseas brands have had a hard time keeping their only outlet going in the city. Jaiswal's Indianized pizza chain is now set…
Many pundits have passed judgement on the inevitability of 'organised retail'. Yet, around the world, independents continue to thrive. One may think that at least in difficult economic phases - such as the one facing economies around the world right now - large retailers are better equipped to survive. Yet, often it is the flexibility of the owner-driven small business that rides out the trough. Service levels and personalisation - that are increasingly critical in an impersonal world - are often far better delivered by a small retailer. [See "Playing with the Big Boys"] And when it comes to business…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
