Project

Report
on
Happily
Unmarri
ed,
Mumbai
Abstract:
Project comprises the study on
presence of Happily Unmarried
brand in Mumbai and their
expansion in Mumbai

Submitted by:
Anish Adarkar
Priyanka Baxi

Acknowledgements
It was a great experience for us to work with Happily Unmarried. Firstly, we want to
thank Mr. Abhijit Jhala for providing us with an opportunity to work with Happily
Unmarried. We also want to appreciate the efforts put in by Mr. Surya Bhushan for
his consistent guidance and mentorship.
Also, we extend our sincere gratitude to Mr. Sagar Mirajkar for helping us to
understand the working of the shop. Last but not the least, our happily unmarried
crew- Kshama, Stella, Sameer and Mufis. Thanks for making our experience a
memorable one.

Table of Contents
1.

Introduction & Research Methodology ......................................................................................... 5

2.

Findings of Primary Research at Happily Unmarried shop, Mumbai .............................................. 6

3.

Inventory Handling and pricing of products ................................................................................. 10

4.

Findings of Primary research at different locations in Mumbai ................................................... 11

4.1 Analysing strength and weaknesses of each location ............................................................ 11
4.2 Dealers and brokers details of each location .......................................................................... 12

5.

Our experience at happily Unmarried shop , Mumbai ................................................................. 14

6.

Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 15

1.

Introduction & Research Methodology

Happily Unmarried is a fun lifestyle brand from India. The company is known for its fun and quirky
India-centric designs across gifting categories such as apparel, glassware, travel accessories, office
and stationery. The company operates from its headquarters in New Delhi. It was started in 2003 by
two friends, Rajat Tuli and Rahul Anand, to explore innovative gifting alternatives.
Happily Unmarried collaborates with many designers, craftsmen from across the country to combine
traditional skills and modern design to create a lifestyle products and ordinary household
goods. One of its most noted products is the Sandaas Ashtray, an ash-tray designed like an Indian
toilet seat.
Happily Unmarried has 6 shops in Delhi, 3 shops in Chandigarh, 1 shop in Goa and one shop at
Mumbai Domestic Airport. Company wants to open more shops in Mumbai. To introduce their brand
to Mumbai people, Happily Unmarried displayed its items in KalaGhoda festival 2014
The demographic profile of an Indian consumer is worth noting. The Indian consumers have the
ability to spend over USD 30,000 a year (PPP terms) on prominent consumptions which represents
2.8% of the entire population. It seems like a small percentage but when we consider the mammoth
Indian population of 1.07 billion people, this number amounts to 30 million people, a market next
only to USA, Japan and China. Consumers are the king and they only drive the retail growth but it is
in turn driven by following factors.
Increase in Urban Population: The Indian urban population is projected to increase from 28% to 40%
of the total population by 2020 and incomes are simultaneously expected to grow in these segment.
This is the reason why Happily Unmarried is targeting the metros for its expansion strategies.
Economic growth: The economic that will affect India is the increase in disposable income which is
expected to rise at an average of 8.5% p.a. till 2015.It means greater disposable incomes for the
booming Indian middle class, which currently comprises 32% of the total population.
Demographics: The kind of products that Happily Unmarried makes is youthful and resonates with
the youth. More than 50% of the population is less than 25 years of age. They are early adopters
and try to test new things. They like leading a comfortable life and do not mind in spending more to
get good quality products, which are trendy as well as suit, their desired personality.
Credit availability: There has been a changing preference in demand for lifestyle goods. Mindsets
are shifting towards an organized retailing experience. Growth in malls can also be a leading factor
for organized retail surge. With the advent of plastic money the people are having more disposable
income at any point of time.
Availability of retail space: Tier I cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore clearly have the upper
hand in terms of higher disposable incomes, better infrastructure, awareness levels, propensity to
spend and an affluent urban youth population. The respective State Governments have also been
proactive in permitting use of land for commercial development, thus increasing the availability of
retail space. It is seen that Delhi and Mumbai have maximum number of retail space as compared to
other states. So it gives a clear picture why Mumbai was chosen as the next city for expansion by
Happily Unmarried.

Purpose and Objectives of Study:

Choosing retail location for shopping in Mumbai - 3 best locations (high street or mall) other
then Airport.

Visited the various shopping places of Mumbai and analyzing those places

Finding the right match for Happily Unmarried brand shops among those places

Enlisting brokers and dealers of the places and finding the commercials of the places

Brand identity of Happily Unmarried, customer demand (new products), taste and
preferences
o

Talking to customers who visit Happily Unmarried shop at domestic airport and
taking their feedback about the new products they would like to see and what
their perception is about the brand Happily Unmarried

Enlisting things that customer likes and does not like about the brand

Assisting sales person at shop in Domestic Airport

o

Helping the store manager with the daily log and stock management

Understanding visual merchandizing and keeping a watch on the fast selling

products

Making the requirement list for the next month

As a part of internship, we spent two months at Happily Unmarried shop at the domestic airport.
This gave us a chance to interact with the staff and customers of Happily Unmarried. It also helped
us to study different products and their pricing that Happily Unmarried sell.
Our research methodology included mostly primary research at the shop and at different shopping
places where Happily Unmarried can open new shops. We also did our secondary research by
understanding the competitors of our brand and their presence in Mumbai through their websites
and other materials.
Primary research at Happily
rUnmarried shop at Mumbai
Airport and at various shopping
places in Mumbai

2.

Secondary Research for finding

commercials of renting shops in
Mumbai and for understanding
competitors and their presence
in Mumbai

Findings of Primary Research at Happily Unmarried shop, Mumbai

To understand what customers perception about Happily Unmarried brand, we subtly asked them
following question to get insights from them
Have you heard of Happily Unmarried brand before?
Have you ever visited any other happily unmarried shops before?
Have you checked/bought any of our products online?
What do you like the most about the shop and what could have been better?
What more items would you like to see?
Which is your favorite happily unmarried product?
What does Happily Unmarried brand mean to you?
Feedback from Customers

Customer Statistics
o

We tried to know customers profiles with respect to Happily Unmarried shop. Are
they new customers or frequently visit any of Happily Unmarried shops and do they
prefer online over brick mortar shopping at Happily Unmarried etc.

We found 55% of the customers who visited the shop were new and never heard of
happily unmarried brand. Most of them entered the shop because of catchy name of
the brand which makes it stands apart from other brands at airport like W, Croma
and Landmark

25% customers liked the items at shop but preferred to order online to avoid the
hassles of carrying items in aircraft

10% of customers were pretty excited about Happily Unmarried shop. They were the
old customers of Happily Unmarried. Good thing about them was that they were still
positive about the brand

10% of customers knew the brand because of online publicity or through friends but
they were visiting the shop first time
Series1,
Never Heard
of HU
Loyal
to HU

Series1,
Prefer to
shop online,
25%, 25%
Series1,
Heard but
visting first
time, 10%,
10%

Figure 1: Customer Statistics

iresrespectiv
e
Heard but online/brick
visting first
time
mortar ,
Prefer to shop online
Series1,
Never
Heard of
Loyal to HU
HU, 55%,
iresrespective
55%
online/brick mortar

Reasons for passengers entering the shop

o

50% of passengers who entered the shop were because of quirky name of the brand

There were 25% of window shoppers who roamed around just to pass time

15% of passengers liked the items on display from outside the shop specially
doormats, t-shirts, cushion covers and coffee mugs

They loved the concept of the shop and asked questions about us. Who are your
designers? How do we own a franchise?

Series1, Have
lots of time
before flight (
Window
shopping), 25%,
25%
Series1,
Loyal to
the brand ..cant
leave without
checking out
new items, 10%,
10%
Series1, Querky
display, 15%,
15%

Name of the brand is quite

catchy
Querky display
Series1,
Name of the
brand is
Loyal to the brand ..cant
quite catchy,
leave without checking out
50%, 50%
new items
Have lots of time before
flight ( Window shopping)

Figure 2: Reasons for entering the shop

Things that could have been better in shop

o

When we asked customers what they think should have been done differently in the
shop maximum were of opinion that some of the items should be little less costly.
For example: Ice Tray which is of Rs. 600/- . Customers did not perceive its value to
be of Rs. 600/-

Due to the corner location of Happily Unmarried shop, passengers who sit in
common lounge cannot see the shop. Passengers who come out in search of shops
can only see Happily Unmarried shop. So passengers who do not know about the
shop hardly visit the shop

Most of the shot glasses, which are in preset pairs, are identical. For example: Theka
Desi Sharab shot glass. Customers wanted to choose different shot glasses which are
not identical but which was not possible for preset pairs

There was often a time when customer did not find t-shirts of their sizes.

Have a section of new products launched. Especially for those regular customers
who are looking for something new

Series1,
Unavailability
in sizes
(Specially in
Tshirts), 20%,

Series1, No
Little costly
discount
on
Series1,
large
bills,
Little
10%, 10%
costly,
Less visibilty at the airport
40%, 40%

Series1, Less
freedom of
choosing items
due to
predefined

Less
Less freedom ofSeries1,
choosing
visibilty
at
items due to predefined the
airport, 10%,
sets
10%

Figure 3: Things that could have been better

New Items that customer want to see

o

30% of customers who entered Happily Unmarried shop asked for t-shirts, metal
signs, magnets based on Bollywood and Mumbai themes

There was also demand for stylish cell phone cases

Right now happily unmarried do not have any glow and v-neck in the dark t-shirt
which can be wore in parties

A lot of women were disappointed that there werent enough tee-shirts for them

More variety in shot glasses and other bar accessories

The customers loved the bags, but asked for more colours and patterns. The Antiestablished bag was one of the fastest selling products but was often met with
questions like do you have this in another colour?

Series1,
Backpacks for
Laptops, 15%,
15%

Series1, Pocket
diaries, 10%, 10%

Series1, Wrist
band, caps,
wallets, 10%,
10%

Series1, V-neck
and night glow
tshirts, 10%, 10%

Figure 4: New items that customers wanted to see

More bollywood themed

products specially metal
signs, tshirts
Series1,
More
Cell phone
accessories
( Ex.
bollywood
Cases)
themed products
specially
metal
V-neck
and night
glow tshirts
signs, tshirts,
30%, 30%
Pocket diaries

Series1, Backpacks
Cell
for Laptops
phone
accessories ( Ex.
Cases), 25%, 25%

3.

Inventory Handling and pricing of products

Inventory

We observed that the inventory handling at the shop was done rather poorly since there
was no central system to keep a count of products that were already present at the store.
What we did in May was manually reduce the number of items sold everyday from the
inventory that came in. This is a tedious task and susceptible to human error.
Due to this, it was difficult to keep track about what products were in the store room and
which were on floor.

Pricing of Products

One of the most regular comments we got from customers was that the price was too steep.
Some of the fairly priced products are:
i. Heart Warming Lamp : Rs. 400
ii. Doormats: Rs. 500
iii. Set of 4/6 Chai Cups: Rs. 450/650
iv. We need to talk game: Rs. 600
v. Magnets: Ps. 150
Some of the over priced products:
i. Shot Glass Ice Tray: Rs. 600
ii. Scarves and stoles: Rs 1200
iii. Serving spoon: Rs. 1000
iv. Diaries: Rs. 450
v. Sling Bags: Rs 1100
We understand that people pay for creativity, but due to this high price of certain products,
customers are discourages to buy and percieve the brand are an expensive one
The Rs.950 for Whiskey Drinkers glasses and Rs.700 for a tee shirt, though are high, we see
that people do buy it for the creativity and uniqueness

4.

Findings of Primary research at different locations in Mumbai

4.1 Analysing strength and weaknesses of each location
We analysed the various locations based 3 factors:
1. Accessibility of the location
2. Target Market/Groups
3. Presence of competitiors

Colaba
Strengths

Tap tourists from all over the world

Colaba causeway is for shops selling quirky products so our brand can easily blend in
There are colleges like Xaviers , HR , K C , Jay Hind , JBIMS, Sydnam in the vicinity. So , it will
be helpful to cater to young crowd
Proximity to other tourist spots and famous eateries like Mondegar Leopold

Weakness
Rent will be really high
We will not be able to reach out to suburban crowd (Crowd from Bandra Borivali)
Colaba is at one end of Mumbai so travelling to Colaba is little cumbersome. It has more
occasional shoppers than regular shoppers
Opportunities

Presence of various colleges nearby will help in understanding the need of the market
Since Colaba is famous for its antiques, Happily Unmarried would fit in with the kind of
shops there

Threats

Already well established shop Amber (Established in 1971) which is famous in colaba
causeway for gift products, Souveniers

Bandra
Strengths

Centrally located
Amalgamation of street shopping and branded products
Variety of crowd
Maximum percentage of our target age group
Presence of colleges like National, MMK , Thadomal, Rizvi etc

Weaknesses

Most of the people prefer street shopping over branded shopping

People spend less time in actually understanding new products as most of the visitors are
quick shoppers

Opportunities

Presence of various colleges nearby will help in understanding the need of the market

Threats
Bandra is perceived as a one-stop destination for apparels. Gift items are not so well
recognized here.
Bandra has affordable non branded tee shirt shops
Presence of too many brands may camouflage the shop

Lokhandwala
Strengths

A lot of TV actors and high profile youth stay here, making them a perfect target audience
Commercial space available at an affordable price.

Weaknesses

Parking and transportation is a problem

Opportunities

The new metro that has started will increase accessibility to lokhandwala

Threats

Malls in the vicinity reduces the customer base that we expect

The rest of the locations like the malls- High Street Pheonix, Inorbit Mall, Infiniti Mall, Rcity Mall
were not analyzed because of their inaccessible locations or presence of competitiors.

4.2 Dealers and brokers details of each location

Location

Colaba

Bandra

Carpet
Area
Floor
(sqft)

Expecte
d Rent
(Rs.) per
month

Cause way
Peddar Road - Near
Florist
Behind Taj
Colaba Wodehouse
Road
Cuffe Parade Makers Shopping
Arcade

400

Ground

400000

400

Ground

1,10,000

600

Ground

150000

400

Ground

110000

418

Ground

110000

Hill Road

300

Ground

125000

Sub-Location

Range(Rs)/
Comment

Broker
Name

Broker
Mobile
No.

110000400000

N Y estate Nadeem

9820488734

70000-

Samreen

9820811644

Malad
Andheri
Lokhand
wala

Chapel Road
Saint Hohn Bapist
Road
Hill Road
Pali Hill
Bandra west station
road
Bandra west station
road
Pali naka
St. Sebastian Road
Waterfield Road
Pali naka
Hill Road
Link Road

350

Ground

140000

250

Ground

125000

340
380

Ground
Ground

250000
150000

240

Ground

70000

300

Ground

70000

300
275
375
370
300
300

Ground

115000
175000
120000
85000
95000
135000

Inorbit mall

186.22

Ground

Not yet
disclosed

Lokhandwala Market

450

Ground

120000

Ground
Ground
Ground
Ground
Ground

250000

100000200000

Harsh

9768141847

Anil Gogia
and Abhishek

9821814333
And
9819162580

(Store)
and Chirag
(Kiosk)

9819184413
(Store)
and
9769948619
(kiosk)

Mr. Anish

9819104364

Anuradha

Vikhroli

Lower
Parel

Goregaon

Rcity Mall

427

Not yet
disclosed

High Street Phoenix

As of now
there is no
vacancy.
We have
shared the
Happily
Unmarried
presentatio
n with
them. They
will let us
know in
case of
vacant
shop

Infinity 2

No vacancy
and not
interested

5.

Our experience at Happily Unmarried shop , Mumbai

Initial days
We started our internship on the 11th of April with a lot of zeal and excitement to see what
was to come. Working at the airport was a new experience for both of us and it was
intriguing to see the security procedures at the airport and pass collection. Initially, we were
confused with so many products, with so many different prices. But the Sagar sir and the
staff made sure we were comfortable. We spent the first few days knowing about the
products, their catchy taglines and knowing the people around us and the way of working.
Staff
We had a great time in meeting all the new people and learning about their experiences at
Happily Unmarried. They were friendly and accomodating and we tried to help them out as
much as we could during sales. We learnt about their targets for the month and their quest
for a WOW bill, every now and then. We shared our experiences over lunch or snacks and
had a good laugh over some incidents. It was great working with all of them.
Interaction with the customers
Happily Unmarried has utility products that are quirky. That is a excellent combination for all
age group. We would observe the customers as they make buying decisions. It was mostly
the women who would make the purchase decision. Kids were often the influencing lot with
keychains and other small products. We saw a lot of families and couples buy things from
the store contradicting the brand name. Most of the people bought things for gifting. Thus a
lot of foreigners and people from other cities, who were looking for a momento for Mumbai
were a little dissapointed.
New stock experience
Both the months that we were in the shop, we experienced the inflow of new products and
the chaos associated with it. There were 27 boxes once and we remember how difficult it
was to check all of them and segregate them to their storage. It was a good experience
though. We learnt how inventory is managed and also understood the importance of
keeping a proper stock count.
Looked at shops from business perspective
The task of finding a location in Mumbai helped us look at shops from a business
perspective, something that we never did. Finding out the property prices and finding the
correct location helped us understand a part of retail marketing and how important a
location is a brand. We interacted with brokers and gave them the requirements. Some of
the places they showed us were amazing, whereas some were not so good.

6.

Recommendations

Opening a shop in Bandra

Having analyzed the various locations in Mumbai, Bandra is one the places highly
recommended to open a Happily Unmarried outlet.

Mumbai Shop Publicity through Facebook

Most of the passengers that visited the shop knew about Happily Unmarried brand and
they also had bought Happily Unmarried stuff online but they did not know that Happily
Unmarried shop is also opened at Mumbai domestic airport.
Right now, Happily unmarried has reach of around 2,80,000 people through Facebook.
Happily Unmarried should use this reach to help people know about Happily Unmarried
shops at various locations periodically.

Have an inventory system in place

For a brand that has so many products and tee shirts in different sizes, it becomes important
to keep a count of the number of products sold. Instead of running to the inventory to
check for items, a centralized inventory system should be made where everydays purchases
would decrease the stock count.

Increasing customer loyalty

Happily Unmarried can start something like Hall Of Fame for customers who are frequent
buyers or who do large bills. Hall of Fame can be a list of special customers names put up in
the shop or if some customer helps in doing wow sale ,his/her photo can be taken by mobile
in the shop and put up on our website or facebook in a subtle way. This will make customer
feel special and can be alternative to providing discount.

Availability of T-shirt sizes

Most of happily unmarried t-shirts have quirky adult humour. Customers who would be
buying that would require Large, XL and XXL sizes. So shop should have more stock of these
three sizes and small amount of small and medium sizes.

Crew T-shirts
As you can see in above charts , 53% of passengers did not know about Happily Unmarried
brand , crew wearing t-shirts which have only Happily Unmarried Crew written on it do not
inform passengers that there is lifestyle product shop inside airport where we can buy fun
things
Crew t-shirts should be as creative as our other t-shirts because at airport it is not possible to
put signboards to inform passengers about the shop but this can be done by crew members
who can roam around in airport with some funky Happily Unmarried t-shirts

Pairs of identical items

There are many shot glasses which are same but come in pairs. Many customers felt like
buying one of them but could not do so as they come in pair. If possible, Happily Unmarried

can sell these identical shot glasses individually or allow customers to make their own pair
from sets of identical glasses.

Partnering with youth centric lounges and pubs in Mumbai

Happily Unmarried can look for showcasing their bar merchandise by partnering with He
Said She Said which is happening lounge in Andheri , West famous for its different kinds of
shots. Partnering with Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai in their youth festival can also help Happily
Unmarried to introduce their brand to youth of Mumbai.