COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY OF CENTRAL AND SHOPPERS STOP

SUBMITTED BY:

Ajit Kumar Gupta

MFM/11/1956

MASTER OF FASHION MANAGEMENT

BATCH - 2011-13

DEPARTMENT OF FASHION MANAGEMENT STUDIES

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY

JODHPUR

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DECLARATION

I, AJIT KUMAR GUPTA hereby declare that the Internship Project Report entitled

“COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY OF CENTRAL

AND SHOPPERS STOP” submitted towards, partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of

Fashion Management is my original work and no part of the project has been copied from any

other reports or any other work carried by someone else which has been submitted for any

other degree/award. However, any material taken from any other published source has been

suitably referred and acknowledged at various places.

Name: Ajit Kumar Gupta

Roll Number: 2011101

Batch: MFM – 2011-13 Centre: Jodhpur

Date: 20th May, 2013

Place: Jodhpur

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CERTIFICATE BY THE FACULTY MENTOR REGARDINGCOMPLETION OF WORK

This is to certify that the Internship Project entitled “COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY OF CENTRAL AND SHOPPERS STOP” submitted

towards the partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Fashion Management by AJIT

KUMAR GUPTA is his original work under my guidance and the results are based on the

research done by him.

(_________________________)

Ms. Shikha Gupta Faculty Mentor

NIFT JODHPUR

Date: 20th May, 2013

Place: Jodhpur

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Acknowledgement

A project report seems to be an individual effort is in fact teamwork. Graduation Project at

Central Gurgaon. was just like an opportunity to shake hand with the practical world of

business.

I am indebted to all those individuals who helped me in gaining knowledge & insight into

various aspects for graduation project. The source of learning have been one too many & a

complete list of individual references would become encyclopaedic.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Mr. Gurpreet Singh, Regional Marketing Head,

without whose help this graduation project in would not be possible.

I am grateful to Mr. Kumar Gaurav, HR at Gurgaon central, for sharing his experience &

knowledge & without whose help the project would not have got any shape.

My deepest appreciation also extends to Ms. Shikha Gupta, Project guide, Faculty NIFT-

Jodhpur, who critically reviewed my project report & provided suggestions.

I would like to thank Dr. A. K. Khare, Director NIFT-Jodhpur, for his constant support &

encouragement.

Finally, I would express my gratitude towards Mr. Gaurav Ashesh, CC- FMS, NIFT

Jodhpur for facilitating my Graduation Project.

NAME: AJIT KUMAR GUPTAADDRESS: NIFT Campus,

Old Nagar Nigam Bldg, Sojati Gate, Jodhpur – 342001

Master of Fashion ManagementDate of submission: 20th May, 2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTERNUMBER

TITLE PAGE NUMBE

1. Executive summary 1

2. Overview 2-3

3. Introduction 4-10

4. Research Objectives 11

5. Research Methodology 11

6. Literature Review 12-14

7. Case Study on Gurgaon Central 15-18

8. Promotional Strategy followed by Central

19-22

9. Case Study on Shopper’s Stop 23-26

10. Promotional Strategy followed by Shoppers’ Stop

27-33

11. Customer Survey 34

12. Analysis of the Survey 35-40

13. Recommendation & Suggestion

41

14. References 42

15. Annexure 43-46

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Executive Summary

The objective of the thesis is “To compare and study Central & Shopper Stop, identify areas

of excellence and areas needing improvement; and provide suggestions for such

improvement”. The aim of this Project is to successfully compare two prominent service

sector companies on a common platform, analyse their Promotional Strategy, and highlight

what they are doing well, while providing suggestions and recommendations for

improvement. Central and Shopper Stop were chosen because of their identical pattern of

functioning and growth. They are the two major players in the national Shopping Mall, and

their customers consider both as interchangeable brands. This is why it is important to study

how these brands differentiate themselves from each other, and attempt to improve brand

loyalty amongst their customers.

For the purpose of this study, I prepared 2 research tools, both questionnaire, to find out the

relevant primary data pertaining to the functioning and working of both Central and Shopper.

The data was collected based on information provided by:

1. The management of the organization.

2. Customers visiting Central and Shopper Stop Mall.

Besides the primary data collected with the help of the questionnaire, I have also collected the

relevant secondary data from various sources like magazines, books and Internet and

newspapers. Based on the relevant primary and secondary data, a comparative analysis has

been done so as to find out the areas of excellence and areas of improvement of both

organizations.

The areas of excellence and improvement have been identified based on factual information,

in light of which recommendations and suggestions have been provided for the overall

improvement of the organizations in the future.

This Thesis was conducted in 2013 in Delhi and Gurgaon, India; so the information is relative

to this city.

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Overview

Section One: Future Group Industry.

Section one of the Thesis is a peek at the Future Group Industry. It takes a look at how the

Industry has evolved through time, from its early beginnings in India, to its current form of a

highly organized sector. It also details the structure of the Industry, with its various

components, in its current form. It finally deals with how this Industry has grown in India,

and what its current status is.

Section Two: Central.

Section Two of the Thesis is a peek at the Central. It takes a look at how the Industry has

evolved through time, from its early beginnings in India, to its current form of a highly

organized sector. It also details the structure of the Industry, with its various components, in

its current form. It finally deals with how this Industry has grown in India, and what its

current status is.

Section Three: Shopper Stop.

Section Three of the Thesis is a peek at the Shopper Stop. It takes a look at how the Industry

has evolved through time, from its early beginnings in India, to its current form of a highly

organized sector. It also details the structure of the Industry, with its various components, in

its current form. It finally deals with how this Industry has grown in India, and what its

current status is.

Section Four: Case study on Central.

Section Four is a case study on the first organization being compared in this study, Central.

The case study looks at the overall working and performance of Central, and the various

aspects and functioning of its Promotional Strategy, Marketing and Human Resource.

Section Five: Case study on Shopper’s Stop.

Section Five is a case study on Shopper Stop, the other organizations being compared in this

study. This section deals with the overall operations of Shopper Stop, and like the previous

section, the functioning and aspects of its Promotional Strategy, Marketing and Human

Resource.

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Section Six: Market Survey.

Section Six is the main comparative rating of both Central and Shopper Stop, based on a

survey of customers visiting the mall. The survey analyses how both are performing in the

areas of Promotional Strategy.

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INTRODUCTION

Developing a promotional strategy

Deciding on a marketing communications strategy is one of the primary roles of the

marketing manager and this process involves some key decisions about how who the

customer is, how to contact the consumer them, and what the message should be. These

questions can be answered using a three stage process, which is equally relevant for all

elements of the marketing mix:

Segmentation

Dividing the marketing into distinct groups

Targeting

Deciding which of these groups to communicate with, and how to talk to them

Positioning

How the product or brand should be perceived by the target groups

Messaging

Delivering a specific message in order to influence the target groups

1. Segmentation

Dividing potential customers into discrete groups is vital if you want to increase the success

rate of any communications message. If you don't know who you are talking to, it's unlikely

you will get much of a response. Who are the potential customers? How many sub-groups

should you divide them into? How do these groups differ? Hopefully, most of this

information will be readily available from your market research.

Once you have an idea of the customer, you should further drill down to explore them in

more detail. What are their media consumption habits? What are their expectations and

aspirations? What are their priorities? How much disposable income do they have? What are

their buying habits? Are they likely to have children? How many holidays to they take a

year? How much money do they give to charity? How can you help them?

This information can be obtained in a variety of ways, from commissioning a specialist

market research agency, to examining sales patterns or social media interactions.

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Commonly used market research methods include:

Sales analysis and buying patterns

Questionnaires

Desk research

Website statistics, especially social media

Focus groups

Face-to-face interviews

Specialist market research companies

Once you have built up an accurate picture of your customer, it's time to get their attention

2. Targeting

For the purposes of advertising, targeting is the process of communicating with the right

segment(s) and ensuring the best possible response rate. The methods you use to target your

audience must relate to your marketing plan objectives - are you trying to generate awareness

of a new product, or attract busi0ness away from a competitor?

Methods of marketing communications

Advertising is just one element of the marketing communication arsenal, which can be

divided into the following areas:

Advertising – a mass media approach to promotion

Outdoor

Business directories

Magazines / newspapers

TV / cinema

Radio

Newsagent windows

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Sales promotion - price / money related communications

Coupons

Discounts

Competitions

Loyalty incentives

Public relations - using the press to your advantage

Press launches

PR events

Press releases

Personal selling – one to one communication with a potential buyer

Salesmen

Experiential marketing

Dealer or showroom sales activities

Exhibitions

Trade shows

Direct marketing - taking the message directly to the consumer

Mail order catalogues

Bulk mail

Personalized letters

Email

Telemarketing

Point of sale displays

Packaging design

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Digital marketing – new channels are emerging constantly

Company websites

Social media applications such as Facebook or Twitter

Blogging

Mobile phone promotions using technology such as Bluetooth

YouTube

E-commerce

Deciding which media channel to use

In nature, evolution occurs most rapidly when competition for resources is intense. The same

process is now occurring with promotional media. All traditional media channels are now

saturated, and competition for consumer attention is intense. At the same time, the impact of

any one medium is becoming diluted. There are many more TV and radio channels, consumer

have the ability to skip adverts and free information is now much more accessible. As a

result, companies are becoming increasingly innovative in their approach to communications

and a host of new media channels have emerged. As a result, media choice is becoming a

tricky task, which is why detailed segmentation is so important - it's no use starting a Twitter

campaign if none of your target market are regular users of the site.

Highly targeted communications often lead to better results. You can usually expect a

response rate of under 1% for a relatively generic mass mailing. However, personal letters to

a handful of your most loyal customers would lead to a dramatically increased rate of return.

When deciding which media to use consider the reach, frequency, media impact and what

you can expect for your budget but most of all, ensure your target customer will see the

message in the first place.

Media choice is a matter of compromise between volume of people versus the personalization

of the message.

Ensuring your message reflects the stages of the purchasing funnel

Once you have made the audience aware of your brand, work doesn't stop there. The

customer needs to be guided through the purchasing process. This means identifying the key

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stages in the customer journey and ensuring communications messages are personalized and

relevant.

Integrated marketing communications

Once you have decided which media channel to concentrate on, the next step is to ensure an

integrated approach is taken. Regardless of whether you are promoting a new product or

raising awareness, it's important that all ads across all media work together towards a

common goal by using similar messaging and 'look and feel'. An integrated approach can

dramatically increase the effectiveness of any campaign and will help create your brand

image.

Getting the best response

To get the best response from your target market, you need ensuring the message is relevant

and clear – once you've managed to gain the valuable attention of your customer the last

thing you want is for them to be confused about what you're saying. Determine the objectives

of the advert and ensure these aims are addressed clearly. Think about the next steps you

would like the audience to take, whether this is visiting a website, ringing a number, or being

able to recall your brand when they are next in the shops.

3. Positioning

Positioning is the process of developing an image for your company or product. This can be

achieved partially through branding, but it's important to realise that all elements of the

marketing mix combine to provide the full picture. You must ensure that all areas of your

business live up to expectations in order to successfully position yourself in the way you

hope. Positioning also considers the competition, and you need to explain why you are unique

in the marketplace and better than the other products on the shelf.

Branding and messaging

Branding is a powerful tool for positioning your product. Branding is used on almost all

customer facing elements of a product, from the packaging design to the style of writing used

on posters. Every communication a customer received adds up to form a mental picture of

your brand and can influence the price they are willing to pay for your products. This ability

to charge more due to the positioning of your product is known as 'brand equity'. Your

branding also needs to consider your unique selling points (USPs) and ensure these are easily

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recognized through your messaging – is your product the best value, longest lasting, sweetest

smelling or fastest?

Corporate identity

A corporate identity is a useful tool to ensure that your branding is used in a consistent way

throughout the company. This detailed document runs through almost every conceivable

customer touch point and provides guidance on the presentation and style which should be

used. This could include use of logos, colours, tag lines, uniform and the type of coffee to

serve guests. A CI guide is particularly useful if any creative work it outsourced to agencies

or freelancers or if you have many offices worldwide. The most powerful brands can be

identified by many elements of their communications material, not just a by their logo or

slogan and this is due to successful implementation of a recognisable corporate identity.

Recognition is a key part of any purchase decision so a corporate identity should for a core

element of your advertising strategy.

4. Development of the advertising message

Once you have determined the positioning for your brand, it's time to develop the message in

order to influence your target groups. Advertising objectives should be directly linked to your

marketing plan, and tend to fit into the following generic categories:

Inform - raising awareness of your brand & products, establishing a competitive

advantage

Persuade - generating an instant response (usually driving sales)

Remind - to maintain interest and enthusiasm for a product or service

It's a documented fact that creative, well branded, distinctive advertising generates the best

results so ensure you use the best possible creative team you can get your hands on, and give

them a detailed brief. Remember that a message will only be successful if it appeals to the

target audience, so constantly refer back to the customer and tailor the ads to them.

Research Objectives:

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“To compare and study Central & Shopper Stop, identify areas of excellence and areas

needing improvement for Promotion; and provide suggestions for such improvement”.

Research Methodology:

Our primary objective of doing this project is to get the first-hand knowledge of functioning

of at Central. Since we are comparing two different entities on the basis of their Promotional

Strategy, hence exploratory research design is the need of the hour.

Further there are few reasons which made me to use Exploratory Qualitative research:

It is not always desirable or possible to use fully structured or formal methods to obtain

information from respondents.

People may be unable & unwilling to answer certain questions or unable to give truthful

answers.

People may be unable to provide accurate answer to question that tap their sub

consciousness.

Thus, project research methodology is as follows:

I prepared 2 research tools, both questionnaire, to find out the relevant primary data

pertaining to the functioning and working of both Central and Shopper. The data was

collected based on information provided by:

1. The management of the organization.

2. Customers visiting Central and Shopper Stop Mall.

In Secondary data, both internal & external research was done. For internal research

Ready to use documents available with the organization were used. For external research

Internet website & published books were consulted.

A survey was conducted, consisting of a sample of randomly selected people, in the age

group of 18-35. This survey aims to find out how Central and Shoppers Stop Promote their

products and services. A copy of the customer survey is attached in the Annexure. Sample

Size:-117 Customers who visit the Centre.

Literature Review

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Section 1: Future Group:-

Future Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Mr. Kishore Biyani, is one of India’s

leading business houses with multiple businesses spanning across the consumption space

While retail forms the core business activity of Future Group, group subsidiaries are present

in consumer finance, capital, insurance, leisure and entertainment, brand development, retail

real estate development, retail media and logistics.

Led by its flagship enterprise, Pantaloon Retail, the group operates over 12 million square

feet of retail space in 71 cities and towns and 65 rural locations across India.

The company follows a multi-format retail strategy that captures almost the entire

consumption basket of Indian customers. In the lifestyle segment, the group operates

Pantaloons, a fashion retail chain and Central, a chain of seamless malls. In the value

segment, its marquee brand, Big Bazaar is a hypermarket format that combines the look,

touch and feel of Indian bazaars with the choice and convenience of modern retail.

Future Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Mr. Kishore Biyani, is one of India’s

leading business houses with multiple businesses spanning across the consumption space

While retail forms the core business activity of Future Group, group subsidiaries are present

in consumer finance, capital, insurance, leisure and entertainment, brand development, retail

real estate development, retail media and logistics.

Led by its flagship enterprise, Pantaloon Retail, the group operates over 12 million square

feet of retail space in 71 cities and towns and 65 rural locations across India.

The company follows a multi-format retail strategy that captures almost the entire

consumption basket of Indian customers. In the lifestyle segment, the group operates

Pantaloons, a fashion retail chain and Central, a chain of seamless malls. In the value

segment, its marquee brand, Big Bazaar is a hypermarket format that combines the look,

touch and feel of Indian bazaars with the choice and convenience of modern retail.

Section 2: CENTRAL

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Central is a lifestyle retail brand that pioneered the concept of seamless shopping in

the country.

Central is built of the 3 pillars of shop, eat & celebrate!

The store design, the product mix and the experience stays true to this promise.

Central’s differentiation lies in its vibrancy, the seamless experience, the larger than

life façade and the celebratory in store experience that makes shopping a truly

enjoyable experience.

Central is always buzzing with promotions, events, weekend excitement & a whole lot

more for consumers.

Snap shot of the offerings at Central

• Shop

– Over 500 national & international brands

– Product categories include apparel, footwear, eye wear, watches, cosmetics,

fragrances, sportswear, hand bags, jewelry, accessories, toys & infant

accessories & more

– Partners like Food Bazaar, e zone, Home Town, widen the offering basket for

consumers

Eat

– Food Hall

Celebrate

– Live DJ/ music, fashion shows, sweepstakes, weekend celebrations, value

added services, multiplex (in few cities) & more

Central store design

• A seamless space (no boundaries)

• Very city centric (all stores are prefixed with city name and integrate with the local

community at large with community initiatives)

• Warm & welcoming in store experience

• Predominance of red house colour

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• A place for wholesome shoppertainment – Central Square, Central flag point

• A vibrant façade

• Maximising productivity – bring alive the EBO experience of the brand in store for a

complete brand experience and maximum through puts

Central for Our Customers

At Central we will ensure that the best brands in the Indian market are made available

to you.

We will ensure that the brands showcase all their best offering right here!

We will be sensitive to our city, our environment, and our community.

You, our customer, will be our guest and it will be a pride for us to provide solutions

to all your lifestyle needs.

We will set new trends with the introduction of an array of products and services that

will truly capture the ever-changing nature of fashion and our environment.

At central we will provide you the best experience to Shop, Eat & Celebrate.

Mall that Changed the way people shop

India’s first seamless mall.

Over 500 brands spread across four floors.

Dedicated floors for men’s wear, women’s wear, youth wear, kids wear and

supermarket

Also, coffee parlor & food hall

Sprawling over 1.25 lakh sq. Ft,

Never before shopping experience, unique customer services.

Section 3: SHOPPER STOP

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“The tapestry of history has no point at which you can cut it and leave the design

intelligible.”

The foundation of Shoppers' Stop was laid on October 27, 1991 by the K. Raheja group of

companies, one of India's biggest hospitality and real estate players. The Group crossed yet

another milestone with its lifestyle venture-Shoppers' Stop. With its immense expertise in the

service industry and creditability, Shoppers' Stop today boasts of 27 retail outlets across the

country and is planning to spread its wings with futuristic expansion plans to meet the

challenges of the retail industry. A benchmark for the Indian retail industry to follow,

Shoppers' Stop has progressed from a single brand shop to a Fashion & Lifestyle store for the

families.

Shoppers' Stop is a household name, known for its superior quality products, services and

above all, a complete shopping experience.

Shoppers' Stop was the first to redefine shopping experience and creating a niche for itself in

the service industry. As India's first specialty chain with outlets in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi,

Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chennai, Shoppers' Stop offers a complete range of garments

and accessories for the entire family. More than 25,000 customers walk into Shoppers Stop

every day to feel the experience of shopping. Andheri was the first store to be opened in

India. The initiative of this store was taken by B.S.Nagesh at a time when the concept of

retail industry was just coming into the market. As on today, the current investors in

Shoppers‘Stop are ICICI, IL&FS Investments and Zodiac clothing. Their combined

shareholding in Shoppers Stop is 19% while 79% is held by Raheja Group & balance 2% is

held by its employees.

Section 4: Case Study on Gurgaon Central

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Owned by: Future Retail India.

Design: Idiom Design & Consulting

Design brief: ‘Central is designed as a playful public space, where people congregate, in the

heart of the town. The logo is based on a simple game — rolling ball maze game — that

every human being knows.

The beads are people, heading for the centre of town and playfully enjoying themselves.

Red is a simple public color. The typography is based on Jigsaw font. It looks modern and

timeless. The font is Stencilized to make it look fresh and public.’

Five Dots represents 5 special services offered to customers by CENTRAL

GIFT CENTRAL

BEAUTY CENTRAL

WI-FI CENTRAL

RADIO CENTRAL

FLOWER CENTRAL

Minimum Service level:-

Greet the customer with a NAMASTE

Pass on the INFORMATION

THANK the customer

Central: The Place to be

Central houses over 1000 brands across categories:-

Apparels Eyewear Watches Fragrances & Cosmetics Footwear and Accessories for Women, Men & Children / Infant Coffee Shops, Food Hall, Pubs and Discotheques.

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In addition, Central houses Central Square, a dedicated space for product launches,

impromptu events, displays, exciting shows, and exhibitions, Central flag point to flag off

city based events & more.

Central is present in 12 cities with 19 stores offering a retail space of over 30 Lakhs sq. ft.

Point to boost: Over 3 Crore Consumers visited Central last Fiscal Year.

STORE FORMAT OF CENTRAL

Opening and closing time: 11 AM to 10 PM.

Major Gurgaon Central Mall attractions: Lots of Brands, Food Hall

Location: Gurgaon-Mehrauli Road, next to IFFCO crossing.

Parking facility: Peaceful three level basement parking.

Number of stores: Different concept.

Accessibility: High

Contact number: 0124 – 2859000

o Address: Gurgaon CENTRAL  - Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd Sector-25,MG Road ,

Near IFFCO Chowk, Gurgaon-122001

o STORE AREA: 1,25,000 SQUARE FOOT

o Central is located in the heart of city, Central invites customers to Shop, Eat,

Celebrate. 

o Launched in May 2004 at Bangalore,

o First ever concept of Stores without Doors in Gurgaon malls, spread in 1, 25,000 sq

feet area. It is also called the newly opened mall in Gurgaon (11th April 2008).

o Situated on the very competitive Mehrauli Gurgaon road, Central is establishing itself

as a mall with a difference.

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o There are no separate stores for the 500-odd national and international brands to

choose from, across apparel, cosmetics, fragrances, footwear, eyewear, time wear,

handbags, accessories, jewelry and lots more, for the entire family.

o Customers can simply walk around the mall without having to step in and step out of

different outlets.

o In addition, Central houses Central Square, a dedicated space for product launches,

impromptu events, daring displays, exciting shows, and art exhibitions.

o Red color in the decor - it represents fashion and glamour.

Pubs and bars

• Widely accessed by youngsters and elder people. it is one of the major attractions to

the new and old generations.

• This not only relaxes people who come here after hard work, but also gives them

opportunities to enjoy their time in a group.

• People can celebrate their birthday parties, promotions and other occasions to

eradicate stress and make some memorable time.

• Pubs and Bars offer food, drinks, high volume music, DJs, dance floors and wide

screen televisions. Basically, TVs are installed for people who want to watch cricket

matches.

CATEGORIES AT CENTRAL

Men’s wear Women’s wear Kids wear Women’s accessories

Formal Ethenic Girls ethnic wear Jewelries, Swim wear

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Casual Formal Girls casuals Wrist watches

Casual Footwear

Sports wear

MEN`S (Brands)

Formal Wear Casual Wear Kids wear brands

Van Hussein Rig Chalak

Louis Phillip Sepia Rig Kids

Park Avenue Bare Ruff

Wills Lifestyle Levie`s UCB

Success All Giny & Gony

Lombard UMM USPA

Turtle Spykr Allen-solly

Urbana Lawman Catwalk

John Player Integrity Inc.5

Black Berry’s Arrow Clark Funskool

Arrow Park Avenue Biba Girls

Raid & Taylor Jack and jones Pink and Blue

Bare Bare

Women wear

Ethnic Wear:- Casual Wear :- Formal wear :-

• Biba Rig, Only Sckuller

• Trisha Sepia,109`F Van-heussain

• W Bare Provogue

• Rangmanch Levie`s Annable

• Global desi All Wills Lifestyle

• Mahhi UMM Allen-soley

• Sheq Jealous 21

• Aakriti Lee-cooper

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• Aureal Veromoda

Promotional Strategy followed by Central

Discounts and brand promotion

January Promotion:

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25

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February Promotion:

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March, April and Promotion:

Summer-2013

May Promotion:

Love your mom? Show her! Treat her to a day of shopping at Central. We have great offers in ladies apparel, handbags, Footwear, fragrances, sunglasses, watches, fashion jewllery and more.

Also, shop for Rs. 4000 & get Rs.600 GV, redeemable in June on minimum shopping of Rs.3000

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Section 5: Case Study on Shopper’s Stop

Corporate profile:

Vision: To be a global retailer in India & maintain no.1 position in Indian market in

Department Store Category.

Mission:

“Nothing but the best”

To strive & achieve nothing but the best in terms of processes, practices & deliverables.

Values:

The following values help Shopper’s Stop in achieving its mission & vision:

We shall not take what is not ours

The Obligation to Dissent (against a viewpoint that is not acceptable)

We shall have an environment conducive to openness

We shall believe in innovation

We shall have an environment conducive to development

We shall have the willingness to apologize and/or forgive

We shall respect our customer's rights

We shall be fair.

Customer Profile:

Shoppers‘ Stop‘s customers fall between the age group of 16 years to 35 years, the majority

of them being families and young couples with a monthly household income above Rs. 20000

and an annual spend of Rs.15000. A large number of Non - Resident Indians visit the shop

for cultural clothes in the international environment they are used to which means people

from abroad are also interested in shopping in Shopper‘s stop. Their target customers are

upper middle class and upper class.

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Customer Rewards:

Shoppers Stop‘s customer loyalty program is called The First Citizen. The program offers

its members an opportunity to collect points and avail of special benefits. Currently,

Shoppers‘ Stop has a database of over 2.5 lakh members who contribute to nearly 65% of the

total sales of Shoppers‘ Stop. They also offer a co-branded credit card with Citibank

for their members.

International Affiliations:

Shoppers‘ Stop is the only retailer from India to become a member of the prestigious

Intercontinental Group of Departmental Stores (IGDS). The IGDS consists of 29 experienced

retailers from all over the world, which include established stores like Selfridges (England),

Karstadt (Germany), Shanghai No. 1 (China), Matahari (Indonesia), Takashimaya (Japan), C

K Tang (Singapore), Manor (Switzerland) and Lamcy Plaza (Dubai). This membership is

restricted to one member organization per country/region.

Objective of Shoppers’ Stop:

Their main objective is to make their customer satisfy and then profit through sales,

employee added after all every organization works to earn money which is possible through

good sales and if our customers are not satisfy then it will be difficult for us. So we put our

effort on retaining our customers because retaining old customers is more profitable than

making new customers. And if we analyze this statement then we come to know that their

65% of their customers are their first citizen customers. Today people goes for variety and

shoppers stop is doing that, they offer total 250 brands to their customers which act as their

strength and help them retaining as well as making new customers. They believe in

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producing quality so they offer quality products basically international brands like Louis

Phillip, Black Berry, Police, DKNY, Ferrari, etc. Shoppers‘Stop aims to position itself as a

global retailer. The company intends to bring the world‘s best retail

technology, retail practices and sales to India. Currently, they are adding 4 to 5 new stores

every year

Types of Retail Outlets:

Shopper‘s Stop is known as multi-Brand retail outlet because of their verity of Products.

They offer various products like apparels, Accessories, Toys, Fragrances, Beauty

Products, Travelling products, Home Appliances, etc.

They offer various products like Apparels, Fragrance & Beauty, Home & Travel, Gift ideas.

Under this they have different Categories, Brands and Styles to offer customers. They have

many other showrooms of Shopper‘s Stop in Delhi and NCR, so we can say that they have

long chain of retail outlets. They also offer online purchasing which means that they are using

new technology to increase their sales.

Brands Offered:

Shoppers Stop retails products of domestic and international brands such as Louis

Philippe, Pepe, Arrow, BIBA, Gini & Jony, Carbon, Corelle, Magppie, Nike, Reebok,

LEGO, and Mattel. Shoppers Stop retails merchandise under its own labels, such as

STOP, Kashish, LIFE and Vettorio Fratini, Elliza Donatein, Acropolis etc. The company

also licensees for Austin Reed (London), an international brand, who‘s mens‘ and

womens‘ outerwear are retailed in India exclusively through the chain.

APPARELS

Arrow Orly Lee

Pepe Killer Lee Cooper

Levice Caliber Stop

Blackberries Zodiac Van Heusen

Scullers Life Provouge

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Givo Louis Phillipie Park Avenue Parx

Spykar Allen Solly Wills

Jewellery Music Hair Styling

Facet Planet M Habbibs

Carbon Music World

Sparkles

Tanishq FQ Home Décor Books

Swaroski Yamini Crossword

Gili Four Seasons

Oyzsterbay Viva

Sarvoski Welspun

Estelle Borosil

Corning Ware

Pedrini

Pyren

Fragrances Shoes

Christian Dior Lee Cooper

Ysl Red Tape

Davidoff Picasso

Joop Stop

Diesel Life

Lancaster

Nicos Watches

Jil Sander Casio Calvin Klein Esprit

Boucheron Fossil

Police Titan

J'delPozo Sunglasses

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Myrurgia

Etienne Aiger Ray Ban

Xm

Promotional Strategy followed by Shoppers’ Stop

Discounts and brand promotion

January Promotion:

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February Promotion:

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March Promotion:

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April Promotion:

36

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May Promotion:

Mother's Day is just around the corner. What will you gift your mother?

Shoppers’ Stop with “Ragini Dwivedi”

All you fashion lovers around Soul Space Arena in Mahadevapura have a reason to celebrate.

We have just launch our 8th store in Bengaluru! Check out the beautiful Ragini Dwivedi &

our Managing Director Mr Govind Shrikhande inaugurating the store launch.

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Shoppers’ stop trough internet

Section 6: CUSTOMER SURVEY

Survey Methodology

A survey was conducted, consisting of a sample

of randomly selected people, in the age group of

18-35. This survey aims to find out how Central

and Shoppers Stop Promote their products and

services. A copy of the customer survey is

attached in the Annexure

Characteristics of visit:

The respondents were first asked to describe the characteristics of a typical visit to a shopping

centre. This includes their choice of shopping centre, frequency of visits, time & money spent

on a single visit, average group size and influential factors affecting their choice.

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Comparative Rating:

The survey also asked the customers to rate the following parameters on a scale of 1-5 (1

being the most prefer, 5 being the less prefer), for both Central and Shoppers stop:

ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY

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The Graph – 1 shows which shopping centre the respondents usually preferred to visit.

Although this is not a true indicator of market share, it gives us some idea or the closeness in

which both companies operate. They both received an equal preference in the survey, with

44% of the respondents choosing Central and the 44% of the respondents choosing Shoppers

Stops and remaining 12% choosing other, indicating there is no clear winner in terms of

actual visits to the shopping centre.

2. Why you Visit Central ?

The Graph – 2 shows promotion and product is first priority for the customers according to survey 46% respondents prefers promotion and 45% like product as well remaining 5% and 6% prefers price and store ambiance.

The Graph – 3 shows gift voucher and discount is first and second priority for the customers according to survey 45% respondents prefers gift voucher and 36% prefer discounts and remaining 10% for both loyalty program and other.

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The Graph – 4 shows central promotional schemes get by customers through internet and newspaper as well according to survey 61% customers get through internet and 35% through newspapers.

The Graph – 5 shows the 46% customers prefer the sale which is offer by shopping centres and 29% customers prefer discount as well.

The Graph – 6 shows the 48% customers think gift voucher redemption process is complicated and apart from this 52% customer think it’s easy to redeem.

7. Rate the following:-

Givt Voucher at Central

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Givt Voucher at Shoppres Stop

The Graph shows the 49% customers preferred gift voucher at central and 31% most preferred, at shoppers stop 47% preferred and 33% most preferred the conclusion is the customer preferred the gift voucher at shoppers stop.

Loyalty Program at Central

Loyalty Program at Shoppers Stop

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The Graph shows the 6% customers preferred loyalty program at central and 75% most preferred, at shoppers stop 58% preferred and 25% most preferred the conclusion is the customer preferred the loyalty program at shoppers stop.

Discount at Central

Discount at Shoppers Stop

The Graph shows the 49% customers preferred discount at central and 43% most preferred, at shoppers stop 43% preferred and 30% most preferred the conclusion is the customer preferred the discount at central.

Sale at Central

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Sale at Shoppers Stop

The Graph shows the 44% customers preferred gift sale at central and 49% most preferred, at shoppers stop 43% preferred and 36% most preferred the conclusion is the customer preferred the sale at central.

The Graph – 8 shows most of respondents (72%) think discount is more beneficial and 45% customer think gift voucher is more beneficial the conclusion is that discount is more beneficial.

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The Graph – 9 shows 88% respondents like the cash voucher and 12% like the gift voucher the conclusion is that cash voucher is beneficial for the customers.

The Graph – 10 shows most of respondents think shoppers stop’s redemption process is more easy than central according to response 60% respondents think shoppers stop redemption process is easy.

RECOMMENDATION & SUGGESTIONS

My first recommendation for Central is to provide the value of gift voucher in

payback card or provide another card for gift voucher only to redeem easily.

Customers are not happy with the gift voucher redemption process and payback card

as well so as per my opinion try to automated system to redeem.

My second recommendation is that Proper dress code at Customer Service Desk

(CSD) to improve brand image of the central.

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My third recommendation is that Central would do better to provide promotional

space for its partners with the use of clever collaborations, and not printed

advertisements and posters everywhere.

My fourth recommendation is that Central gift voucher should be converted to cash

voucher.

References:-

http://www.futuregroup.in

http://www.shoppersstop.com

http://www.facebook.com/centralandme?ref=ts&fref=ts

http://www.facebook.com/shoppersstopindia?ref=ts&fref=ts

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ANNEXURE

Primary Questionnaire 1:

Promotions:

a. What is the media and mode of advertising?

b. What kind of advertising campaign and sponsorships do you carry out?

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c. What are your P.R. activities?

d. What kind of sales promotion activities do you carry out?

e. Do you have any promotional collaboration with external organizations?

Positioning:

a. What is your target market & consumer profile?

b. How have you positioned your brand image?

c. In what way have you positioned the following, to appeal to your target market and sync with your brand image.

Primary Questionnaire 2:

QUESTIONNAIRE

Comparative Analysis of Promotional Strategy of Central and Shoppers Stop

Name: *

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Age: *

Profession: *

Sex: *

1. Which Shopping centre You Usually Visit? *

 A. Central

 B. Shoppers Stop

 D. Other

2. Why You Visit?

Mark only one oval per row.

promotion product Price store ambience

shoppers stop

Central

3. What drives you to Central in Particular? *

 A. Gift Voucher

 B. Loyalty Program 

 C. Discounts

 D. Other

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4. How do you get to know about Central Promotional Schemes? *

 A. Newspapers

 B. Internet 

 C. Radio

 D. T.V

5. Which schemes do you like the most? *

 A. Gift Voucher

 B. Loyalty Program

 C. Discounts

 D. Sale

6. What do you think about gift voucher redemption process? *

 A. Complicated

 B. Easy

7. Rate the following: *

A. Gift Voucher

Most

Preferred Preferred Neutral

Less

Preferred

Least

Preferred

Central

Shoppers Stop

B. Loyalty Program

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Most

PreferredPreferred Neutral

Less

Preferred

Least

Preferred

Central

Shoppers Stop

C. Discount

Most

PreferredPreferred Neutral

Less

Preferred

Least

Preferred

Central

Shoppers Stop

D. Sale

Most

PreferredPreferred Neutral

Less

Preferred

Least

Preferred

Central

Shoppers Stop

8. Which according to you is more beneficial? *

 A. Gift Voucher

 B. Discounts

9. Which kinds of vouchers you like the most? *

 A. Cash Voucher

 B. Gift Voucher

10. Which Shopping Centres Term and Conditions on gift vouchers is easier to

redeem? *

 A. Central

 B. Shoppers Sto

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