SALES AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT Project With A Retailer
Reliance Trends ABHIMANYU K SINGH [MP15002 ]
ABHISHEK KUMAR [MP15005]
ANYANYA DAS [MP15010 ]
SHIPRA [MP15041]
Introduction
The Apparel, Luggage and Accessories division of reliance retail announced the launch of their first Apparel specialty store “Reliance Trends” in October 2007. Reliance Trends Ltd. is an apparel & accessory specialty departmental store conceived with a vision to deliver fashion, selection and quality products and experience at great prices to its consumers. Today, Reliance Trends is a leading lifestyle retail chain with over 380 retail stores across India and offers stylish, high-quality products across Women’s wear, Lingerie, Men’s wear, Kids wear and fashion accessories through a diversified portfolio of private labels (own brand), national and international brands. The distinctiveness of the store is the core, which delivers "fashion at great value". Spread over 8,000 – 24,000 square feet of shopping area, each Reliance Trends store is designed to offer a unique shopping experience for the entire family through wide aisles, coordinated displays and highly trained fashion professionals offering best i n class customer assistance. The Reliance Trends store in Jamshedpur opened in the year 2014, in a prime location in Bistupur, near well-known destinations like Softy Point, Natraj and Anand Hotel. The store is spread out in a three-floored building with a variety of collection in apparels and accessories. Initially, they started with a mediocre collection with average valued products. But, today we see a stark difference in their collection which has been upgraded to cater to the upmarket requirements. This change in business strategy was done to counter the opening of its major competitors; Pantaloons, Big Bazaar Fashion etc. in the new P&M Mall which will be the new shopping destination in Jamshedpur city. In the beginning, the strategy followed in Jamshedpur was in line with non-metros, the share of private labels was much higher than external brands. While today, with increase in competition in the city the ratio of external brands to private brands is being incremented aggressively.
Consumer Behaviour Customers have a good idea of what type of product they want, but don’t have a strong
preference for brand, model or retailer. Reliance trends has taken the uncharted path of reaching out to newer markets, smaller towns and offering the extreme value positions to consumers, exemplifying its positioning ‘Sirf dikhne mein mehnga’. Physiological
Personal •Target Age Group •Primary: 16-40 Years •Secondary: 1-15 Years •Tertiary: 40 Years and above •Gender: Male & Female (Working/Non Working) •Annual Household Income for family size of Four Members: Rs. 10 Lakhs and above
•Creative •Quality Concious •Liberal •Trendsetters •Independent •Broad Minded •Aspiring •Self Motivated •Willingness to spend
Social •Profession •Business, Self Employed, Employed, Students and Housewives •Social Class •Middle class, Upper Middle Class & Upper Class •Influnced by family, culture and society
Target Market
Reliance Trends is apparel specialty store, so offer narrow and deep product assortment. It offers product to all category i.e. baby, teenage, men’s and women’s. Among all these customer 70 percent belongs to age group of 16 to 40 years. Thus, we can say that its target customer group is young. It target segment of reliance trend comprises of male and females in equal majors with no particular segment getting a specia l preference. The price range of product varies from ₹ 299 to ₹ 3000, so it mainly target middle class and upper middle class.
Primary Target Group: 16 – 40 Years Mostly Gen X & Gen Y Occupation : Student, Self-Employed, Employed Characteristics: Fun loving, Creative, Enthusiastic, Flamboyant,Sporty, Curious, Experimental, Adventurous, Liberal, Impulsive, Friendly, Interested in trendy & fashionable products
Mostly Gen X & Gen Y Occupation : Student, Self-Employed, Employed Characteristics: Fun loving, Creative, Enthusiastic, Flamboyant,Fashion conscious, Emotional, Curious, Experimental, Adventurous, Liberal, Impulsive, Friendly, Interested in trendy & fashionable products
Secondary Target Group: 01 to 15 Years
Gen Z Occupation : Student Characteristics: Adventurous, Inquisitive, Fun loving, Creative, Enthusiastic, Flamboyant,Fashion conscious, Curious, Experimental, Care free,Try out new things
Gen Z Occupation : Student Characteristics: Adventurous, Inquisitive, Fun loving, Creative, Enthusiastic, Fashion conscious, Experimental, Care free,Try out new things, brand savvy
Tertiary Target Group: 40 Years and Above Occupation : Self-Employed, Employed Characteristics: Independent, Matured, Earning, Liberal, Stable, Idealistic, Emotional, Family Oriented, Interested in trustworthy brands/products
Occupation : Self-Employed, Employed, House Wife Characteristics: Family Oriented, Independent, Matured, Earning, Liberal, Stable, Idealistic, Emotional, Interested in trustworthy brands/products
Format :
Reliance Trends Ltd. is a departmental store delivering unmatched affordability, quality and chain of products and services to the consumer. It has a broad variety and deep assortment is ensured through a combination of multiple private labels & National & International brands. The own brand portfolio includes:
Rio - a vibrant range of snazzy trends for young women
Fig - fashion wear for discerning, independent & working women
Avaasa - a range of Indian wear for women offering the finest collection of Salwar Kurtas, Churidars and a fast evolving Mix n Match range of garments
Fusion – a range of fusion wear for women where east meets west & style meets comfort
Hushh - the lingerie line for women offers an extensive range of innerwear and sleepwear
Frendz - range of garments that complements the wardrobes of the growing generation of boys and girls Pureza – a collection of pure Cotton & Linen shirts for men Network – offering a range of garments which comprises of formal office wear collection for men and women Netplay - range showcases a smart casual collection for the evolving workplace The DNMX - range has been developed with a clear focus on the youth of India, offering them exclusively crafted fashion garments like Denims, T-shirts etc.
Performax - the specialized sportswear or active wear brand, which supports performance in sporting activity Graviti - the innerwear range for men offering the best of inner and lounge wear Point Cove – Kids wear brand that features bold colours bringing the California spirit to India
Apart from these private labels, the store is also offering some of the most renowned brands in the country like Levis Strauss Signature, Peter England, Indigo Nation, John Players etc. Some designer labels either directly or through their sub brands most of these exclusively for Reliance Trends. Continuing the tradition of reaching out to the middle class of the country, the current offering from Reliance Trends is easily affordable to the Indian consumer. Competitors
Major - Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, K Lounge, The Loot etc. Direct - E Commerce, Franchise and Exclusive showrooms, Bazar Kolkata, V Mart etc. Indirect - Other Unorganized Retail shops, Amar Market etc. Location
The Reliance Trends store in Jamshedpur is located in a prime location in the main street, named Bistupur. It is well positioned near renowned destinations like Softy Point, Natraj and Anand Hotel Positives of location:
Accessibility: Bistupur has one of the highest footfall in the city which helps pulling the crowd in the store. Easily accessible by public or personal transport. Ample space of parking for two wheelers in front of the store. Visibility: The store is visible from the main flow of traffic. Has a big sign board which can be seen from incoming traffic side. Other factors: Being surrounded by the few iconic Restaurants it becomes the prime destination for people going out for shopping and dinner. Cost of operation (unit rate) may be low as compared to stores facing main road.
Being at a location of speciality stores and Restaurants it is one of the prime destination for convenience shopping. Negatives of Location:
Where most of the stores are facing the main road of the market Reliance Trendz is next to a building from the corner. Parking space for four wheelers is a big constraint. Due to heavy traffic on the road, driving four-wheeler is quite cumbersome in front of the store.
Performance As on date, we feel the store is doing quite well, being the first of its kind in Jamshedpur, they have
been able to pull in attention and become a preferable choice for shopping by their target
customer. But, with rising competition in the city, they need to aggressively change their product assortment. Footfall:
Weekdays – 450 to 500
Weekends – 1000 to 1200 Bill value:
Minimum Bill Value – Rs.1000
Maximum Bill Value – Rs.20000
Avg. Bill Value – Rs.4000 to Rs.5000
Location Mapping:
BIBA and Reebok SOCH
DIVA W
SHOE WORLD
Recommendation on location Yes, the store is in the right place as of now, but with the opening of the new P&M mall they might look into an option of opening a new store in the mall, near to it’s major competitors Pantaloons, Big Bazaar Fashion.
Checklist for similar store a) Visibility & Accessibility Visibility from the main area Accessibility of transport from the proposed site Park space and goods trucks docking space Public transport and/or personal transport options b) Customers Target population living and working locally Average footfall in the locality Education & Financial profile of residents of the chosen city c)
Competitors
Local market’s untapped potential
Saturated in the market by existing players Differentiation from the existing stores d) Staff Educational and financial profile of local workforce available
Merchandise Assortment
As the store is governed by Corporate, their strategy is corporate driven such as based on city, competition and expenditure power, the assortment strategy varies. Reliance Trends sells fashion merchandise under the category life cycle. A fashion is currently accepted or popular style in given life cycle. Out of the four stages of fashion: distinctiveness, emulation, mass fashion, and decline, Reliance Trends focuses on mass fashion as it helps in maximizing the economics of scale. This profitable strategy helps the company to do business efficiently. The fashion cycle at Reliance Trends has a life of 45 days after which it is changed to keep the fashion fresh and trendy. It also reduces the problems associated with over stocking. This strategy also results in low inventory turnover with respect to style strategy as they keep on refreshing their stocks and avoid repetition of products. Subsequently every time a customer visits the store, they usually find fresh stock which attracts customers for repeat purchase. Product assortment is simple. But colour shades are chosen as per season, like more preference to lighter shades in summer and darker shades in winter. In festive season, they keep all sorts of fashion stock that are new & trending with maximum safety stocks. Store Layout
Reliance Trends store has been designed to offer a good quality and pleasant shopping experience to the customers of Jamshedpur. With summer heat rising up to 50*C, it provides one stop airconditioned ambience for the family. The store has a circulation spine layout which compliments the evolving tastes and preference of fashion savvy consumers. The objective of the visual merchandising is clearly fulfilled by displaying almost each and every style or design they have in the store providing customer an opportunity to view/shop with ease. As compared to other location, the store uses three floors. The ground floor has women apparel, accessories, and billing counter. First floor has Women ’s Casuals and Kids wear. And, the t hird floor has Men’s formal and Casual Wear. The walkways inside the store is not very spacious but enough for crossing of two person only. Most of the displays are through vertical hanging and mannequin. For variety of sizes and colors, store uses straight rack, vertical hanger stores and wall mounted racks. For accessories, they use triangular vertical rotatable stands. The store advertises mostly through posters. Soothing music constantly plays in the store to cheer-up the customer ’s mood though in some corners they should be using air fresheners to get rid of foul smell and to create an attractive ambiance. Pricing
Reliance Trends strategy is high/low pricing which clearly shows that they are in for higher profits – price discrimination. It’s discount goes up to 50% (based on type of brand) specially at the end of seasons sales like July and January. Reliance Trends also gives special festival discounts, like on Dusshera , Diwali, Holi, etc. Price bundling initiatives such as (buy 1 get 1 free or buy 3 in Rs.600) helps the store to compete in the market. It also has the membership option which provides loyalty and reward points. Time to time the store brings in exciting offers such as - discount coupons and repeat purchase discount to boost its sale. For example, if a customer buys products worth Rs.10000, then 20%- 25% off on the next purchase. Reliance Trends uses cost-oriented method of pricing. Retail price is set by adding some mark-up value on the cost of the merchandise. Reliance trend is building its short-term sales and creating high traffic for the store. Customer Service
The main customer assistance observed was the assistance to customer in finding sizes and locating the products. Though at the entrance a security guard greets the entering customers, but they have same door used for entry and exit so sometimes the guard is busy checking the exiting customers and he is unable to greet the entering customers. Near the entrance, a separate counter designated for customer complaints is clearly visible. A dedicated customer support executive is deputed to solve customer problem. He is mainly busy in handling the cases of returns for size change and quality defects such as (color fading, bubbling, etc.). On major issues the customer support executive in the store escalates the issue to the store manager or management. Customer Interaction
1. Amitabh Kumar (Baridih): He was there for his 12 year old son’s shopping. His perception for this store was satisfactory, as he was happy with the products offered by the store. His son preferred shopping from Reliance Trends due to its trendy and new collection 2. Reena Sahu (Adityapur):She was taking help of the sales person to find apt garment for her daughter and was very happy with the salesperson help. She also mentioned the convenience in finding the products. 3. Saba Khan (Jugsalai):She was shopping for a wedding in family and appreciated the privacy offered by having different sections for woman. But, having female sales person would be better Suggestion
Reliance Trends has been able to attract customers in Jamshedpur as it was the first of it’s kind in the city. Though, the increasing competition has raised an alarm for them triggering changes in the product assortment, they also need to focus on building customer engagement. With rising fuel costs,busy work and family lives, people are preferring convenience and are becoming more inclined towards e-commerce. Sometimes, it’s just as easy to get what you need delivered to your front door and stay home. This means, Reliance Trends has to take steps to improve the in-store experience, to motivate people to venture outside their homes and stop in -store. Today, where customers come to the store to look and feel a product, and then buy it online for a cheaper price – and where they can use any number of apps and tools on their smartphone to price check your store against others in the area, you need factors other than price to help you stand out from the competition. To build in a long-term relationship with customers and to keep them engaged throughout the shopping period, it is essential to improve the customer service. Small initiatives like, greeting a customer, having a small talk, making sure staff is available to people when they need them, understanding their taste and preference and offering knowledge to them customers so they can choose for themselves, with their own needs in mind, rather than pressurizing them. Building an experience based on the fact that customers will buy with their hearts rather than their heads, it is inevitable to make each customer feel like the most important person in the store. This feeling is what they will remember, and suddenly the fact slightly higher pricing than the store down the street will not matter anymore. This will ensure that the customer comes again and again to invoke those positive emotions. One of their major disadvantage is the long duration for which the customer has to stand in q ue in billing counter. This time taking activity can be reduced by having billing counters in each floor. For immediate solution they may also look for options on entertaining the customers in queue through soothing music, TV screens etc. A few female sales staff for their female section and lingerie section would also be appreciated by the customers. Lastly, with competitors pouring in, and with setting up of new malls in Jamshedpur, they may also explore the option of opening a new store in one of the malls in close proximity to their major competitors.
