Retail Management.

Tejal Arora

Roll# 04

TYBMSGN. Khalsa College

Acknowledgement:I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all those without whose encouragement this project would not have seen light.

I am also thankful to Prof. Simran Chawla for guiding us through in completing this project.

Contents:

Retail industry in India Scope of retail sector in India Growth factors in Indian organized retail sector Challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector

Westside

Retail format Area of operation products Merchandise management Private label Store layout Store exteriors Store interiors Floor space analysis Atmospherics Competition in zone SWOT analysis Site evaluation and selection

Croma

About the Juhu store Retail format Products range Atmospherics Store exterior Kiosk implementation in the store SWOT Analysis Private labels Visual merchandising  Strategy Tata Croma adopts to sell their brand internally Segmentation Targeting Positioning Location of stores

Reliance Fresh

Product range of reliance fresh Retail format: Layout Store design and display Merchandise assortment Customer service Reliance fresh private label Pricing Communication mix Atmospherics SWOT  Location of stores

RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Retailing is the interface between the producer and the individual consumer buying for personal consumption. This excludes direct interface between the manufacturer and institutional buyers such as the government and other bulk customers. A retailer is one who stocks the producer’s goods and is involved in the act of selling it to the individual consumer, at a margin of profit. As such, retailing is the last link that connects the individual consumer with the manufacturing and distribution chain. The retail industry in India is of late often being hailed as one of the sunrise sectors in the economy. AT Kearney, the well-known international management consultancy, recently identified India as the ‘second most attractive retail destination’ globally from among thirty emergent markets. It has made India the cause of a good deal of excitement and the cynosure of many foreign eyes. With a contribution of 14% to the national GDP and employing 7% of the total workforce (only agriculture employs more) in the country, the retail industry is definitely one of the pillars of the Indian economy.

An industry which has good representation in Fortune 500 companies list, an industry which is the largest employer just after agriculture. Indian retail industry is the largest industry in India, with an employment of around 8% and contributing to over 10% of the country's GDP. Retail industry in India is expected to rise 25% yearly being driven by strong income growth, changing lifestyles, and favorable demographic patterns. It is expected that by 2016 modern retail industry in India will be worth US$ 175- 200 billion. India retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries.

Key Players in this sector are as follows:

Future Group Vishal Retail Ltd. Shoppers Stop Ltd Big Bazar Spencer’s More

SCOPE OF RETAIL SECTOR IN INDIA

The scope of the Indian retail market is immense for this sector is poised for the highest growth in the next 5 years. The organized retailing sector in India is only 3% and is expected to rise to 30 -35% by the year 2012. There are under construction at present around 325 departmental stores, 300 new malls, and 1500 supermarkets. This proves that there is a tremendous scope for growth in the Indian retail market. The growth of scope in the Indian retail market is mainly due to the change in the consumer’s behavior. For the new generation have preference towards luxury commodities which have been due to the strong increase in income, changing lifestyle, and demographic patterns which are favorable. The scope of the Indian retail market is very vast. And for it to reach its full potential the government and the Indian retailers will have to make a determined effort.

Retail market in the organized sector in India is growing can be seen from the fact that 1500 supermarkets, 325 departmental stores, and 300 new malls are being built. Many Indian companies are entering the Indian retail market which is giving Indian organized retail market a boost. One such company is the Reliance Industries Limited. It plans to invest US$ 6 billion in the Indian retail market by opening 1000 hypermarkets and 1500 supermarkets.

Pantaloons are another Indian company which plans to increase its retail space to 30 million. Bharti Telecoms an Indian company is in talks with Tesco a global giant for a £ 750 million

joint venture. A number of global retail giants such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, and Metro AG are also planning to set up shop in India. Indian organized retail market will definitely grow as a result of all this investments.

The scope of the Indian retail market has been seen by many retail giants and that the reason that many new players are entering the India retail industry. Judging the scope for growth in the India retail industry many global retail giants are also entering the Indian retail market.

They are:

Tesco Metro AG Wal- Mart

The scope for growth in the Indian retail market is seen mainly in the following cities:

Mumbai Delhi Pune Ahmedabad Bangalore Hyderabad Kolkata

GROWTH FACTORS IN INDIAN ORGANIZED RETAIL SECTOR

Rise in the working population which is young, pay-packets which are hefty, more nuclear families in urban areas, rise in the number of women working, more disposable income and customer aspiration, western influences and growth in expenditure for luxury items. All these are the factors for the growth in Indian organized retail sector.

In fact, Indian retail industry is the fastest growing industry in India and it accounts for 10% of the country's GDP. In 2009, the retail industry in India amounted to US$ 200 billion and out of this the organized retail sector in India amounted to US$ 6.4 billion. By 2012, the Indian organized retail sector is expected to rise to US$ 25 billion. In 2003, the Indian organized retailing sector accounted for more than 4.5 million sq. ft of space absorption by malls. Pantaloons have decided to increase its retail space to 30 million square feet with an investment of US$ 1 billion. Reliance Industries Limited is targeting for annual sales of US$ 25 billion by 2011. It is planning to invest US$ 6 billion in order to open 1,500 supermarkets and 1000 hypermarkets.

EMPLOYMENT GENERATION BY INDIAN ORGANIZED RETAIL

SECTOR

India is going through a radical economic change. Though it is very infant stage, people can feel the climate is changing. The unorganized retailers take the lion's share in the Indian retail sector, but the organized retailers are growing at a good pace and promise an increase of proportion of 9 - 10% by 2013. This is to be the largest sector after the agricultural sector.

The increase in the number of consumers twinned with the introduction of organized sector has brought numerous corporate investments in retail sector. The entry of super

markets, enormous departmental stores, and shopping malls has encouraged the retailers to look at new business plans of expansion. An economic growth on a monumental scale is offered by the Indian retail sector, equally in the national and international market which in turn will generate a huge source of employment and a variety of options for the consumers.

The present employment in the retail business is nearly 4 crores and around 20 crores depend on this sector. There is a scope of better exposure to the international standards with the entry of transnational companies, which in turn is encouraging more & more retail management programs to open up and help bridging the gap of supply & demand of talented professionals for management.

BENEFITS TO THE ECONOMIC GROWTH:

Better quality products and services would lead to better competition.

More exports bring more foreign direct investments and foreign exchange.

Organized Indian retail sector would encourage tourism. Along with the employment boom there would be a vast

development in the expertise of the human resource. There would remain future scope for improvements in

agriculture, small, and medium scaled industry.

CHALLENGES FACING THE INDIAN ORGANIZED RETAIL SECTOR

The challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector are various and these are stopping the Indian retail industry from reaching its full potential. The behavior pattern of the Indian consumer has undergone a major change. This has happened for the Indian consumer is earning more now, western influences, women working force is increasing, desire for luxury items and better quality. He now wants to eat, shop, and get entertained under the same roof. All these have lead the Indian organized retail sector to give more in order to satisfy the Indian customer.

The biggest challenge facing the Indian organized retail sector is the lack of retail space. With real estate prices escalating due to increase in demand from the Indian organized retail sector, it is posing a challenge to its growth. With Indian retailers having to shell out more for retail space it is affecting their overall profitability in retail. Trained manpower shortage is a challenge facing the organized retail sector in India. The Indian retailers have difficulty in finding trained person and also have to pay more in order to retain them. This again brings down the Indian retailers profit levels. The Indian government has allowed 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the India retail sector to one brand shops only. This has made the entry of global retail giants to organized retail sector in India difficult. This is a challenge being faced by the Indian organized retail sector. But the global retail giants like Tesco, Wal-Mart, and Metro AG are entering the organized retail sector in India indirectly through franchisee agreement and cash and carry wholesale trading. Many Indian companies are also entering the Indian organized retail sector like Reliance Industries Limited, Pantaloons, and Bharti Telecoms. But they are facing stiff competition from these global retail giants. As a result discounting is becoming an accepted practice. This too brings down the profit of the Indian retailers.

WESTSIDE

Established in 1998 as part of the Tata Group, Trent Ltd. operates Westside, one of India's largest and fastest growing chains of retail stores. The Westside stores have numerous departments to meet the varied shopping needs of customers. These include Menswear, Women’s wear, Kid’s wear, Footwear, Cosmetics, Perfumes and Handbags, Household Accessories, lingerie, and Gifts. The company has already established 36 Westside departmental stores (measuring 15,000-30,000 square feet each) in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad & Noida (to be considered as 1 city), Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Jammu. The company hopes to expand rapidly with similar format stores that offer a fine balance between style and price retailing.

Trent ventured into the hypermarket business in 2004 with Star Bazaar, providing an ample assortment of products made available at the lowest prices, aptly exemplifying its ‘Chota Budget, Lambi Shopping’ motto. At present Star Bazaar has 4 stores in 3 cities located in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. This store offers customers an eclectic array of products that include staple foods, beverages, health and beauty products, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, consumer electronics and household items at the most affordable prices. Star Bazaar also includes a large range of fashionable in-house garments for men, women and children, exclusively available at the store.

In addition, Trent recently acquired a 76% stake in Landmark, one of the largest books & music retail chains in the country. Landmark began operations in 1987 with its first store in Chennai with a floor space of 5500 sq. ft. At present. Landmark have 10 stores, varying in size from 12,000 sq. ft. to 45,000 sq. ft, 3 in Chennai and 1 each in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Vadodara, Gurgaon, Pune, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. Until 1996, Landmark’s product portfolio comprised books, stationery, and greeting cards. It was later that music was added to it. Landmark also sparked the trend of stocking curios, toys and other gift items. What separates Landmark from other stores of its kind is the range and depth of its stock.

This story began circa 1998 when The Tatas acquired Littlewoods – a London based retail chain. This acquisition was followed by the establishment of Trent Ltd (a Tata enterprise that presently operates Westside). Littlewoods was subsequently renamed Westside.

In a rapidly evolving retail scenario, Westside has carved a niche for its brand of merchandise creating a loyal following. Currently, the company has 36 Westside stores measuring 15,000-30,000 square feet each across 20 cities. With a variety of designs and styles, everything at Westside is exclusively designed and the merchandise ranges from stylized clothes, footwear and accessories for men, women and children to well-co-coordinated table linens, artifacts, home accessories and

furnishings. Well-designed interiors, sprawling space, prime locations and coffee shops enhance the customers’ shopping experience.

RETAIL FORMAT

Westside stores are Department stores. These are the general merchandise retailers offering various kinds of quality products and services. A department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories. Department stores usually sell products including apparel, furniture, home appliances, electronics, and additionally select other lines of products such as paint, hardware, toiletries, cosmetics, photographic equipment, jewelry, toys, and sporting goods. Certain department stores

are further classified as discount department stores. Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated around a country or several countries.

Other examples are Lifestyle and K Rahejas Shopper’s Stop.

AREA OF OPERATION

It is one of the largest and fastest growing chains serving the customers in various categories, including men's wear, women's wear, kid's wear, footwear, cosmetics, perfumes and handbags, household accessories, lingerie and gifts. The company offers products with a balance between style and price.

PRODUCTS:

Kids Wear

Ladies Wear

Cosmetics

Watches

Shoes

Bags and Jewelry

MERCHANDISE MANAGEMENT

PRIVATE LABEL

Private label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand. Private label goods and services are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics to webhosting. They are often positioned as lower cost alternatives to regional, national or international brand. Westside has many private labels in its merchandise portfolio. Private labels in Westside include-

2 F 4 U

SRC

Gia

Urban angel

Intima

David Jones

Ascot

All these brands are produced for Westside only and can be found in Westside only. These apparel brands are given separate space for displaying their merchandise and more promotional offers are there on them to increase their sales.At some places, these private brands are mixed with branded clothes so in that case these private labels are put in lower shelves. At eyesight level, branded clothes are put.

STORE LAYOUT

This store follows a Grid Layout. In this type of layout, cost for retailer is low, easy for customer to shop (no confusion), good merchandise exposure is possible, cleaning can be done very

easily and security can be managed easily.

WestsideGround floorCosmeticsJewelleryWatchesBags

First floor Women SectionChildren SectionHousehold items

Second floorCasual ClothingFormal WearEthnic WearShoes

FLOOR SPACE ANALYSIS

To irrigate the space better Westside have the entrance on the ground floor and exit on the first floor. In case of visual merchandising all the category of clothes of all sizes and varieties are displayed and hence the consumption of space for shelves is reduced. And it is convenient for customers to choose and for the attendants to support buying. Profitability of Westside Pune and Bangalore is more than that in Delhi because youth here have much spending power. It is also driven from strong demand backed by quality products and latest fashion. The exit from parking opens at Ground floor. Hence slightly upper class people pass through ground floor, so costly items like Jewelry, Watches and Perfumes. They people may buy those things as they passes from that way and have a look at them. In watches, good brands like Tissot, Rolex, Tag Heur, Espirit, Titan Fast track etc. are available. Whereas in case of perfumes, famous brands such as Nina Rici, Tommy Hilfiger, Thierry Mugler, Calvin Klein etc. are kept; targeting upper class people.

STORE EXTERIORSMarquee- Posters of store are put on all the four sides of the store. Focus lights are put all over the four sides of the store that makes the store brightly shining at night. Large Westside banners are put which are visible from very far distance also. Various brand advertisements can be seen on the walls and on ground.Entrance- Promotional schemes and various discount offer advertisements are there at the entrance. Store layout is described at the entrance for the convenience of customers. Bag or any other good can’t be brought inside the store and hence bag preserving counters are put up near the entrance to keep public baggage.

Window display- Instead of walls, glasses or window panes are used in the exteriors to display the merchandise. Various brands like Pepe London, Provogue etc. have displayed their merchandise from their latest fashion range to attract more and more customers.Various eatables like ice creams, popcorns, juices etc. are available outside the store to refresh people. Parking is at the basement for both two wheelers and cars.

STORE INTERIORS

Services & Store Atmosphere in Westside Pre purchase services include accepting telephone & mail

orders,advertising, window & interior display, fitting rooms, fashion shows

It provides post purchase service including shipping & delivery, giftwrapping, adjustments & returns, alteration & tailoring

It also provides ancillary services including general information,check cashing, parking, restaurants, repairs, interior decorating, credit etc.The Westside stores wear a bright, festive look and, in keep with the mood of the season, hosting a festival bright.With the sole objective of rewarding its loyal customers for their patronage, Westside has lined up a bonanza of surprise gifts. Everyshopper gets a scratch-and-win card which entitles them entry into a contest. Those making purchases above Rs 1,500 are also entitled to receive other pleasant surprises

The trendy household section has a complete new range of bed linen in elephant motifs, floral motifs and paisley design. The color palette for the festive collection includes flaming orange, royal blue and other vibrant colors to depict festivity.The gift section has a plethora of gifts — terracotta pots, urns, knickknacks and diyas in beautiful colors, shapes and sizes. The store has also introduced a new range of furniture and other household goods, including cabinets, butler trays and mirrors in wood with an antique finish. An innovative range in wrought iron and rope has been introduced in utility items which include magazine racks, folding stools, jam pots on trays and Ganesha in brass and terracotta.

ATMOSPHERICSLighting- Stores are very brightly lit from inside and CFL tubes are put all over the store. Lights are focused on clothes.

Color- Wall color is cream so that light can be reflected easily and visibility is good in store. Paint has a luster in itself i.e. paint is having mirror finish so that light gets reflected and clothes and other stuff are clearly visible. Color is also such that it doesn’t get dirtier easily due to people leaning against the wall and resting thei5r foots on the wall.

Visual communication- The signage and graphics are put all over the place to promote various brands. Promotional schemes are displayed by posters hanging over the various product ranges. The brand names are clearly mentioned on boards. Also directional signage are there showing the way to washrooms, drinking water, exit etc. Category sign ages, Point Of Sale (POS) sign ages and departmental signage are present in many numbers.Westside’s name, logo and store identity is very clear from the posters.

Music- Basically English as well as Hindi songs are put inside the store but normally English songs are put up which are famous and are latest. The volume is kept low so that people can talk among themselves and can easily interact with store personnel’s. Continuous announcement of schemes are done in between this music playing to draw the attention of customers and lure them for impulse buying.

Smell- A fragrant is put in the air conditioning duct so as to spread good smell inside the store and remove any bad odour present in air. It gives a pleasant experience to customer and is refreshing.

Security- Security of the store is pretty good. Cc TV’s are put all over the store to keep check on notorious customers. Infrared detectors are put at the entrance and exit which alerts gaurds if person is trying to steal the things. Each and every floor has a security manager and 3 security guards are appointed for each floor. Security guards specially take care outside the trial rooms so as to stop people from hiding things inside their clothes.

Mirrors- They are put all over the store so that people can see how the clothes, watches, jewelry etc. looks on them. These mirrors are also cleaned at regular intervals. They are also put inside the trial rooms for customer’s convenience

Escalators- they are put one at each floor for going down and going up at a normal speed that makes shopping convenient without making the people getting tired. All the 3 floors are connected through escalators.

COMPETITION IN ZONE

The Westside store is located in Camp Area. Store has a Primary Trade Area of two kms, Secondary Trade area of five kms and fringe trade area of eight kms. Primary are the areas of highest footfall of round about 50 to 80 %, and so are the most sought after. It has higher no. of customers and contributes the highest per capita sales. As such, they’re also the most expensive. Camp is a primary zone, and give access to plenty of customers and have the benefit of good public transport links. However, it is worth bearing in mind that competition in primary zones (Camp) is fierce. Big Bazaar, Brand Factory and Shoppers Stop is there along with Wills Lifestyle and United Colors of Benetton that gives a very tough competition to Westside. The camp area is a Saturated market area where customers are offered good range of products and services. The retailers are able to make good profits.

SWOT ANALYSISThe strengths of Westside are1) It is growing at the faster pace2) Has good brand name of TATA’s.3) It has many outlets all over India. It has a good customer base.4) Apparels are cheaper by 5 to 10% while the price difference on the other products varies between 5 to 20%.5) Attractive promotional schemes and heavy discounts6) Quality and branded stuff only.7) The Westside has been positioned to the customer as a place where the customer can shop for each & everything for which he goes to a market except groceries.

Weakness1) Westside has not yet trapped the whole market- rural market is still untapped. Not much product range for middle class people2) Facing problems due to political environment-Subsidy from octroi, different taxes like land tax and water tax

•Need help in taking over properties and real estate•Need some concessions from labor laws

3) Lack of differentiation among the malls that are coming.4) Poor inventory turns and stock availability5) No involvement in food retailing business.

Opportunities1) Huge untapped market2) Rising disposable income- Increase in number of people in earner category, women earning3) Urbanization-Changing consumer habits and lifestyles as the disposable income is increasing per family.

Threats1) Competition from organized retail players which are in market and emerging like Reliance, Shopper’s stop, Wal-Mart –Bharti etc.2) Competition from local retailers.

SITE EVALUATION AND SELECTIONFactors considered by Westside while selecting a Site-

1) Sales potential of camp area is very high due to

urbanization.

2) Access to site for pedestrians is very good due to good

location of the store as many good roads coming from various

areas meet this Camp area and parking area is ample in the

area.

3) Accessibility to pedestrians is also good as people

passing by can navigate the store easily and visibility of store is

also good due to its location on main road.

4) Synergy from other stores is very high as other major

players like Shopper stop, Wills lifestyle etc. are there in vicinity

that helps in cross shopping.

5) Leasing and occupancy terms- Occupancy rate is high in

this camp area and hence Westside negotiation power

decreases as real estate developer due to area’s high

development.

ANALYSIS

A critical factor in Westside’s success has been its

strategy to attract shoppers & keep them in stores-the

amount of time shoppers spend in a store is perhaps the

single most important factor in determining how much

they will buy. In having understood the pulse of the

customers in India, Westside has clearly established itself

as a brand with an Indian heart.

Over the years Westside has also developed and

successfully introduced a range of new brands especially

suited to the Indian palate. These brands like 2F 4U have

been a tremendous success amongst the new generation.

What has also given Westside a competitive edge is that

in addition to an extensive range of internationally

renowned brands like Spykar, Lee and Fast Track they also

offer the option of a less known brands for low budget

customers.

All the three floors are carefully structured. Ist floor and

IInd floor caters exclusively to Women and Men

respectively. Thus giving them privacy and more freedom

to look into their products.

Westside has been able to create a brand image and is

consistently maintaining its brand identity by new

additions in products and catering to the market need.

Westside caters to not only the clothing needs and desires

of its customers. They have bed sheets, kitchenware,

jewelry, perfumes, baby products, household items, etc.

This way a customer who enters Westside just to buy one

or two items usually ends up buying a lot more.

The in-store experience in Westside is very delightful.

Their fully skilled and trained staff caters to the needs of

the public in the right way. They don’t pounce upon the

customer as soon as he enters the store. They wait till the

time a customer starts selecting and then they come and

help. This way the customer gets acclimatize with the

store and the environment.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To increase more footfalls more promotional activities

must be carried out. For this Westside can either offer

more discounts or increase their advertisements. Increase

in the number of footfalls will lead to increase in sales.

Since Westside is not only catering to apparel need of the

society a few additions like Books, Music items, Electronic

gadgets etc. can also be added to the products available

inside their store. The demand for the above products is

always in the market.

Allowing more space between the entrance of a store and

a product gives it more time in the shopper’s eye as he or

she approaches it. It builds a little visual anticipation.

The number of trial rooms available at Westside is very

less as compared to the number of people coming. This

usually results in long queues and waiting by customers.

CROMA:

Croma is India’s first national large format, retail chain for

consumer electronics and durables. Croma is promoted by

Infiniti Retail Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Sons. Woolworths,

one of the world’s leading retailers, provides technical and

strategic sourcing support, ensuring that nothing but the best

should be offered to the customers.

Croma's first store opened on October 9, 2006 at Juhu in

Mumbai, and it's rolling out many more stores across India. At

present there are 34 stores operated in different parts of India

including two Croma stores in Delhi and Mumbai Airport.

Currently Croma is offering 6000 products under eight

categories to its customers. These eight categories include

Large appliances, Small appliances, Computers, Music,

Communications, Gaming, Home entertainment and imaging.

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

· If service wasn't important.

· If technology wasn't complex.

· If variety wasn't confusing.

· We would have no reason to be in business.

· We help you buy (TAG LINE).

ABOUT THE JUHU STORE:

Juhu store was opened on October 9, 2006 and proud to be first

Croma store by the company. The store is spread across 20000

square feet of area which offers beautiful displays of the

products under its belt. The store provides a truly world class

shopping experience to its customers.

Shelf after shelf of lush, smooth, clean electronics bathed in

sunlight from the large French windows, each one with its own

comparative price label adds to the beauty of the store. There

are two price tags with each product; large numbers are the

price you buy it at Croma, the smaller ones are the price it

retails at otherwise.

The difference in these numbers can be anything from a few

hundred rupees to a couple of thousand. In the case of the Best

Buys scattered around the store, you could even have Rs

5,000-10,000 left over to drop on one of the 180 brands

available at the store.

The total investment on the store is around Rs 4 crores of which

1.9 crores went into fittings and fixture and Rs 2 crores into

product inventory.

RETAIL FORMAT:

As part of the large chain of stores, this store can be

categorized as Chain store with large Format. Store offers 6000

products across eight categories in a world-class ambience in

the store. There are around 50 employees in the store working

at different designations.

MERCHANDISE ASSORTMENT:

PRODUCTS RANGELarge Appliances: Large Appliances includes washing machines, air conditioners, refrigerators etc. Major brand under this category are LG, Onida, Godrej, Voltas etc.

Small Appliances: It includes microwaves, kitchen appliances, personal care, security equipments etc. It includes brands such as IFB, Bajaj, Samsung etc.

Home entertainment: TVs, music systems, DVD players etc. are included in this. Various brand offered by the stores are LG, Sansui, Sony, Hitachi, Yamaha etc.

Computers and peripherals: Desktops, laptops, blank media, cables, accessories, software are included under this category. Compaq, Esys, HCL, Creative, HP, Lenovo,Zenith etc. are popular brand sold in the store.

Communication: Mobile phones and accessories, telephones, SIM cards, recharge cards etc. are major products in this category. Various brands being offered are I-Mate, Mobo, Blackberry etc.

Music: CDs, VCDs, Dvds are included in this category. These are the products which can be categorized as impulse products by the Croma and as a result a large display space is provided for it.Bollywood and Hollywood DVDs, including new Hindi films, old Hindi films, drama, adventure and action, education, suspense, thriller, classic. Plus regional films, music videos, television series etc. are sold in this category. Sony, T-series, Bombino, Eagle, EMI Virgin, EP, Eros, Excel, Gold, Indus, Pen, Rudraa, SCI, Time, Tips etc. are the brands sold in this category.

Imaging equipment: Camcorders, Digital cameras are sold under this category. Brands under this include Sony, Canon, Samsung, LG, Kodak, Nikkon etc.

Gaming: Gaming Hardware and software are two lines of products sold in this category. Hardware includes PS2,3, PSP, XBOX 360 Pro,XBOX 360 Core, Razor etc. Major brands that are sold in this category are Sony, Microsoft, EA sports, GTA, UBI Soft, Valve etc.

STORE LAYOUT

TV SECTION

AS we can see in the picture this section provides LCD and plasma TVs and sofas are arranged in front of TVs so that a complete room experience can be provided to the customer.

MUSIC AND DVDS SECTION WITH KIOSK

LAPTOPS AND DESKTOPS SECTION

THEATER ROOM

This room is provided to experience the sound quality of music systems and home theater.

STORE EXTERIOR:The exterior of this store has a powerful impact on the store image. Its sign board, its entrance, windows, lighting all adds to beauty of the store. Store provides a big parking space outside and a foot-path with lots of plantation. The walls of the stores are made from the glass to give the store a distinctive look and better display.

ATMOSPHERICS:

Atmospherics can be described as an environment that stimulates the perceptual and emotional responses of the customer through

-Visual communication: In this store signs and graphics are put at a height so that customer can read them from distance also which provide a good communication to the customer regarding the items in the store The store displays are organized to provide customer in selecting the right kind of products fitting their present and future usage.The sales staff is also trained to understand the customer needs and recommend the right product to the customer.

-Lighting: White flood lighting has been used in the store and each and every product looks like having sun bathing.-Colors: Walls and floor both are beige in color. It is the same color decided by Top management in all Croma stores across India. This color is deliberately chosen very light shade so that colored light can be used effectively if needed.

-Music: Slow music is always been played in the store and there is separate theater room provided in the store to check the sound quality of music systems and home heater in the store.

KIOSK IMPLEMENTATION IN THE STORE:

An interactive kiosk is powered using stream architecture to switch between interactive and broadcast modes.The kiosk normally works in a broadcast mode. The kiosk doubles up as a digital signage when not in use. The customer can interact with the kiosk to "switch" the kiosk in the interactive mode.The kiosk is powered using a 19 inch touch screen with an on screen keyboard. Content on the kiosk is designed for customer education an displaying current offers.

PRIVATE LABELS

 Croma ventured into private labels to improve on their product offerings and sales margin. Croma, the electronic and durables chain of Infiniti Retail, currently offers 50 different products under its private label brand Croma. The Company recently announced its plans to launch more private label products, like washing machines and so on. Speaking on company’s retail

strategy, Ajit Joshi, CEO, Infiniti Retail Croma, said, “Over the last few years we have been sprucing up private label. We are getting better at understanding and meeting the consumers’ needs and this is helping us create a market leading brand. Through our private labels, we are trying to customise the product to the requirement of nuclear and working families. We first identify the needs of the customer with regards to white and brown goods and thereafter the R&D team coalesce the features, related to those needs, at product development stage making our private labels unique. Croma products are cheaper by 10-15 per cent in comparison to branded ones and so they really hit the mark with the customer.” 

VISUAL MERCHANDISING 

Visual merchandising is the activity and profession of developing floor plans and three-dimensional displays in order to maximize sales. Both goods or services can be displayed to highlight their features and benefits. The purpose of such visual merchandising is to attract, engage and motivate the customer towards making a purchase.

Visual merchandising at Croma :

Makes it easier for the customer to locate the desired category and merchandise.

Makes it easier for the customer to self-select. Makes it possible for the shopper to co-ordinate and

accessorize. Recommends, highlights and demonstrates particular

products at strategic locations.

PRICING Best products with most reasonable pricing. Lowest down payments and easy EMI. Best discounts and offers. Warranties and guarantees to you most likings.

STRATEGY TATA CROMA ADOPTS TO SELL THEIR BRAND INTERNALLY

JUDGING THE EMPLOYEES

Judging is an important tool for analyzing the employees on the scale of their short term and long term prospective. In CROMA they first access the employees and try to find out that employees is focusing on long term career or short term career with CROMA, then CROMA formulate strategies to turn their employees more loyal in favor of organization and serve their customers in elegantly.For that purpose they regularly keep a check on employees on the basis of their performance and their dedication towards work for one year and conclude that either the employee is short term or long term, when they came to know that the employee is long term then they follow different strategies for the betterment of the employees, those strategies are mentioned as follows:

L ong term prospective:

They carry internal rating assessment test in their organization to promote their employees to higher hierarchy, for which they are having scale of 5 points out of that they have to score at least 3.5 to get themselves promote to higher level.

TATA CROMA takes care of their employees interest and especially of their desired working fields like (operations, marketing ,finance) for e.g. if an employee working in operation department wants to switch to marketing department then they provide their employees with the options to move to their desired department with the help of assessment test.

TATA CROMA not only emphasize on working of their employees but they also provide education to their employees with the ease of their inbuilt program TATA GEMS (Inbuilt managerial skills) for e.g. if any undergraduate / graduate employee working with TATA

CROMA further want to enhance their managerial skills they make that happen by TATA GEM program in order to provide higher education to their employees.

TATA CROMA also sponsor some DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMES with collaboration to some renowned universities to help their employees to get higher education e.g. MBA

S hort term prospective:

For the employees who are there for short term TATA CROMA provide 5-6 kinds of incentives to motivate their employees on short term basis (Note: they didn’t provide us with the amount of incentive they provide due to internal policy of company).

TATA CROMA also provides their short term employees with the opportunity to work in their desired area with the help of CROSS FUNCTIONAL TRAINING.

FLOW OF INFORMATION:

The concept of flow of information highlights how the organization and employees communicate with each other and share their information, the flow of information in TATA

CROMA is done in following ways: U pward flow of information

They help their employees to communicate to their senior person, company provide them with the E-mail I’d of their head HR professionals so that if any malpractices or anything wrong happens in the company they can immediately inform them about that so that strict disciplinary action could be taken, and through this mail ID they can provide any fruitful suggestions regarding malpractices they also provide their employees with MAGIC BOX which is a suggestion box and OPEN HOUSE CONVERSATION which is one on one communication with head HR who is having direct mail ID named as TCOC.

D ownward flow of information The company can directly communicate to their employees by providing them with their personal E-mail ID of OUTLOOK in which message flashes when something new happens in organization so that they can stay updated with the recent happening of the company. They also release the posters which

put in the notice board making employees aware of happening of company.

LINKING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING:

They emphasizes on linking their internal and external branding via t-shirts which plays a crucial role in this kind of communication as there is very minimum advertisements of CROMA thus t shirts help customers to get aware of CROMA.

PLACE FOR EVERY CULTURE:

At CROMA they feel privileged for the fact that they are consist of people from across the nation and works together as one team for attaining a common goal they celebrate the day by organizing the feast as traditional day representing culture of each state enjoying their food and attire apart from making their office environment interesting this also enforce their commitment to value all cultures and people.By following such strategies they link their Internal and external branding as company’s motto is “WE HELP YOU BUY“

SEGMENTATION

The croma stores directly SEGMENTED the areas they wanted to work upon i.e cities with high per capita income or simply metro cities. The stores are designed in a contemporary fashion with state of the art architecture to give you the best experience while you shop. The plan was only made after realizing that every class needs a product which can deliver that required economy of scale in terms of price and quality.

TARGETING

Marketers, then decided to target people with disposable incomes in middle class and classes above them who have a sense of indulgence while shopping and are looking for the right price with quality and which can be tested physically with live demos. The value-based retail business has received a phenomenal acceptance from the customers.

POSITIONING

As it was a tata enterprise concern people wanted to believe it and as per the deals and the type of aggressive marketing they did with introducing low prices with combo deals and seasonal sale.Basically, their concept and style worked for them. In the beginning only it got a huge customer base and if we look at the facts margin in durables retail is wafer-thin and hence scale is the single-most important thing

LOCATION OF STORES:

Mumbai

 Pune

Aurangabad

Gujarat

Delhi NCR

Punjab

Chennai

Bengaluru

Hyderabad

STORES IN MUMBAI CITY:

Juhu, Dahisar, Bandra, Goregaon The population of these areas is creamy layered and also has the purchasing capability to invest in high tech advanced electronic appliances and gizmos. These are the most posh areas of Mumbai. The suburbs are an abode of many famous personalities from tinsel world. These are the most cosmopolitan areas of Mumbai. Goregaon hubs the Bollywood

Film City adding to the likelihood of retail sale of croma products.

Lower ParelDue to the close vicinity and access to Mumbai downtown, Lower Parel is today one of the most developed regions harboring economic upspring and rising residential apartments. Due to the increase in the disposable income of the inherent and alien population in the recent years stores have shown a remarkable increase in the sales making it a huge success.

GhatkoparGhatkopar is one of the richest suburbs of Bombay. Ghatkopar has turned out to be a bustling and bursting town with all kind of eateries, shopping centres with jewelery shops, cloth shops. It Is one of the most busy and crowded shopping area in Mumbai. Croma has a wide variety of electronic gadgets that are almost a necessity in every household.

Zip Stores Santacruz Airport Vashi – Centre One Mall Vashi – Inorbit Mall

These are to go stores providing convenience to the shoppers to pick up necessary appliances in a quick manner from these zip stores.

SWOT: Strengths:

Supportive Workforce: They have around 20 store assistant which helps customer selecting right product according to their need.

Strong tata brand name: Store enjoys legacy of strong brand name of tata which is a well trusted brand among all the individuals in the country.

Store Size As the store is spread across 20000 square meter, customer wants to visit a store to see all the products under one roof which is not possible anywhere else in that area.

IT infrastructure : Live promos of running offers, internet Kiosk etc. provide an added advantage to the store.

Weakness:High Inventory As the electronics goods industry is very dynamic in nature the store carries a lot of dead inventory with this.

Confusion in Mind of Customer: Sometimes customer gets confused after seeing lots of options.

Opportunity:Growing Size of population: As population is increasing in that area day by day which provide a good opportunity for a retail store like this.

Purchasing Power: Purchasing power of Peoples in this area is very high and they can afford high end products such as Robots, Automatic equipment etc. which this store can sell easily.

Mobile Phones: High end mobile phones for the premium segment could be another opportunity which this store is not capturing at this moment.

Threats:Online Shopping: Online shopping could be a possible threat to the store

ANALYSISAccording to analysis provided above we can say that store provides a very good option to residents and a world class ambience. In areas with high purchasing power and most of the residents from the entertainment industry there is a good scope of growth in near future. Further people from entertainment industry provides a good opportunity because they are the role model for fashion statement for all India, what

they use people use that. Lots of customers get attracted to the store because celebrities come there often.

RELIANCE FRESH

The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is India's largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Group's annual revenues are in excess of USD 27 billion. The flagship company, Reliance IndustriesLimited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India.

Backward vertical integration has been the cornerstone of the evolution and growth of Reliance. Starting with textiles in the late seventies, Reliance pursued a strategy of backward vertical integration - in polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refining and oil and gas exploration and production - to be fully integrated along the materials and energy value chain.

The Group's activities span exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles and retail. Reliance enjoys global leadership in its businesses; The Group exports products in excess of USD 15 billion to more than 100 countries in the world. There are more than 25,000 employees on the rolls of Group Companies. Major Group Companies are RelianceIndustries Limited (including main subsidiaries Reliance Petroleum Limited and Reliance Retail Limited) and Reliance IndustrialInfrastructure Limited.

RELIANCE FRESH is the Retail chain division of Reliance Industries of India which is headed by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance has entered into this segment by opening new retail stores into almost every metropolitan and regional area of India. Reliance plans to invest Rs. 25000 Crores in the next 4 years in their

retail division and plans to begin retail stores in 784 cities across the country. The Reliance Fresh supermarket chain is RIL’s Rs. 25,000 Crore venture and it plans to add more stores across different states, and eventually have a pan-India footprint by year 2011. The super marts will sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy products and also will sport a separate enclosure and supply-chain for non-vegetarian products. Besides, the stores would provide direct employment to 5 Lakh young Indians and indirect job opportunities to a million people, according to the company. The company also has plans to train students and housewives in customer care and quality services for part-time jobs.

PRODUCT RANGE OF RELIANCE FRESH

Vegetables and fruits: this is the specialty of the store

as they provide fresh fruits and vegetables at a rate lower

than the market price.

Households Items: In the stores we can get items which

are at slight premium rate than market price, but usually

of high quality.

Food and Beverages: This area of the product line they

stock all the premier brands and also their private label.

Groceries: In this sector reliance is promoting its private

label as they are promoting their own brands and they do

the packaging of the product and then label it privately

and then sell it at premium as compared it to the loose

items.

Dairy Products: The dairy products in some locations are

procured from the farmers themselves and some places

they procure it from the manufacturers.

Refrigerated products: This product line is dominated

by the brands available in market and very less private

labeling is done.

Non food items: Here we get many petty non food items

at a premium than market price.

RETAIL FORMAT:

Reliance Fresh is a convenience store. It was the first retail format by RRL launched in November 2006. Reliance Fresh stores are approximately 3000-4000 square feet and cater to an area of 1-2 kilometer providing fresh fruits, vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy products. Presently, it has spread over to 57 cities with the growing retail chain of over 680 stores and is still expanding its presence across India.

LOCATION

Reliance retail stores are largely like a Super market set up or like a convenience store format with their stores ranging from 1100 to 7500 sq. ft. Also, Food and perishables form a large share of their product offerings.These stores are usually spotted in a Neighborhood location as standalone stores. The reason for such a strategy could be to

provide customers with proximity and also have high visibility to cut out competition from stores like Spencers, Big Bazaar, Subhiksha etc.

LAYOUT

The store is having maximum efficiency as far as space utilization is concerned and is using the GRID LAYOUT

STORE DESIGN AND DISPLAY:

Reliance Fresh like other organized retailers in food & grocery

has a Grid Layout format. This could be because of the

following reasons:

a) They get more shelves to stock productsb) Lesser space is wasted in Aislesc) Customer Familiarityd) Higher Space productivity

Also, we found that following displays are usually spotted in a

Reliance Fresh store:

a) Jackets in corners: These are stands which have Hot Offer

written on the white boards

b) Alligators, Racks, Bins

c) It also has a section of Open Chiller with a White Board

display which rate of perishables written on it.

d) Weighing Machine next to racks

e) Customer Service Desk

f) POS with frequent Promotion displays on it as well

SUPPLY CHAIN MODEL OF RELIANCE FRESH

Reliance started its retail operations of reliance fresh stores with following supply chain model. Procuring directly from the farmers and operating with moderate margin but mass selling was key to reliance fresh operations for first few months.The following figure depicts the reliance fresh model.

MODEL 1

MODEL 2

Whole Sale Trading (WST) Reliance formalized its second supply chain model to shift itself from grocery retailer to grocery supplier by focusing and establishing itself in Mandi’s.

STEPS IN WST MODELReliance has owned farms on contract basis for production of specific crop which is decided after extensive research depending on ➢ Soil conditions.➢ Climate conditions.➢ Return over costs incurred.

2. Different vegetables and fruits from such farms are collected through reliance own logistics and brought to collection Processing centres where quality check and other required processing is done. In processing centres workers wearing balaclavas, woolen trousers and bulky jackets work inside a room kept at a constant 30 Celsius, peeling and chopping vegetables, spinning them dry and then heaping them in small plastic packets. before placing them in plastic transport crates. At the other end of the 5,000-sq-m warehouse, men unload crates of fruits from a truck pulled up to a spotless loading dock.

A quality-control expert samples every tenth crate; if the fruits are good a team will ready them for delivery within hours to Reliance fresh stores around different places like U.P and as far away as Hyderabad and even Mumbai (formerly Bombay). If they are not, workers will inspect the entire shipment and discard anything below standard.

3. Merchandise from these collection processing centres are collected and loaded for Wholesale mandi’s. As this merchandise is to be made available by 4 A.M in morning thus deliveries in trucks are sent at time depending upon:

TRANSIT TIME. – Time required reaching destination i.e mandi’s

MARGIN TIME. – Time period between a truck reaching mandi and then Unloads. Can be 2 to 3 hours.

4.From mandi’s where the trucks have been unloaded, roadside vendors and pull carters buy fruits and vegetables to supply in households.

5. In case still some vegetables and fruits are not sold reliance logistics own Transportation send them to reliance fresh stores.

MERCHANDISE ASSORTMENT:

Width: Medium to High

They offer considerable number of product lines ranging for

example, Processed Food, Non-vegetarian, Hard-line,

Homecare, Personal care, Baby Care, Beverages, Dairy, Non

Food, Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Bakery and Stationary

Depth: Low

For each of these product lines mentioned above they offer not

more than 2-3 brands or variants. So, we consider their depth

of stores to be low.

CUSTOMER SERVICE:There is a Customer Desk in each Reliance Fresh store which is operated by Customer Service Associates. But our secondary research and understanding through personal experiences suggest that Customer Service Staff needs training as they lack focus on solving customer problems and are also a little apprehensive about receiving customer complaints.

RELIANCE FRESH PRIVATE LABEL:

 Reliance Retail uses two brand names for its food products -

Reliance Select and Reliance Value, as well as Reliance

Tea and Reliance Honey for specific products Reliance has

also concurrently launched its private label “Reliance Select”

with the promise of “High Quality and Tasty Food at Affordable

Price to all Indian Consumers.” Although, staple food items like

Atta, Rice, Pulses, etc. have initially been put on offer under the

“Select” label, more categories like FMCG and, perhaps, Colas

will be added soon. Internationally, private labels contribute

around 16% of total retail sales. Sensorial packaging designs

were developed to break the

monotony of the existing

competition & increases

customer wallet share. Today,

Reliance boasts of a strong

line of private label brands

generating significant share

of its in-store revenue. The

private labels range from staple to ready-to-eat food categories

to dairy.

PRICING:

Reliance Fresh claims to offer Affordable Pricing but we find their pricing strategy to be:a) Discount pricing: As they offer spot discounts on membership cards. Also, they offer discounts on volume purchases for example :Rs 10 off on a 5kg pack etc.b) Competitive Pricing: Their product price range is wide and they offer competitive price i.e. a little lower (marginally lower) than the identified competition.c) Also, they mark price in “Paisa” to make it appear as low priced

COMMUNICATION MIX:

Reliance Fresh communicates largely about its promotions. The communication is observed in the following ways:a) Through advertising in Newspapers: About location of their stores or opening up of new stores, product range, festive offers.b) Through Fliers: About product range, current promotions.c) Through Events: To spread awareness.d) In store promotions: Largely Sales promotion for example, spot discounts, live announcements, free gifts on a minimum purchase/bill amount.

ATMOSPHERICS:

A very integral part of managing inventory at store level is display it correctly. The best merchandise may remain unsold if it not displayed in a manner that is appealing and convenient for the customer. A very simple example can be i l l u s t r a t e d   l i k e   i f   r i c e   p a c k e t s   a r e   p u t   o n  h i g h   b a y s   i t   w i l l   b e c o m e   v e r y inconvenient for which mostly female customer do the buying, hence would negatively impact sales. Display can be considered as a silent salesperson helping to sell the products. Display is such a critical part in serving customers as it helps avoid confusion and guides customer to make prompt decision. 

Some of the key aspects of Reliance Fresh’s atmospherics are as follows:

Layout and ambience was well lit.

Neat, bright and easy to read Signage.

Highly visible store promotion.

Re iterating value for money proposition.

Store Façade- Bright, Striking and Primary Colors.

LOCATION

Place means the location of the business. Reliance fresh has always worked on low-cost locations.

It targets semi-urban population with its placement. Its strategy is to find a cheap location and it never goes for hot spots in the city.

It relied on promotional activities to make up for unattractive locations.

Initially identifies future/potential development areas

Acquires such areas at an early phase before the real estate value booms

Designed to look crowded

All the cities across India have at least one outlet

Reliance Fresh Stores in South Mumbai:

South Mumbai consists of city's business district and downtown area of Mumbai. This is one of the richest regions of Mumbai.Most of the offices in South Mumbai form the nerve centre of Indian Economy, encompassing the productive class capable of domestic investments. This area encircles many foreign establishments. 

Reliance fresh offers daily utility commodities which the working class as well as the elite class can easily avail throughout the day. This gives a varied flexibility over timings of purchase in addition to catering the needs of masses.

Grant Road

Tardeo

Dadar

Sion

Reliance Fresh Stores in Western Suburbs:

This zone beholds many significant hospitals, hotels and shopping complex. Western Suburbs encompasses some of the popular areas of Mumbai. These suburbs are shopping hubs and also are a home to various educational centres. People residing and working here have a high purchasing power. Since this store has routinely usable products people find it feasible to pick and go. This adds to the comforts of shopping in their busy schedule.

Andheri

Malad

Kandivali

Mira Road

Bhayander

Vasai

Virar

Reliance Fresh Stores in Central Suburbs:Central suburbs are densely populated with the middle income group. As a result Reliance Fresh serves as an one roof hub for all the necessities of consumable day to day requirements.

Chunabhatti

Chembur

Vikhroli

Thane

Bhiwandi

Dombivali

Kalyan

Kalyan

Ulhasnagar

Reliance Fresh Stores in Navi Mumbai at:Navi Mumbai is one of the largest planned new cities. It is a land for upcoming well advanced constructions. It has a vast area with both residential and commercial crowd. The developing nature of the city also adds to the advantage of easy accessibility to Reliance Fresh stores.

Vashi

Nerul

Nerul

CBD Belapur

Panvel

SWOT

STRENGTHS:

Reliance is the first into enter into this unorganized sector of vegetables and fruits. According to them its intentions to have100% farm fresh foods in their new retail stores. It is also adding shortly a juice bar, and even a large counter for puja flowers. In fact, over 60 per cent of the floor space has been dedicated to fresh fruits and vegetables, the rest to other food products like staples, spices, bakery, etc. But reliance has decided not to add any bar soap or toothpaste and detergent in its shelves. So by using this strategy they are positioning themselves different from other players of the industries like Food world, Big Bazaar and Nilgiris. But overcome the short comings of these specialized stores they are also introducing new Reliance full-fledged supermarket called Shakhari Bhandar which offers each and everything from the staple to soap. Most of the staples are under its own privatelabel brand — ‘Reliance Select’. There is a 500g channa dal pack priced at Rs 28,a 500g urad dal pack for Rs 39, all under Reliance’s own brand. Excepting a few packets of Nestle’s Maggi, or MTR’s masalas or Pepsi’s Lays chips, there is very little shelf space given to the big brand owners in the country. Reason: private labels offer far better profit margin to the retailer than branded products of FMCG companies.

WEAKNESS:

This is definitely an interesting business venture but it may miss out the opportunity to capture a greater share of the customer’s wallet. For the customers also this could be hectic as they would have to visit another store to pick up essentials. Reliance could easily overcome this problem by adding a few small counters for some basic non-food products.According to their official this format is not final one they are accepting the new changes which will attract the large number of customers.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Reliance wants to build a high-profitability business and food is perhaps the best venture to start. That is because the Indian

food supply chain is grossly inefficient. There are several intermediaries, each of whom adds his own profit margin to the cost. Besides, there is huge amount spent in transit. This offers potential for savings and profits. To reduce the cost and increase the profit it has been sourcing out its requirements from the farmers. For example, the leafy vegetables, brinjals, tomatoes and green chillies in the Banjara Hills outlet were sourced directly from farmers in Vantimamdi, Chevella and nearby Mandals in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh. The supply chain already has been backed by few hundred farmers the number is estimated to touch million in next five years. The main aim of the reliance is to eliminate the intermediaries in the sector and reduce the cost. Smaller stores have two advantages- they bring down the cost of real estate and increase profits- it is easier to find space for small convenience stores in a quiet neighborhood than for supermarkets in high streets.

THREATS :

This model is engineered to clock a faster turnover of inventory — Reliance expects consumers to visit the store at least twice a week for their top-up groceries. Each store will have an investment of Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 60 lakhs. Unlike global retailers who operate on less margins, Reliance Retail is looking at a fairly high-margin business model. Deliberately stopped short of being a full-fledged supermarket rather, it has limited itself to a food and grocery convenience store. They also have a threat from the existing supermarkets which provides all the services to its customers. For Example, Food world and Nilgiris also provides food and beverages with other personal care products. These convince are not existed in the present Reliance retail stores.

REFERENCES:

http://retailigence.wordpress.com/tag/croma/

http://www.cromaretail.com

http://india.retailmantra.com/2009/07/tata-croma-

to-expand-its-product.html

http://ijsid.wordpress.com

www.my westside .com

www . indiaretail ing.com

www . indiaretail news.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.retailinsights.com

www.esnips.com