A PROJECT

ON

“WILLS LIFESTYLE”

- Based on a Comparative Study Conducted in the C.P. Market

SESSION 2007-2010

Submitted to Prepared by

MS. SUMEDHA DUTTA ROOPESH KUMAR

(Project Guide) 0191471707

Maharaja Agrasen Institute Of Management Studies

Rohini sec-22 New Delhi 85

Affiliated to GGS Insdraprastha University Delhi Gate New DelhI

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TO WHOM SO EVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that the project work title “ WILLS LIFESTYLE BASED

ON A COMPARATIVE STUDY ” made by ROOPESH KUMAR (0191471707)

is an authentic work carried out by him under my guidance and

supervision in the Marketing of Maharaja Agrasen Institute Of

Management Studies.

The report submitted has been found satisfactory for the partial

fulfillment of the degree of BBA.

MS. SUMEDHA DUTTA

(Project Guide)

DECLARATION

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The project titled “ WILLS LIFESTYLE BASED ON A COMPARATIVE STUDY

” being submitted by ROOPESH KUMAR in the partial fulfillment of

requirements for the award of BBA degree from Maharaja Agrasen

Institute Of Management Studies, affiliated to GGS Indraprastha

University, Delhi.

I, anywhere else for any other degree or diploma have not submitted

this work.

All sources of information and help are authentic and have been

acknowledgement in the report.

ROOPESH KUMAR 0191471707

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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Nothing concrete can be achieved an optimal combination of

inspiration and perspiration. No work can be accomplished without the

guidance of the experts. It only the critiques from ingenious

intellectuals that help transform a product into a quality product

First, I would like to express my gratitude towards

MS. SUMEDHA DUTTA, my faculty guide who always helped and

provided guidance during the course of my project.

Finally I am grateful to DR.N.K.KAKKAR who provided all the necessary

suggestions, information and guidance to complete this project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

To study the about Wills Lifestyle brand.

Increasing awareness of various products of Wills

Lifestyle brand.

To formulate the ways for paving a path for forming Wills Lifestyle as the number one in the segment.

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INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE & IMPORTANCE

It is vital for every organization to ‘know’ its consumers inside out and act accordingly & timely to the ever changing trends of the market. Along with this know-how of consumers, it is also crucial to be acquainted with the competitors. The report deals with gaining an insight into the choices and preferences of the customers of high-end apparel brands. It delves into knowing what the expectations of a consumer from a brand (or product) are and what leads him into making a purchase or into choosing a brand over another.

This project undertaken is an attempt to measure the brand effectiveness of Wills Lifestyle, based on a comparative study conducted in the Connaught place market. This study takes into account both the consumers and the competitors of the brand.

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LIMITATIONS

The study conducted for the brand has been undertaken in the Connaught Place Market. All the surveys conducted as well as the showrooms of the competing brands visited were limited to this market.

The survey method takes into account the responses of customers. These responses may be incomplete and sometimes biased.

Paucity of data related to competitors is another limitation which might lead to insufficient knowledge about the competitor.

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COMPANY PROFILE

ITC Lifestyle Retailing Business Division made foray into the Rs. 200 billion ready to wear apparel industry with the launch of its Wills Sport range of internationally-styled premium relaxed wear for men & women in the year 2000. The company’s first exclusive store “Wills Lifestyle” was opened in South Extension in Delhi in July 2000.

The WLS chain of exclusive stores later expanded its range to include Wills Classic formal wear in 2002 and Wills Clublife evening wear in 2003. Later in 2006, WLS became the title partner of the premium fashion event “India Fashion Week”. This association has helped the brand grow stronger and also make the product portfolio richer.

The lifestyle retailing business division also caters to the mid-segment market through its brands John Players and Miss Players.

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HISTORYTHE REVOLUTION

The Connaught Place Market

Connaught Place, popularly known as CP, has a long and distinguished history behind it.

Named after the Duke of Connaught, a member of the British royal family, this market was designed by Robert Tor Russell in collaboration with WH Nicholls.

The British believed that a market in the shape of a horseshoe would prove lucky for both shoppers and shopkeepers. Definitely, there may be something in that as Connaught Place, which was built in 1931 when capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi, continues to be Delhi's premier shopping destination even today.

Apart from being the commercial and business hub of Delhi, CP has countless restaurants, watering holes, shops and cinema halls too. One can find outlets of almost all international brands available in India in the Inner Circle: Benetton, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, Reebok, Nike, Levi's Strauss, Puma - to name a few. The state emporia

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buildings are also located in this area, so are the head offices of major banks, airlines and other such things of importance to the tourist. The complex is an important meeting point for all sections of people. Even tourists don’t miss it for nothing else than for its architecture and the humdrum of everyday life. There are some excellent bookshops too.

CP mainly consists of fast-moving shoppers where mornings cater to the school or college going kids in the age group of 16 to 22. In the afternoons, maximum people found roaming here are working professional or government employees working in the vicinity of the market (from LIC or Barakhamba Road like Prakashdeep building, etc), coming to the shopping areas in their lunch breaks. Towards the evenings we can see more of couples & families coming in for shopping. Also, a lot of tourists from abroad come to shop here mainly in day time.

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Comparative Study of Brands“Poor firms ignore their competitors; Average firms copy their competitors; Winning firms lead their competitors.”

Competition can be defined as “A market in which rival sellers are trying to gain extra business at one another's expense and thus are forced both to be as efficient as possible and to hold their prices down as much as possible.”

Competitors, on the other hand are, “those firms or individuals who seek to satisfy the same customers or customer needs and offer similar products or services, close substitutes or brands to them”.

CP inner circle mainly consists of international brands like United Colors of Benetton, Van Heusen, Levis, Louis Philippe, LP Youth, etc. which majorly cater to the same target segment as WLS and thus count as competitors for the brand. Since Wills is a ‘complete wardrobe solution’ with its brand Wills Sport, casual wear brands Benetton and Levis also form competition. Along with the presence of all these international brands, there are Indian brands like Raymonds, Prax, and many more which also compete for the customer’s share of wallet.

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Block-wise location of Brands:

Block C – Van Heusen (Men)

- Lee

Block D – Louis Philippe

Block E – Wills Lifestyle

– Van Heusen (Women)

– Benetton

– Allen Solly

– Color Plus

– A new Benetton store is scheduled to open at E-3 in the month of May.

– Along with these there are brands like Spykar & Puma in the same block which are coming up very well.

Block F – Levi’s Store

– LP Youth

Apart from this, Blocks A and B witness the highest footfall in CP due to the presence of some famous eating joints like Wengers, Keventers and McDonalds.

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Actual Competitors: Van Heusen, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Levis, United Colors of Benetton, Color Plus.

Also the following Potential Competitors namely Puma, Spykar & GAS were identified during the course of the survey as a large number of people were found to be interested in these brands and were also seen shopping from them (number of carry bags spotted with shoppers).

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Methodology

For the purpose of conducting a comparative study, two methods were adopted – Questionnaire Method and Self Observation.

A questionnaire was prepared & administered to the shoppers in CP market. The target segment was people shopping from the brands which are competitors to WLS as well as customers of the brand itself. The sample size taken is 100. Most of the people surveyed were shoppers in blocks D, E and F since these are the blocks which have the maximum no. of competitors’ stores. The questionnaire is provided in the annexure for reference.

Target Segment – People shopping from Wills Lifestyle, Van Heusen (both VH Men & VH Women), Allen Solly, Puma, Spykar, Levis, Benetton, Louis Philippe, LP Youth & a few general shoppers.

Blocks Covered for Survey – B, C, D, E, & F

Sample Size – 100, out of which 92 are usable.

In the self observation method, a personal visit to all the stores was made to collect first hand information about the brands. The various aspects of the stores were taken note of.

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FINDINGS

In this part, the questions are individually taken up to state the rationale behind each of them being taken up as part of the survey. The brands included for the purpose of analysis are Benetton, Wills Lifestyle, Levis, Van Heusen, Louis Philippe & Allen Solly.

1. Which brand do you usually shop from? (Rank from 1 to 6 in order of preference, 1 being the highest)

The first question is included to analyze the shopping preferences of the people shopping the target market. It asks the respondents to rank the brands according to their shopping preference or most frequently visited brand.

Individual, brand-wise rankings are given below.

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We can see that maximum

number of people who voted for

Benetton also consider it as their

“most frequently shopped from”

brand. 23% of the people voted it

at Rank 1; 21% at Rank 2; and

20% at a Rank 3.

Wills got an overall 83

votes out of which 23%

respondents said it was

their third most preferred

brand. 16% voted for it as

the 1st and 4th most

preferred brand. And a

good 19% i.e. 17 people

said it was their second

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Levis had the maximum

number of people voting in

favor of it as the number 1

choice for shopping. A

good 32% indicates the

same. Overall, it shows a

consistent pattern with

21%, 15%, 13%, 7, 5 & 7%

ranking it on 2nd, 3rd, 4th,

5th and 6th position

Van Heusen had the

highest percentage

at Rank 1 with 19%

and a very close

18% for Rank 5 &

‘No Opinion’.

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Louis Philippe shows a

maximum percentage of

22% for ‘No Opinion’, i.e. a

large number of people

interviewed did not

consider LP as a favored

brand to shop from. Apart

from this 19% respondents

have ranked it at No. 6

and 17% at No. 5. 14%

Allen Solly shows a

consistent trend all

through with a

highest of 19% for

Rank 3 & 4; 15% for

rank 5 & 6; and 14%

& 12% for rank 2 &

‘no opinion’

2. What attracts you to the following stores? (For each brand, please give a ranking of 1 to 6 to the mentioned parameters.)

This question attempts to gauge the ‘why’ behind the preference of brands in the first question. It attempts at gaining an insight into the customer’s mind as to which parameters out of the six mentioned here attract a customer towards choosing a store over another. These parameters are Brand Image, Look of the Store, Product Quality, Styles/ Variety, Customer Service, & Price.

Since the most attractive parameter is marked as 1 and the least attractive as 6, the parameters with the lowest mean are the most favored factors for that particular brand and the ones with the highest mean are the least favored.

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3. The first word that comes to your mind when you think of:

The word association method tells us the perception of the brand in the customers mind and how it would influence his brand selection decisions at the time of shopping.

The one word definitions for the brands were as follows:

Benetton – Colors, Casuals, Funky, Cool.

Wills Lifestyle – Fashionable, Stylish/Trendy, Classy, Quality, Expensive.

Levis – Jeans/Denims, Awesome, Comfort/Casual.

Van Heusen – Formals, Elegance, Good Fits, Style.

Louis Philippe – Official Wear, Class, Formals.

Allen Solly – Formals, Fridays, Quality, Affordable.

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Implications of the perception of these brands

Benetton – people wanting a “cool & vibrant” kind of look would choose Benetton as their shopping destination. E.g “I want to buy something nice & colorful today!” would lead a person to choosing Benetton.

Wills Lifestyle – would be preferred by fashion conscious people & shoppers “for evening or party wear”. Also assurance of quality to customers comes from this brand.

Levis – for comfort wear or simply the one stop shop for denims.

Van Heusen – a person looking for well fitted & elegant formals would certainly choose to purchase from a Van Heusen store.

Louis Philippe –again, for people looking for official wear.

Allen Solly – it offers quality formals at affordable prices to people.

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4. Do you associate any of the brands with having a global image?

A large number of respondents associated Benetton & Levis with having a global image. This shows their awareness & consciousness towards these brands. Though Van Heusen, Louis Philippe & Allen Solly are also brands of international origin, the brand recognition for them as “global” or “international” is less. On the other hand, Wills Lifestyle has 29% of the people recognizing it as a brand of global eminence. It shows that the brand’s image & its offering goes well with the audience and in turn acts in favor of it.

5. What do you like/dislike about the brand you most frequently shop from? (Brand Name: … )

Here the customer’s favorite brand or the brand where he/she most frequently shops from is selected and the reasons behind his selecting that brand on the basis of the parameters like – price, quality, service, variety & visuals are gauged.

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Figure 6: Overall brand preference.

According to the responses obtained through the survey, four people selected Allen Solly as the brand they most frequently shop from; Eleven people chose Benetton; Ten people Levis; Three Levis; Four Van Heusen; and Ten Wills Lifestyle. We can see that as compared to the formal wear brands, Wills Lifestyle is much ahead with 24% as compared to 10%, 9% & 7% of Allen Solly, Van Heusen & Louis Philippe respectively.

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6. Suggestions for the brand above (or any other brand):

It is an open ended question for the customer to give any statements or suggestions about a particular brand.

A general suggestion for all the brands was to lower their prices. Majority of the respondents felt that these brands were too expensive. This shows the price sensitivity of the customers.

A few people, suggesting for Benetton, commented on the quality of its products. They said that the quality of the fabrics used by Benetton could be improved. Also, a few people felt that the customer service provided at Benetton was not up to mark and should be improved.

For Wills, many people felt the pinch of the prices. Apart from that, many females felt that larger sizes in women apparel were what Wills was lacking in. A few respondents also mentioned the need for outer-branding on the garments of Wills.

SELF OBSERVATION

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United Colors of Benetton

Look of the Storeo Visibility from outside – Sober lighting with a

creamish-yellow effect. The whole store is visible from outside at one go which works as a marketing technique in itself for the merchandise.

o Displays – Huge and catchy displays are especially visible at the first floor. The displays are full of colors & show happy expressions on the faces of the models.

o Size – relatively small store with approximately 2100 sq. ft. of selling space.

Layout o Mannequins – A lot of display has been done through

the use of mannequins. Six female mannequins & seven male mannequins have been used.

o Fixtures – Low height rectangular tables are used to

display tops and t-shirts, again with the purpose of easier accessibility to merchandise.

Small and light colored wooden panels are used to stack merchandise. These wooden panels are alternated with bars for hangs.

Market Activityo Promos – Assured voucher of Rs. 500 on purchases

worth Rs. 3999. Started on 29th of April.

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o Benetton has come up with its new store in inner circle, Block E.

Price Pointso Casuals – Rs. 299 (t-shirt) to Rs. 4999 (jacket)o Formals – Rs. 599 (shirt) to Rs. 6999 (formal suit)o Accessories – Rs. 299 (flip-flops) to Rs. 3999

(handbags)

VAN HEUSEN

First look at the Storeo Visibility from outside – a very bright looking store.

Use of prominent bright yellow lights with clean white interiors.

o Size – comparatively huge store with an area of approximately 7000 sq. ft. It has a high ceiling with mannequins displayed at a high level.

o Advert on window announcing the ‘New Season Launch’.

Layout o Mannequins – 4 for the main window display along

with 3 mannequins in the middle of the store which is a very unique mannequin display as compared to the other brands.

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Mannequin display in the middle of the store catches attention at Van Heusen Women

Separate section for

Shoes, Handbags & Stoles.

Market Activityo Promos – APRIL: “Exciting offer on

women’s bags & shoes. Buy any item and get accessories worth 50% of the value free”.

MAY: “We Win, You Celebrate.” Buy merchandise worth Rs. 3000 & get accessories worth Rs. 1500 free.”

o New categories – “V•” (V-Dot) evening wear & party wear category from Van Heusen. Consists of bright colored, flowery & patterned shirts for men. Also more new introductions in casual wear T- Shirts showing an inclination to attend to the demand for casual wear in market.

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ALLEN SOLLY

Look of the Store o Visibility from outside – The Allen Solly store is a

narrow & long store. Therefore the visibility of the store from outside is limited.

Layout o No. of mannequins – Since the store is not a very big

one, there only approximately four to five mannequins.

o Fixtures – Low height tables are used for displaying selected styles in tops. White wooden panels are used at the top for stacking with bars for hangs below them.

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Stacks & hangs with clear color blocking (theme

‘Collection Metal’)

Market Activityo New categories – Allen Solly Youth,

which was launched around a year back is the only new category, with new styles being introduced in it at lower & affordable price points.

Price Pointso Allen Solly Youth priced at Rs. 399 to Rs. 1499.o Formals – Rs. 999 (shirts) to Rs. 2499; Suits – Rs.

7995o Accessories – Rs. 109 (socks) to Rs. 2500 (handbags)

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Devising Promotional Strategies based on Customer Profiling.

In accordance with the study conducted outside the store, to measure the effectiveness of the brand it was also important to note the trends occurring inside the store. Therefore a small project was taken up towards the end of April to do an in-store study of the buying patterns of customers as well as the sub-brand performance (Sport, Classic, Clublife, and Signature).

In this project basically a customer profiling was done. It aimed at observing the trends or buying patterns of the customers based on their age, gender, and the hour at which they visit & purchase from the store.

A record of 840 transactions has been made, which includes the trend for the period of one month.

Limitations:

The mapping for the age of the shopper is done on the basis of assumption.

The tracking is done from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. only

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On the basis of the above observations the following promotional strategy has been devised.

PROMOTION NAME:“Fashion by Wills”

PROMO OPTION 1 : Buy Wills Signature collection worth Rs. 2500 (or above) & get Gift Vouchers worth Rs. 500. (Gift vouchers applicable on accessories & Essenza Di Wills)

PROMO OPTION 2: Buy Wills Signature collection worth Rs. 2500 (or above) & Pick Fiama Di Wills worth Rs. 250.

TIMINGS (during which promo is applicable): Applicable between 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. on weekdays.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

From the study of the other brands along with the experience of working at the store, a few points were identified which are mentioned here. An attempt has been made to come up with a few suggestions which would help in increasing the effectiveness of the store as well as the brand.

The sub – brands Wills Classic, Wills Sport, Wills Clublife, and Wills Signature can be advertised separately to increase the awareness these brands. This can be done by putting up separate, easily movable (to facilitate regular change in VM), signage for each brand showing their respective logos, within the store.

CARRY BAGS – Carry bags are a great means of advertising.

The new season launch should be advertised through carry bags also.

TRIAL ROOMS – The trial rooms don’t look like that of a premium brand. It doesn’t match up to the facilities provided at the South extension and Ambi store as well as other stores like Levi’s.

Centralized cooling is required.

Sofas required for comfort (like that at other Wills stores).

SIZES – Waiting for sizes becomes a turn-off for the customer if it takes too much time. It sometimes results in the customer walking out of the store.

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The stocks in the back room should be kept size-wise as well as brand-wise (classic, sport, etc) and the racks can be tagged with stickers indicating the sizes it contains.

Training house-keeping staff for faster service & quicker replenishments throughout the day.

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INITIATIVES & CONTRIBUTIONS

A contribution of approximately Rs. 2,65,000 has been made to the company, through sales, during the period of the internship, with the highest invoice value of Rs 35,000.

A micro marketing activity was initiated to take care of the decreasing footfalls. Different restaurants, bars and stores like that of watch companies or camera companies, which were also in proximity to the store, were targeted. The following places were visited for this purpose – Indian Coffee Home, Spirit Restaurant & Bar, World of Titan, Canon and Oriflame.

The deal with Spirit Restaurant & Bar has been successfully converted. A two way tie up has been finalized. 100 Gift Vouchers of denominations of Rs. 500 of Wills Lifestyle will be given on a bill of Rs. 3000 at Spirit. Similarly, a discount of 15% at Spirit will be applicable on an invoice of Rs. 3000 at Wills Lifestyle.

An opportunity was received to interview candidates for the post of ‘customer associate’ for the store. The interviews were held on the 11th

of March within the store itself.

An initiative was taken to make the store presentable at all times. Visual Merchandising exercises were taken up regularly with a change in the Window Displays every 10 to 15 days.

QUESTIONAIRES36

Study on the High-End Apparel Brands Present in CP Market

Name: Age:

Gender: Occupation:

1.Which brand do you usually shop from? (Rank from 1 to 6 in order of preference, 1 being the highest)

a. Benetton _____b. Wills Lifestyle _____c. Levi’s _____d. Van Heusen _____e. Louis Philippe _____f. Allen Solly _____

2. What attracts you to the following stores? (For each brand, please give a ranking of 1 to 6 to the mentioned parameters.)

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Benetton

Wills Lifesty

le

Levi’s Van Heuse

n

Louis Philip

pe

Allen Solly

Brand Image

Look of the Store

Product Quality

Styles / Variety

Customer Service

Price

3. The first word that comes to your mind when you think of:

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a. Benetton_________________________________

b. Wills Lifestyle_________________________________

c. Levi’s_________________________________

d. Van Heusen_________________________________

e. Louis Philippe_________________________________

f. Allen Solly_________________________________

4. Do you associate any of the brands with having a global image? (Please Tick)

a. Benetton ____b. Wills Lifestyle ____c. Levi’s ____d. Van Heusen ____e. Louis Philippe ____f. Allen Solly ____

5. What do you like/dislike about the brand you most frequently shop from?(Brand Name: )

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Highly Satisfied

Somewhat Satisfied

Can’t Say

Somewhat Unsatisfied

Highly Unsatisfied

Price

Product Quality

Customer Service

Styles / Designs

Look of the Store

6. Suggestions for the brand above (or any other brand):

Brand Name:

Suggestion:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank You!

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REFERENCES

Books

Levy & Weitz – “Retailing Management”, 6th Edition, McGraw Hill International Edition

Churchill & Iacobucci – “Marketing Research”, 9th

Edition “Why We Buy?” - The Science of Shopping, by Paco

Underhill “How Customers Think?”

Articles “Challenges & Opportunities of Organized Retailing in

India”. Journal of Marketing & Communication, September – December 2007 Vol. 3 Issue 2.

Websites http://www.itcportal.com http://www.willslifestyle.com http://www.vanheusen.com http://www.benetton.com

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