Management of Co-operatives

By –

Prof. Pulak Chakravarty

Contents

1. Consumer Cooperative Societies…………………………...……….2

2. Apna Bazaar – Introduction………………………………………....3

3. History…………………………………………………………….4

4. Role……………………………………………………………….6

5. Purpose of Establishment……………………………………………7

6. Outlets…………………………………………………………….8

7. Registration, Elections and Franchise………………………………..9

8. Organisation Structure…………………………………………….11

9. Departments…………………………………………….………..12

10. U.S.P……………..……………………………….……….18

11. Sources of Income….……………………………….…...…19

12. Exports and Tie-ups………..……………………….……...20

13. Sister Concerns………….………………………………....21

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14. Financial Analysis…………………………………………...22

15. SWOT Analysis…………...…………..…………………...24

16. Future Plans…………….……………………………….…28

17. Recommendations……………………………………....….30

18. Conclusion…………………………………….……..….…31

Consumer Co-operative Societies

Consumers are unorganized and therefore exploited by traders in price, quality and weight. Consumer co-operatives protects the interests of consumers against artificial scarcity, over charging of prices, supply of sub standard goods and the unfair trade practices distorted by private traders.

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Definition:-

Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, defines consumer co-operative society as a society, the object of which is:

The procurement, production or processing and the distribution of goods to or, the performance of other services for its members as also other consumers,

The distribution among its members and customers, of the profit occurring from such procurement, production, processing and distribution are in proportion as prescribed by rules or bye-laws of the society.

A consumer co-operative society is basically formed for the promotion of the interests of the consumers.

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Composition of Consumer Co-Operative Societies

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Rural Industrial Consumers’

National Co-operative

Primary Consumer Co-

Departmental Stores

State Co-operative

Wholesale / Central

Introduction

Brand name of Mumbai Kamgar Madhyavarti Grahak Sahakari Mandal Ltd

Date of Incorporation 9th May 1948Constitution Multi State Co-operative SocietySector Private

Industry RetailingRegistered Office 106-A, Govingi Keni Road,

Naigaon, Dadar [East], Mumbai 400014

Apna Bazaar, probably the oldest and largest consumer co-operative multi-state society with a customer base of over 12 lakhs. The Rs 140-crore retail chain, that, for over 55 years remained largely “middle-class”, Apna Bazaar has 80 outlets in Mumbai, Thane and the neighbouring Konkan region. It has recently opened its first shop outside the state in Goa. It recorded a turnover of Rs 127 crore for the year 2003-04.

We are the biggest chain of supermarkets in India operating with more than 500 outlets throughout the state, selling more than 6,000 essential commodities.

We are the only biggest supermarket chain that keeps in view the development of consumer association, indirectly cooperates with every activity and supports consumer rights to acquire quality products without compromising on quality.

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We possess one of the best and biggest warehouse facilities. The same is well equipped, scientifically tested to be of quality one. It also provides direct employment to more than 1,000 volunteers and indirect employment to more than 10,000 people. In this way it has been a good job creator and sustainer.

Our outlets are well spaced to display the vast range of products at easy view angles, with ample room for people's movements. Each and every outlet covers an average plinth area which is said to be a better space for this sort of retailing format.

Apna Bazaar provides the following facilities to consumers: -

Quality products at reasonable prices.

Variety of items under one roof.

24 hours drugs outlets.

Self-service counters

Items of high quality tested by its quality- testing laboratory.

Display boards and price lists at various counters to enable the customer to make his/her choice.

Home delivery, but this facility is only available for purchase from branches.

Discount sales periodically on various items

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The store was started keeping in mind the lower middle class section of the society. But gradually it has moved up the consumer ladder with the inclusion of the middle class as its target consumer. Now slowly it is drawing the upper class towards it. It now caters to almost all the segments of the society depending on the location. In order to attract the upper class & to combat growing competition in the retail industry it is making changes in its product-mix.The members of Apna Bazaar enjoy the following benefits:-

Dividend on shares at 12% to individuals, society and government.

Purchase rebate on share amount 10% each year.

Attractive rate of interest up to 9% on fixed deposit by the members.

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HistoryIn 1948 it started with The Naigaon Grahak Sahakari Mandal Limited, which became Mumbai Kamgar in 1958-59 after other consumer co. op. society merged into it. In 1962-63 the organization became Madhyavarti Grahak Sahakari Mandal.

On 29th March, 1968, the organization stated the nation’s first departmental store on the mill worker dominated areas like Naigaon under the name of APNA BAZAR. In short time Mumbai Kamgar brand APNA BAZAR grew popular all over Mumbai and has never looked back since. After successfully establishing a wide network of branches all over Mumbai, new branches were opened along the Konkan stretch following demand. Further franchisees were encouraged livelihood opportunity to many entrepreneurs.

The founders of Apna Bazaar were freedom fighters and textile mill workers. They came up with the concept of

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forming a cooperative society because of the following reasons:

Due to shortage of necessities during post – independence period (1948 onwards)

Shortage due to World War II (1939 – 1945)

The Indo – China and the Indo – Pak wars

To increase the standard of living of the common man

To sell products of good quality at less than MRP

Initially, 77 mill workers came together to from Apna Bazaar with an initial capital investment of Rs. 5000 /-. The NCDC provided finance to Apna Bazaar only at that particular time but nowadays it is not providing them with any help.

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Role

Apna bazaar plays a vital role by market intervention during the shortages of essential commodities. The distribution of these items is taken up by the Apna Bazaar at a loss to fulfill its social commitments. At times of need, Apna Bazaar has diverted its manpower and resources, even at the cost of its own commercial interest, for the public good.

Objectives of Apna Bazaar:-

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To undertake wholesale and retail distribution of consumer goods and essential commodities; and to establish department stores;

To foster the growth products and new manufacturing units through market support and management advice

To lower distribution costs and to introduce fair and better trading practices such as fixed prices etc; and

Eradication of malpractices of traders black marketing, artificial scarcity, cheating in measurements, adulteration, etc

Necessity of time – public distribution of essential commodities in rural and urban areas

Elimination of middlemen

Purpose Of EstablishmentThere was an industrial lock –out as a result of which many textile workers became unemployed. In order to help these workers and to provide them with employment Mumbai Kamgar Madhyavarti Grahak Sahakari Sanstha Limited came into existence. They started a co-operative under the brand name “Apna Bazaar”.

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Apna Bazaar strives to provide the best quality goods to their customers at the most reasonable prices. The following is a policy statement put up at all the Apna Bazaar stores:

“Let Us All Strive For Profits”

P – Productivity and Efficiency

R – Readiness to Change

O – Optimum Utilization of Resources

F – Fairness to all concerned

I – Income, Innovation, Industriousness

T – Team Work

S – Service Oriented Approach

Outlets13 | P a g e

Today, Apna Bazaar has it’s outlets in Mumbai, Konkan and Goa. In Mumbai it has 68 outlets, 11 outlets in Konkan and 1 in Goa. Of these there are:-

Apna Bazaar sells an immense variety of items through its various departments/retail outlets. It includes all possible items ranging from furniture, household items, footwear, and stationery to electronic items, watches and medical equipments etc.

Location:

The location for the store is selected taking in consideration the residential population in the area, the standard of living of the people, the amount of business the other shops are doing and also future development that are likely to take place in that area in future.

Area Covered:

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Departmental Stores

8

Super Markets 7

Food Stores 24

Medical Stores 4

Franchise Stores

37

Apna Bazaar has 80 outlets in Mumbai, Thane and the neighbouring Konkan region. It has recently opened its first shop outside the state in Goa. However the density of Apna Bazaar is high in Naigoan and Chembur.Space Required:

The minimum requirement of area for setting up Apna Bazaar is 1000 sq. feet. The biggest store is at Vashi, which is spread across 27000 sq. feet.

Store Layout:

Layout of shop Apna Bazaar does not have any specific layout of shop. But in most of outlet the 1st division you would come out is Vegetable, Fruit, Medical product, food grains, and FMCG product. The only thing that is kept under consideration is that Heavy Product like heavy quantities of sugar, wheat, and oil are near cash counter for convenience of customer. In case of display they see to it that display at entrance is very colourful & attractive. Hence they display cosmetics & FMCG product. Besides product, which is new to the market, are also displayed to grab attention of consumer

Product Display:

The brands are displayed in a very attractive manner .The decision to place a Brand on a particular shall depends upon the Market share enjoyed by the company /Brand. Usually there are 5 Shelves. Out of which 2nd, 3rd & 4th shelves are most important ones on which the brand with high market share or high brand equity are placed. These products are always in demand by the customers.

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Footfalls:

In big stores, like the departmental store at Andheri, there are 2000 to 3000 footfalls in a day (on weekdays) & on weekends there are around 3000 to 3500 footfalls. In small outlets there are around 100 footfalls on regular days. On weekends there are 200 to 250 footfalls. The footfalls are more especially on Sunday.

The footfalls are more in evening between 6.30pm. & 8.30pm .Whereas the footfalls are comparatively low during the afternoon slot of 1.30 - 3.30 pm. keeping this in mind stores are closed down during this time. In this time the staff are rearrange the merchandise in the store.

Shoplifting:

Apna Bazaar does fall the problem of shoplifting .However the percentage of shoplifting, theft is low because of presence of watchman and staff. If there is sale of Rs. 100 only ½ % is lost due to shoplifting. So the percentage of shoplifting is just 0.5%.

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Registration

State level:

Apna Bazaar has to obtain permission from the Directorate of Marketing of the Government of Maharashtra.

District level:

Apna Bazaar has to obtain permission from the District Deputy Registrar (DDR).Apna Bazaar has to register with the Cooperative Commissioner (Registrar of Societies) under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1960.

Elections

Elections are held every 5 years for the post of the Chairman and the Board of Directors (BOD) in the presence of the District Deputy Registrar. The shareholders elect the BOD who elects the Chairman who elects the members. The BOD and the Chairman are the policy makers of the society.

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Franchise

Apna bazaar has 37 franchise stores spread across Mumbai and a few regions in the Konkan. In the franchise store the board of Apna Bazaar is put up and 70% of its goods (food grains, pulses etc.) are supplied by Apna bazaar. Besides Apna Bazaar send their employees to train the franchisee.

The criteria for becoming the franchisee of Apna Bazaar are:-

The financial background of the individual

The area in which he is planning to open the store i.e. the location, population, standard of living etc

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Organizational Structure

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General Manager

Branch Manager

Deputy General

9 Assistant General

Supervisors

Department Store Manager

Staff

DepartmentsPurchase Department:

Apna Bazaar buys its products from reputed suppliers. They insist on quality products, as it is of utmost importance to them and in no case do they compromise on Quality. In case, any consignment is found to have bad quality, the whole consignment is returned back to the supplier.

Apna Bazaar also acts as a launch pad for new products. They buy new products on a consignment / approval basis. This is because, if the newly launched product does not appeal to the customers, they can send the product back to the company. Thus, the company can test – launch their product before it is actually launched.

The procedure for purchase is as follows:-

Agricultural products, Food grains etc.:

Masalas, sugar, dals, coconuts etc. are bought from the states of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala etc. These products are sent to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) market located at various places in Maharashtra.

The sales turnover for last year for these products was Rs. 20 crore.

Products of daily use:-

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Products like soaps, oil, salt cosmetics etc. are purchased directly from companies who have their sales persons going to Apna Bazaar everyday and taking their requirements. Certain common products are brought in bulk, wherein the Apna Bazaar branches send the indent of their requirement to the Head Office in Naigaon. These products are collected in the Spring Mill Warehouse of Apna Bazaar. They are then sent to the department store warehouse, where they are unpacked, repacked and arranged in the respective sections for sale.

Stock – Taking:

Stock – taking is done quarterly, half yearly, three quarterly and yearly. During the stocktaking, they find out, which product is moving (selling fast) and which is not. The FSN (Fast moving, slow moving, non-moving) Analysis is done periodically to know the excess or shortage of a particular product. If the product is fast moving or slow moving, it is kept in the store but if it is non-moving, it is not kept.

Sales:

Apna bazaar has a daily turnover of about Rs. 35 lakhs. Sales are done on a First In – First Out basis (FIFO). Thus, the purchasing policy of Apna Bazaar is to buy goods in bulk quantity. Due to this, they get large discounts from their suppliers. This enables them to keep a low – profit margin and thus all the commodities are sold at less than MRP. This is the unique selling preposition of Apna Bazaar.

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The annual sales turnover of Apna Bazaar is of Rs. 130 crore. The sales of Apna Bazaar are mainly on cash basis. The customer will get a bill even for a product that is extremely low priced. 99% sales are on cash basis. They have recently introduced credit card systems for the benefit of customers, which account for the remaining 1% of the sales.

In the case of medicines, there is an overall discount of 8% to the customer. Life – saving drugs (insulin for diabetes) are also provided free of cost to senior citizens.

Finance:

As profit is not the main objective of Apna Bazaar, the overall profit margin on commodities is low. The face value of Apna Bazaar’s share is Rs. 100. There are about 15,000 shareholders. The profit left is divided among the shareholders by way of dividend (nearly 20%). A very less amount is kept for reserve funds and investment. There are less or nearly no sources of funds. Therefore, they cannot raise capital as private companies. Thus they cannot earn interest, and hence cannot invest more. Thus, there is a viscous circle of non-availability of funds where due to no investment; no further generation of funds is possible.

The Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank is the apex bank providing finance to Apna Bazaar along with Bank of Maharashtra.

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If they want to open a new branch, they take land on rent / lease. They cannot afford to buy land or building, but have to required manpower and management expertise to set up a new branch.

Auditing is done on a yearly basis by internal auditors and by the Auditors coming from the Department of Cooperatives of the Government of Maharashtra.

Marketing:

Apna Bazaar does not advertise. They feel that they are in business because of their brand name and goodwill. The word of mouth of the customer speaks for them. However, they have calendars printed every year, which are sent to their shareholders. The companies from where they buy their goods, place advertisements in the calendar. Hence, not much amount is spent on marketing.

Personnel/Human Resource:

Apna Bazaar employs a total of about 1200 employees all over Maharashtra. The Officers agree they pay low wages to their employees but that is because Apna Bazaar is a non – profit making organisation. The wages paid are not below the minimum amount as specified in the Minimum Wages Act of the Government of Maharashtra.

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Promotion is done on the basis of merit. Transfers and promotions are done yearly or bi - yearly.

Apna Bazaar gives periodical training for newcomers and existing employees in the fields of Principles and History of Cooperatives, History and reputation of Apna Bazaar, Accounts, How to deal with new customers etc. The Ashok Mehta Institute at Vashi gives the required training to the employees.

Apna Bazaar expects its employees to be faithful to the organisation. If any employee is caught doing an illegal activity on the premises, he is removed. Thus various schemes are offered to the employees. Employee State Insurance, Public Provident Fund, Gratuity for Employee Bonus is some of the schemes offered.

Inventory:

Sources

The F.M.C.G. products are directly from the company whereas food grains are purchased from a market at Thane, Vegetables & fruits are purchased from RadhaKrishna Foodland, Dry fruits are purchased from market in Vashi.

Valuation of stock

The physical method used for valuation of stock. The stock is valued on FIFO basis i.e. first in first out basis.

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Inventory turnover

1. Fruits, vegetables, milk (Perishables) are ordered daily.

2. Food grains, Sugar on alternate days.3. FMCG products, biscuits, tea are ordered once a

week.4. Oil 2-3 times a week.5. Utensils in 1 or 2 months.

Unsold stock

The stock turnover for Items like cakes, vegetables, Fruits, milk etc is on Daily basis.

Commodities like food grains, sugar, tea etc don’t remain unsold. If the vegetables remain unsold on the day of purchase then they are changed on the next day itself as the shelf life is very short, of not more than 24 hrs. In case of items like food grains remaining unsold they are discarded only when they deteriorate. FMCG products if remained unsold are returned to the company after 6-8 months and the amount is adjusted against the purchase amount. In case of clothes the inventory is changed after 2-3 months.

Shortage of inventory

APNA BAZAAR is never short of inventory of branded products. But in case of unbranded products like Masalas, pickles etc if the inventory is short then nothing can be done on the spot.

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Trade Discounts:

The purchases are made in bulk and the discounts received from the suppliers are passed on to the consumers in various forms. Usually the benefits are passed on the customers in the form of reduced Prices on almost all the commodities a discount of 5% on MRP is given. Other than that if the purchases exceeds Rs.3000/- in 3 months then the consumers are given 1% rebate i.e. they can take home an article equivalent to that amount absolutely free of cost. Other than that consumers are given Bonus points on the purchases. Besides if the purchases exceeds Rs. 500/- at a time than they are given a gift on the spot.

Consumer Loyalty:

It has a Consumer base of 12 lakhs. Over the period of 56 years Apna Bazaar has developed a strong brand image in the mind of the consumers. It enjoys strong consumer loyalty. There are just 4%-5% consumers who shift over to other retail stores.

Mode Of Payment:

In Apna Bazaar the mode of payment is Cash, Credit card, Debit card, Ticket restaurant, and Sodexho pass coupon. No individual credit is given. However Apna Bazaar also

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supplies commodities to govt. Institutes, Hospital etc. They supply food grains, Grocery etc. In this case they give a credit of month.

U.S.P

Pure quality commodity

Quantity is accurate

Surety of no duplication

All prices below MRP including medical product

Guarantee on each product

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Sources Of IncomeRetailing is their core activity and a major part of their income come from the various retail outlets.

They supply commodities like Dal, Pulses, Food grains, Cereals to Govt. Institutions, Hospitals for their Canteens. A 30 Days credit is given to them.

They also earn income from the company racks that they display in their outlets. These racks contain the products of the particular company and the in turn pays Apna Bazaar for displaying these racks. For e.g.:- Maggie, Colgate, Pepsodent, Vicks, Nescafe etc.

They provide space to companies e.g. MEPL (Electronic goods) in order to display and sell their goods by charging rent for space provided.

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They have 37 Franchise outlets, which act as a source of income for Apna Bazaar as Apna Bazaar supplies 70% of goods.

Provide place to banks for opening ATM center by charging rent since almost all the outlets are owned by Apna Bazaar.

MetLife India signed an agreement with Apna Bazaar Co-operative for selling life insurance policies. Based on the agreement, Apna Bazaar Co-operative shall become corporate agents for MetLife India and offer MetLife India products to its huge customer base. Henceforth Apna Bazaar will enable its customers to build financial freedom through MetLife India products based on need analysis. Apna Bazaar will receive a commission of 35% on Premium amount.

Exports'Apna Bazaar ' is a 55 year old co-operative organisation with US$ 37 million annual turnover through 07 departmental stores, 06 super markets & 65 retail outlets.

Exporters Of: - Fresh & Frozen Sea foods, Fresh Water Fish.

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Apna bazaar used to export commodities like fish and grapes to Europe. In spite of good earnings on exports they have discontinued the exports from this year. The reason for the discontinuation was due to:-

The goods were seasonal in nature.

In case of grapes the Jalgoan region in which grapes where cultivated was hit by drought, thereby by affecting the production of grapes.

Besides the grapes were sprayed with certain chemicals which were banned in the European countries, thereby further affecting the exports.

Besides exports is not Apna Bazaar’s core activity therefore the decision to discontinue exports was taken.

Tie –UpsOil major Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Apna Bazaar Co-operative have entered into a tie-up. Their outlet is called APNA BAZAR –HPCL speed mart. By joining hands, Apna Bazaar and HPCL aim to leverage their synergy for attracting consumers. HPCL would do it by offering more services at the petrol pumps; while Apna Bazaar would gain access to the large base of customers visiting the gas stations of the oil giant .It has three Outlets in Mumbai at Chembur, Dadar and Nerul.

Sister Concerns

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Apna bazaar has various sister concerns. These are:-

Apna Sahakari Bank:

During the last few years the Apna Sahakari Bank has made remarkable progress. In the 33 years of its existence, the bank has predicted an increase in its deposits to Rs. 274 crore. For the year ended 31st March 2000, the bank had a growth of 20.26% in its deposits.

Providing efficient service towards the customer and up gradation of technology is of utmost importance to the bank. This has helped them to survive in the banking sector despite the presence of stiff competition.

Ashok Mehta Institute:

Ashok Mehta Institute is located at Vashi and Vaikhunt. This institute provides training for newcomers and existing employees of Apna Bazaar in the fields of Principles and History of Cooperatives, History and reputation of Apna Bazaar, Accounts, How to deal with new customers etc. it offers other courses like D.B.M, P.G.D.B.M., D.I.T., etc. which range from 6 months to 1 year duration. Employees and helpers attend workshops on various subjects organized by this institute.

Others include:-

Mumbai Kamgar Sevak Sahakari Patpedi

Apna Bazaar Adhikari Sahakari Patpedi

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Financial Analysis

In the financial year 2006-07 Apna Bazaar dept. stores, supermarkets and other outlets total retail sales was Rs. 99 Crores and 52 lacs .It registered an increase of Rs. 1 crore and 56 lacs as compared to previous year.

Total Sales:

In the financial year 2006-07 the organization’s total sales amounted to Rs. 127 crore and 36 lacs. There has been a fall of Rs. 5 crore in the total sales compared to the previous years. This was due to loss making outlets were closed down.

Expenditure:

Out of the total expenditure incurred by Apna Bazaar Payment to staff constitutes to more than 40-45% in the financial year 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07.

Also Interest on deposits and borrowings were around 20-25%. Apna Bazaar borrowed money in order to set it off against the losses. These lead to increasing interest burden and almost resulting into debt trap.

Budgeted & Actual:

The budgeted sales of Apna Bazaar for the year 06-07 were Rs, 14050(in lacs) where as the actual for the year 06-07 were Rs. 12736(in lacs). Also the Actual gross

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profits Rs.1215 (lacs) were less than the budgeted gross profit Rs.995 (lacs). The total budgeted expenses for the year 03-04 were Rs.1450 lacs were as the actual expenses were Rs 1331 (lacs).

There is a favourable variance between budgeted expenses and the actual expenditure. Also the Budgeted net profit was expected to be Rs. 15 (lacs) but had to face a loss of Rs. 120(lacs). For the future Apna Bazaar has planned to make a net profit of 15 lacs for the year 2005-06.Measures Taken To Eridicate Losses:

Since Apna Bazaar has incurred losses of Rs. 150 lacs in the financial year 2006-07. To eradicate these losses they have taken the following steps:-

They are trying to reduce the inventory turnover to two (2) days with the help of Radha Krishna Foodland. These would reduce the blockage of capital and interest on it.

The concept of Shopping on wheel has been drastically cut down due to government regulation of disallowing vehicles on road, which are 15 years old. Another reason is that Apna Bazaar outlets are now available in almost all areas of Mumbai.

Apna Bazaar has discontinued the outlets, which are making losses for many years. Outlet in Bandra was closed.

They are trimming the staff and there has been no new intake of staff as of date.

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Training and Development of staff in order to improve their efficiency and productivity

S.W.O.T. AnalysisStrengths:

Goodwill:

Apna Bazaar has built its image over the years as a value for money store, which supplies good quality goods at economical price.

Number of Outlets:

Apna Bazaar has 80 outlets spread all over Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and the neighbouring Konkan region, Lanza (Bombay-Goa road), among other places in Maharashtra. All these areas are easily accessible as public transportation is available. Hence provides easy access to the customers.

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Team work:

Although there is no training imparted to the employees at the outlets, there is co-ordination and understanding between them due to which the work goes on smoothly creating a win-win situation for both, the management and the employees.

Modernization:

Apna Bazaar makes use of modern technology to maintain correct supplier bills and giving accurate bills to customers giving details of each purchase and most importantly showing him the savings he has made while purchasing from Apna Bazaar. They also possess total details of their sales and the percentage of sales in each category so they know where the sales are high and where they are lagging behind.

Genuine Products:

The products of Apna Bazaar are genuine as they purchase it directly from the companies. Lots of imitations of consumables such as honey, oil, etc. are available in many stores. People get cheated, as it is not easy to identify them.

CRM:

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Apna Bazaar organizes a customer meet for their regular customers called MELAVDA at their anniversary to build stronger relations with their customers. On this day, the customers are offered purchase discounts which show that they have taken corrective steps towards customer satisfaction.

Weaknesses:

Capital:

Raising capital for expansion and improvement is also a constraint. Apna Bazaar is bounded by the laws of consumer co-operatives due to which they cannot raise funds from open market. There is also limit prescribed by the consumer co-operatives for number of shares issued by Apna Bazaar. This is a major drawback for Apna Bazaar.

Ageing society:

Apna Bazaar started after World War 2 when there was need of essential commodities at lower prices. But, after liberalization many super markets and hypermarkets have opened up due to which there is explosion of choices. Moreover, people today have the money to go for convenience shopping, and hence, the purpose for opening the co-operative is defeated.

Obstacles in recruitment:

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Apna Bazaar does not have the budget to recruit skilled staff. The employees are not well educated and hence, they are not aware of the management practices. A qualified employee demands higher salary, which cannot be given by Apna Bazaar due to their constraints. Hence they cannot appoint a MBA a managerial job.

No online retailing:

Apna Bazaar does not have information about its products online. They should have their own website as it is very important in today’s world. They could even learn about customer grievances by the feedback.

Price fluctuation:

Price Fluctuation is a major threat to Apna Bazaar. If the product is bought at a higher price is has to be sold at that price only so as not to incur losses. For example, the price of oil fluctuates a lot. So if the price for oil is Rs. 820 for a can when it is purchased, it will be sold at Rs 820 per can even if the price falls to Rs. 800 per can. In this case the oil available from other shops will be cheaper.

Opportunities:

Brand building:

Apna Bazaar can take efforts to build its’ brand image. For this purpose, a marketing firm can he hired. This will attract more and more people to its

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outlets. Also, they have upgraded their outlets. This can be the base for attracting more customers as they will soon have all air conditioned stores.

Expansion:

Apna Bazaar can expand its outlets to other states. At present, they have discovered interests from Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The initiation is on the anvil.

Development in suburbs:

People are now moving in the suburbs; infrastructure is developing due to which there is huge potential to attract more customers.

Retailing boom:

Retailing today is not only about selling at the shop, but also about surveying the market, offering choice and experience to consumers, competitive prices and retaining consumers as well. The establishment of supermarkets and convenience stores has been a great effort to communicate the advantages of organized retailing to customers.

Threats:

Malls:

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There are a large number of malls that offer discounts the discounts offered by them are as good as those offered by Apna Bazaar because the malls purchase in bulk and can hence afford to give heavy discounts to the customers. The customer has an explosion of choices and will prefer shopping at these big malls because of the ambience. They get the complete shopping experience at malls. Hence, malls are a major threat for Apna Bazaar.

Competition from other stores in terms of:-:

1.Customer Centric Approach:Most other stores take feedback from the customers in form of grievances, opinions and suggestions. They can find out customer needs and ways to satisfy them.

2.Image:Image of a private retailer is more modern and advanced compared to that of Apna Bazaar. The display is also more attractive in other super markets and hypermarkets compared to Apna Bazaar.

Theft / Shoplifting:

The Apna Bazaar stores are large in size. Therefore, it is difficult to keep a check on the customers. Also the lack of any security gadgets makes it more tedious for the staff to notice any malpractices that might be occurring

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on the premises. Thus, thefts occur at least 2 – 3 times a month. Defaulters are charged a fine of Rs. 501.

Lack of Personal Attention:

Apna Bazaar stores a large number of commodities and has around 2500 – 3000 customers visiting it daily. Thus it is almost impossible for the staff to give personal attention to the customers.

Future Plans Apna Bazaar plans to open outlets in the new

housing colonies coming up in the interior suburbs like Kandivili and Thane.

Increasing the distribution reach is a strategy to counter competition the co-operative plans to increase its outlets from 80 at present to about 100 by next year. This would comprise department stores, super markets, franchisee outlets and medical stores, both in Maharashtra as well as rest of the country.

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Apart from that, it has money transfer facility under an arrangement with Western Union money transfer.

On the tie-up with HPCL for having Apna Bazaar outlets at the petrol pumps, so far three HPCL pumps have Apna Bazaar outlets and the results are still being analyzed.

Apna Bazaar Co-operative has embarked on a restructuring exercise and has appointed Darashaw and Company as strategic consultants. The restructuring involves exiting certain business while adding more services, to be provided under its umbrella. The restructuring plan involves exiting out of businesses like export of fish and grapes, milk processing, manufacturing bakery products like biscuits and also pickles papads and spices.

Online booking for provisions through the Net and a centralized system to control inventory are also on the anvil. To begin with the co-operative plans to have a dedicated call center for customers to phone in their requirements, which would then be delivered from the nearest Apna Bazaar outlet. An online presence, on the lines of Sangam Direct-the online initiative of HLL-is under consideration.

To ensure minimum inventory and maximum rotation, the co-operative is planning to centralize its supply chain management. It is talking to FMCG majors like Tata, Nestle, HLL and P&G to ensure rotation without building up much inventory. While the super markets would be serviced directly by the companies, the requirements of franchisee outlets

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would be met by Apna Bazaar to ensure better co-ordination.

Apna Bazaar operates the Akshay Labh Yojana scheme wherein the customers can deposit Rs. 10,000 at any point of time in the year and get items worth Rs. 100 per month free. They also have term deposit schemes.

Apna Bazaar has also entered into an eCRM tie-up with Venture Infotek, the e-infrastructure solutions provider, whereby Venture Infotek provides the integrated end-to-end solutions, with the shared infrastructure and payment-as-you-use payment mechanism, without investment in infrastructure.

The first thing on Apna Bazaar’s plans is to work on all 365 days like other big players.

Upgrading the skills of their manpower and create vehicle parking facility are also in their agenda. They plan to have a tie-up with Citibank on co-branding. Regarding credit card, they are on the verge of signing a MoU with SBI. As visual merchandising, a new way for presenting the products will be introduced.

The National Consumers Co-Operative Federation has approached Apna Bazaar and enquired about the possibility of running department stores under the brand name Apna Bazaar in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.

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Apna Bazaar is planning to open another outlet in Goa as they have got a good response from the supermarket.

Recommendations

Government interference has had a major effect on the democratic setup of Apna Bazaar. Therefore, lesser dependence on government should be opted for.

Government should help stores like Apna Bazaar with credit at cheaper interest rates.

Apna Bazaar should improve their capital assets by enrolling more members and also introduce more product varieties.

In the coming years, the economy will be dominated by the retailing sector. Times are changing, organizations are changing. Changing according to times is inevitable. Apna Bazaar has to change its traditional viewpoints. It should adopt new techniques and accept change wholeheartedly. Bringing qualitative changes in their skill and especially mindset will help it to survive competition.

Apna Bazaar can open one outlet offering all the products it sells in the 80 outlets so that people get all products offered by Apna Bazaar under one roof.

Though Apna Bazaar offers self-service, the staff needs to be more customer friendly, and interact with the customers. There is also a need for professionalism.

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Conclusion

Consumer Cooperatives constitute the institutional framework in the distributive trade for providing essential consumer articles to the vulnerable section of society at reasonable prices. As a National policy, consumer cooperatives have been developed as self-reliant grass-root democratic institutions owned, managed and controlled by their members for the protection of interests of consumers.

The presence of consumer cooperatives creates an impact in the market especially to protect the interests of consumers by way of keeping intermediaries away from the distribution channel. It plays a vital role from the distribution of consumer goods, particularly essential consumer goods at fair prices to rural areas, including remote, inaccessible and hilly terrains.

Consumer Cooperatives have received a good deal of support from the Govt. as they help check malpractices in times of crises arising from shortages by making goods available and thereby checking undue rise in their prices. These apart, Consumer cooperatives not only provides potential employment opportunities to the young,

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educate and literate persons but also adding income to the Center and States/UTs in the form of Income Tax, Sales Tax, other prevailing local Taxes, etc.

GROUP MEMBERS

Name Roll No. (Old)

Roll No. (New)

Minay Mehta

Sneha Moitra

Snigdha Moitra

Sameera PingulkarHamida RupaniZubair

Siddique

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Akshay Vasan

Shweta Dungrani

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