RETAI
MANAGEME T PROJECT PROJE CT ON RELIANCE TRENDS
BY: Group - 6 Amit Ranjan Danish Anwar Pragya
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We take this opportunity to express our profound gratitude and deep regards to Prof. G. K. Murthy for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this project. The blessing, help and guidance given by him time to time shall carry us a long way in the journey of life on which we are about to embark. We are obliged to Mr. Sashi Kumar, Store Manager of Reliance Trends, Patna, for the valuable information provided by him in his respective field. We are grateful for his cooperation during the period of our assignment. Lastly, We thank almighty and friends for their constant encouragement without which this project would not have been possible.
2
Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT................... ................... ................ ................... ................ ................... ................ ....... 2 HISTORY OF THE COMPANY..........................................................................................................................4 RETAIL STRATEGY................. ................... ................ ................... ................ ................... ................ ................ 6 Target Market: .............................. ................... .................... ................................... .................................. 6 Merchandise Assortment:.........................................................................................................................7 Human Resources: .............................. ................... .................... ................................... ............................ 9 Store Location: .............................. ................... .................... ................................... ................................ 11 Pricing:
....................................................................................................................................................12
Communication Store
Mix:...............................................................................................................................13
Layout:...........................................................................................................................................14
Customer Service: ............................... ................... .................... ................................... .......................... 15 COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE.........................................................................................................................16
REFERENCE..................................................................................................................................................19
3
HISTORY OF THE CO PANY
Reliance retail is the subsidia y of reliance industry which is opened in 2 06. Under this subsidiary, reliance opens sev ral specialty stores those are:
Figure 1
Reliance Trends one of the s bsidiary of Reliance Retail was opened in 2007. They are doing their business in Patna since 2012. The store which we have visited was opened on 4
28th March, 2012. We visited reliance Trends store at East Boring Canal Road, Buddha Colony, Patna. At that store we interviewed Mr. Shashi Kumar, Store Manager. Reliance Trends is an APPAREL SPECIALTY STORE that sells men, women and children’s garments. The store carries the best of national and international brands like John Players, Peter England, Indigo Nation, Wrangler, Reebok, and Lee, apart from inhouse brands. The store layout is to compliment the evolving taste and preference of fashion savvy consumers, giving them an opportunity to view/shop with ease, along with well trained customer service associates, to compliment the entire shopping process. Mission Statement:
To be the most admired and successful organized Retail Company in India that materially enhances the quality of life of every Indian. Reliance Trends started its business as private label brand. But to achieve its mission they tied up with different brands like John Miller, Puma, etc. They also launched their catalog to support the customer for shopping and also provide ease of shopping. Reliance Trends is great example of a brand taking advantage of Facebook Marketing. With an objective to understand the shopping behaviors of consumers and drive traffic to their stores, Reliance Trends set up ‘Trends Spotting’, a feedback app on their Facebook page and rewarded their fans for their valuable feedback with a discount voucher. As a result, the brand not only generated six-figure sales through Facebook, but also reached out to the right set of target audience for a more meaningful engagement.
5
Reliance has recently launch new brand like Intribe to expand its private label business. Apart from launching new private label brand, it also tied up with the California Clothing Company to launch Point Cove brand in India. The launch was supported by an integrated marketing plan that included a fully-developed in-store brand presentation, signage, social media and lifestyle photography that evokes the brand's inspirational essence, "Chase Your Dreams. At Reliance Trends they are always looking to strengthen their apparel offerings with brands that can create emotional connections with the consumers. Apart from these, they also plan to open more store across the country.
RETAIL STRATEGY 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 60 percent belongs to age group of 19 to29 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 special preference. The price range of product varies from ₹ 299 to ₹ 3000 so it mainly target middle class and upper middle class.
6
TRADE AREA:
This outlet is located in Buddha Colony so majority of its customer are from nearby area. Its primary trade area is Boring road, Polytechnic, Rajapur, Raja bazaar, Buddha colony, Exhibition road, Frazer road and all other nearby area where as its secondary trade area include Digha, Kankarbagh, Aashiyana and tertiary trade area include Patna city, Phulwari sharif, and rest of Patna.
Merchandise Assortment: Major brand at Reliance Trends: Table 1
SL.NO
MEN
1 2 3 4
FORMAL John Miller John Player Crimsoune club Indigo Nation Qxemberg
WOMEN CASUAL Sin Killer Moustache Lee Cooper Flying machine Peter England
Jealous 21 Fig W Rio Kraus
KIDSWERE
Rio Girl Ginni&Jonny Frendz Nawatinati
Table 2
SL.NO
1 2 3 4 5
Footwear
Accessories JEWELERS Stoln Jewel
Lee cooper Adidas Reebok Puma Fila 7
BAGS Baggit
There are total 18 private label brands in Reliance Trends. Some of them are:DNMX Netplay Pureza Teamsprit Awesha Hi-attitude Reliance Trends a “APPAREL SPECIALTY STORE” fits on fashion merchandise under the category life cycle. A fashion is currently accepted or popular style in given life cycle. Fashion passes through four stages: distinctiveness, emulation, mass fashion, and decline. Under all these stage Reliance Trends focuses on mass fashion because it help in maximizing the economics of scale.
Figure 2
8
The company has chosen this strategy as it is more profitable. Also at Reliance Trends cycle changes every 30-45 days to keep the fashion fresh and trendy. It will reduce the risk of over stocking as compared to fad strategy. By using this kind of strategy the inventory turnover will be low in respect of style strategy as the company doesn’t prefer repeating its product. Also with this strategy the company can deal mass customer with fresh stock that will attract customer. Human Resources:
STORE HIERARCHY:
Store manager is the head of the particular store. They are hired at central level through various processes like reference check, campus placement, Job Portals and internal promotion/transfer.
STORE MANAGER
DEPARTMENTAL MANAGER
TEAM LEADER
SALES ASSOCIATE/ CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE
Figure 3: Store Hierarchy
9
ROLE OF STORE MANAGER:
To make profit from the store. To know the customer requirement. To observer the current Trends Increase the conversion rate of the store: Ideal conversion rate is 30% for Reliance Trends but the store studied for the project has a conversion rate of 35%. Hire all the employees in the particular store below the store manager position ROLE OF DEPARTMENT MANAGER:
Control and manage allotted department like Kids Section, Men Section, Women Section etc. Maintain the SKU’s of the allotted department. ROLE OF TEAM LEADER:
They are allotted any segment under the Department store. E.g.: In Men’s section they are allotted either formal/casual section. ROLE OF SALES ASSOCIATE/CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE:
Interact with the customer Assist the customer whenever they need assistance. The employees at Reliance Trends are trained on the bases of their current position and previous experience (if any). For the profile of sales associates, the employees are given 15 10
days class training were they are given back office training, information about company policy like SOP (Standing Operating Procedure). Reliance Trends follows the cost to company (CTC) structure for remunerating its employee that reflects the total cost of an employee to an organization. It is designed in such a way that it provides flexibility to an employee to structure their benefit package. Most of the employees at Reliance Trends are paid a basic fixed salary along with incentives based on their performance in achieving target allotted to them. The store manager basic salary is Rs. 30,000 (approx) + incentives while the sales associates are paid basic of Rs. 10,000 (approx) + incentives.
At Reliance Trends the sales people are allowed to cross sell. For e.g. Sales person from John Miller can suggest their customer product from Van Heusen if customer are not satisfied with the available product in John Miller. Some of the activities that are outsourced at this store are security and some transportation activity. Store Location:
Reliance Trends is located in Main Street that refers to traditional shopping area in secondary business district. Main streets share most of the characteristics of a Central Business District (CBD). They chose this location because the occupation cost of the store is slightly lower than CBD. It is located in East Boring Canal Road, Buddha Colony, Patna. Boring canal road is adjacent to Boring Road and both are considered posh area. Majority of the affluent population live here. Hence, they can be potential customers. Gradually, 11
more apartments, shopping complexes, specialty stores like Godrej Interio and banks have come up in this area. This location is also hub of coaching centers of IIT, Medical, MBA, Bank P.O, etc. Therefore, a lot of traffic is at this place which can be potential customers. Moreover, Pantaloons is also located approximately at a distance of 200m, so people looking for comparable shopping would get attracted to this place. This site is accessible to the customers because there are two routes to reach this place, one from Boring Road side and the other from Gandhi Maidan side. People can travel by own vehicle or public transport like autos and rickshaws. Reliance Trends also provides parking space (but it’s not of ample size).
Pricing:
Reliance Trends follows high/low pricing policy. It gives discounts up to 50% (varying on different brands) at the end of seasons like in July and in January. And special discounts are given on festivals like Dusshera , Diwali, Holi, etc. To compete with other retailers, the store does price bundling (buy 1 get 1 free or buy 3 in Rs.600), provides reward points on loyalty cards. Apart from this, for example if a person buys products worth Rs.5000, then 10%- 20% 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. They also provide frequent shopper program by offering loyalty cards and attractive offers like Shop for Rs.2999 and Get Clothes worth Rs.1500 Free at Reliance Trends. By providing this, they try to achieve customer loyalty.
12
Communication Mix:
Reliance Trends uses both above the line and below the line in advertisement. For above the line advertisements they use are: Print media – Majorly uses newspaper, pamphlets for promotions. Radio Hoarding For below the line in advertisements they uses are: Direct mail Online catalogue (www.tiendeo.in) Sales promotions In- shop activities Directly visiting customer’s home (in case of sale going down adversely but it never happened yet ) For publicity: Reliance Trends is dependent on word of mouth communication. Sometimes Reliance Trends uses cooperative advertising with brand like John Player, Peter England, and Indian terrain so on. For sales promotion the retailer mainly uses are:
13
Loyalty Cards –In every purchase some point is issues on the card and this point can be redeeming on the next purchase. Gift voucher discount- A discount is offered which has certain minimum purchase in case of Reliance Trends it is five thousand.
Store Layout:
Reliance Trends store has been designed and furnished in such a way that it can offer a high quality and lavish shopping experience to the Indian Consumer. The store layout compliments the evolving tastes and preference of fashion savvy consumers, giving them an opportunity to view /shop with ease as it follows a free form design layout. Though other stores in India are big but the store in Patna is not so large. It uses three floors. The ground floor has women apparel, accessories, and footwear, first floor has men formal and kids clothing, while the third floor has men casual and footwear. The store is not very spacious. They use straight rack, four wall fixtures, and gondolas for apparel, footwear and accessories. They mostly use vertical merchandising and idea- oriented presentation. They also perform in store advertisement through posters and mannequin. The lighting is not very attractive particularly in Patna store as compared to other Reliance Trends store in India. The store is using used yellow-whitish ceiling light. Soothing Bollywood music constantly plays in the store like “Aaj unse milna hai humein ..Chal unke liye kuchh lete chalein” from “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo”. Jasmine and rose room fresheners are used in the store for attractive ambiance.
14
Customer Service:
Customer service is set of activities and programs undertake by retailer to make the shopping experience more rewarding for their customers. These activities increase the value that the customers receive from the merchandise and the service they purchase. Reliance Trends offers following services:Gift Wrapping Alteration of merchandise Acceptance of credit cards Trail room Parking Personal assistance in selecting merchandise Signage to locate and identify merchandise
It was found that customer’s perception for this store was satisfactory, as were happy with the service offered by Reliance Trends. The salesperson are always there to help them and the whole store is organized in a proper way like there is different section for men, women, kids and in men there is separate section for formal and casuals wear, also there is separate section for footwear and accessories. So they can easily identify the product according to their needs. The store has a separate desk for customer complain i.e. customer relationship desk where a salesperson is there to solve customer problem. The complaint is mainly about 15
color fading, bubbling and they find it genuine then they take return back the products. For having the surprise check on the level of services provided the company sometime even sends “mystery shoppers” to the store. The sales associate in the store are not “empowered” to make decisions as it up to management or the store manager.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Main mantra of Reliance Trends is to provide good quality products at lower price. The competitive advantage of this store is attractive price, best hospitality and provision of good offers and discount schemes. The apparel brand has adopted mid-level pricing combined with shorter fashion cycle to differentiate itself from other apparel brands. Fast-fashion is a term used to denote the speed with which designs move from catwalk to store to capture current Trends in the market. Globally, it has also become associated with disposable fashion because it delivers designer products to a mass market at relatively low prices. The prices are value-equation for the consumers and the products are current as anywhere in the world. Their private label brands like Rio, Pureza, etc. are of superior quality and stand on equal footing with other national brands. Moreover, this store particularly provides Giza cotton at Rs.999 a meter while Pantaloons provides the same quality at Rs.3000 a meter. Hence, they provide at lower price and the quality also remains good. Reliance Trends caters to a larger consumer base. Since its inception in October 2007, as a concept aimed at ‘Democratizing Fashion’ Reliance Trends’ objective is to create affordable fashion solutions for all through an extensive geographic reach, exemplary 16
customer service and a product portfolio for diverse consumer needs across the various consumer segments. It has taken the uncharted path of reaching out to newer markets, smaller towns and offering the extreme value proposition to consumers; exemplifying its positioning ‘Sirf Dikhne Mein Mehenga’. Reliance Trends also believes in bringing to the Indian consumers a high quality experience with the Trendy layout of its stores that compliment the evolving tastes and preference of fashion savvy consumers. Reliance Trends has nearly 200 stores in India while its nearest competitor Pantaloons has only about 115 stores. This is a source of competitive advantage for Reliance Trends as it has reached to those corners of the country where there is a considerable chunk of the fashion conscious consumers. In recent times, the young population of India has become increasingly fashion conscious and they wish to look good at all times. With the opening of stores in untapped locations, Reliance Trends has made the correct first move towards capturing the lion’s share of the market. Value fashion retailing has huge potential and Reliance Trends with its superior service quality can effectively drive competitors out of the newer markets. Japanese value fashion giant Uniqlo has business similar to Reliance Trends. Japan’s urban population is a mere 85 million as compared to India’s 150 million urban consumers who like to shop in modern retail outlets. Uniqlo has 1213 stores serving 85 million consumers so Reliance can have at least 700-750 stores to cater to the 150 million consumers. So the first mover advantage can be a source of competitive advantage for Reliance Trends.
17
Just developing a competitive advantage is not enough. It is necessary to ensure that the competitive advantage is transformed into a sustainable competitive advantage. Reliance Trends can transform its competitive advantage into a sustainable one by offering innovative, excellent and unmatched services to its consumers. This will in turn help Reliance Trends to build a pool of extremely loyal customers which is also a source of competitive advantage for any retailer. The business of any retailer is mainly driven by the number of loyal customers who patronize a particular retailer and by building a huge loyal customer base. Reliance Trends can effectively develop a sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors.
18
REFERENCE 1.
LEVY M., WEITZ B. & PANDIT A. 2012. Retailing Management 8th Edition, New Delhi, India
2. Menon,B. D.(2013, September 2). Reliance Trends wants to be fast fashion brand. Business Line. Retrieved on Dec 10, 2015 fromhttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/reliance-trends-wants-tobe-fastfashion-brand/article5086254.ece 3. Time to go mobile. (2013, Dec 26). Business Line. Retrieved on Dec 10, 2015 from http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/time-to-gomobile/article5504839.ece
19
