INTRODUCTION Our learning team conducted research on Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited.

Pantaloons is
an Indian premium apparel retail chain with more than hundred fashion stores across forty
cities and towns. The first store launched by Pantaloons was in Gariahat, Kolkata in the year
1997. It was previously controlled by Future Group, but has recently been taken over by
Aditya Birla Group. Pantaloons features among 100 most trusted brands as per Brand Trust
Report 2014. They have the largest retail space in India i.e. 1.7 million square feet and is
continuously expanding it's footprint into the rest of modern and fashion conscious India.
Pantaloons Retail & Fashion Limited stores constantly keep facing huge competition from
other big players in the market like Shoppers Stop, Westside, FBB by Big Bazaar, Trent etc.,
and due to this reason also they keep offering discount sales to attract as many new customers
as they can.
Pantaloons offers more than two hundred brands which constitutes a mix of exclusive private
labels, licensed brands and much more in clothing and accessories. We chose to conduct our
live project survey on the clothing products of Pantaloons on which they constantly keep
offering variety of discounts. They offer a wide range of exclusive brands under the
following three clothing product categories.

Men's Wear
Women's Wear
Kid's Wear
Indus Route
Izabel
Chirpie Pie
The San Frisco Jeans Co.
The San Frisco Jeans Co.
Chalk
Byford
Candie's
Poppers
Bare Denim
Bare Denim
Bare Kids
Bare Leisure
Honey
Akkriti
RIG Utility Clothing
Annabelle
JM Sport Classic
Thrishaa
Alto Moda
Jamini
Lombard
Akkriti
Factor
Rang Manch
Ajile
Alto Moda
Mufti
Ajile
The Pantaloons Payback Green Card membership initiative is a very unique and exclusive
loyalty membership program which has been designed for their regular customers to enhance
customer experience. They have almost four million members under this program and it
entitles them to various discounts and special privileges at all Pantaloons stores. These
members are eligible to avail additional discounts on purchase of any product including
1
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted

discounted items. The discount sales are mostly offered on all items in a product category and
not just on any specific set of brands. Generally it is offered on men's and women's wear
category. Only discount values vary from one brand to another. There are rarely any discounts
given for kid's wear brands as the margins are low in this category.

2
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted

OBSERVATION The basic idea of discount sales organised by various businesses is to sell out old stocks along
with some fresh stocks. These business outlets lure in customers using various sales
promotion tools claiming huge discounts for different category of products. Along with the
discounted product and brands they try to sell out as many fresh collection items as possible.
This was well observed by our learning team as we did our research on discount sales in
Pantaloons. We visited a Pantaloons apparel store offering upto 50% off discounts on all
brands, but they had hidden terms and conditions. Also, the value of discount was not fixed
for all products. Some brands and products had higher discount while few others offered
lower discount. The customers generally want to purchase those brands or products which
have lower discount rates as they are more alluring. In such a scenario it is very difficult to
persuade customers and make them buy fresh stocks as well. What was note worthy is that
the store representatives tried to lure customers by offering them various offers like in men's
apparel they offered "buy two shirts for Rs. 2099 and get a third shirt for free", but often
these shirts are from old stocks. Same was in the case of women's segment where the sales
executives motivate customers by saying that a particular dress would look much better on
them if they wore it with matching shoes or shrugs. In this way the dress is being sold on
discount but the matching accessories are from fresh stocks and are being sold at nondiscounted price.
The store representatives also try to lure the customers with fancy presentations. For instance,
they stand in front of big cut-outs of models or celebrities wearing an outfit next to the
discounted items section. The cut-outs attract the attention of customers in that direction and
the sales executives immediately start communicating with them, answering their queries,
explaining about various discounts/ offers and slowly try to divert them towards the new
stocks as well. Also, the showcase of mannequins wearing fresh arrivals lure them.
The main idea behind such strategies is to attract more and more customers to come and visit
their stores after hearing about sales and purposely motivating them to buy or at least try the
fresh collection too. The customers visit Pantaloons thinking that all the stocks are
discounted, but realize that there are fresh stocks as well in the store and often find them
more appealing. These are some innovative tactics used by the apparel stores to increase their
footfall and sales. Most of the time such verbal and non verbal communication strategies
work very efficiently and lead to positive outcomes.
3
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted

We asked the store manager and few sales representatives of Pantaloons, Hazratganj various
questions regarding discount sale activities taking place at their store and our key findings
were that Pantaloons conduct these sale events on various seasons like the end of winter sale ,
fall sale etc.. At the same time they also offer discounts during various festive occasions.
Findings of our research :
Pantaloons generally follows a pattern regarding discount sales where they keep end
of season sale, winter sale or diwali sale. At times the company also rolls out various
discount offers for selected brands and it mostly depends on availability of stocks in
such brands. Many times, the brand wants to cast away certain items from their
collection and launch fresh items. Therefore, the store organizes various sales as per
the requirements of that brand. Pantaloons communicate about these discount offer
events using both verbal and non-verbal channels of communication like TV
advertisements, newspaper advertisements, SMS & through social media. Sometimes
they even hire temporary sales representatives who are stationed outside malls to
verbally communicate this message to any customer entering the mall.
Sometimes, while communicating with a customer the sales executive start by
explaining about discount offers and at times are unable to convert it into sales. This
is because when they try to divert the mind of a customer towards new stock apparels
then they are unable to create a proper connection which leads to miscommunication
and the store ends up losing a customer. As per our understanding most of the
customers come to Pantaloons to buy discounted items and it is very necessary to use
an efficient communication strategy to make them buy fresh items as well. As per our
survey on three parameters that attract customers of both genders and all age groups
we have created the following graph :

Percentage of Visitors
Quality of Products
Percentage of Visitors

Assortment of Products
Discount Offers and Sales
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

4
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted

 As per their past experiences, maximum footfall occurs during diwali and winter Sale.
During this time, families reunite and they generally tend to go shopping together so it
automatically increases the number of visitors in apparel stores which directly results
in the increase of sales.
As per the recent trends and buying behavior of customers analyzed by the store
manager and representatives, men are the ones who usually get more attracted
towards sale season. We ourselves did a little survey and asked a few willing
customers in the store about this belief of the store representatives and found out that
56% of men admitted that they visit the store only when there is sale available in the
store and only 44% women admitted that they visit the store only during sale. Women
dont mind visiting or buying from the store even during no sale period.
Moreover, we also asked women how frequently do they visit the store and our
findings were :
o Maximum number of female customers tend to visit only once a month as
after many past experiences they feel that the discount sales are a cover up to
sell out fresh stocks. So, according to them if they have to buy fresh items
only then what's the point of waiting for discount offers to come. Somehow,
we feel that there's a lack of proper communication from the store employee's
end.
o Only a select few female customers are willing to visit the apparel retail
outlets whenever there's any sale going on. This means that the core message
behind these discount sale events are not reaching out properly and effectively
in form of both verbal and non verbal communication.
On our further questioning of how well they tackle situations where shoppers resort to
bad mouthing when they are unable to find a product of their choice or brand at
discounted prices, their response was satisfactory. According to them, every now and
then there are a few cases when certain customers demand discounts for all products
on display which can't be fulfilled. Also, there are size issues, unavailability of colors
and designs, limited choice of brands and disparity of discount values. In such a
scenario it's very hard to pacify such customers and convince them to switch their
choice and preferences. We further asked them that do such situations occur when a
particular discounted product which is desirable by many customers get out of stock
and if so then how do they handle it. It turns out that in this case the sales executives
become helpless and either avoid or are unable to guide such dissatisfied customers.
In the long run Pantaloons ends up losing loyalty of quite a few clients.
5
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted

 As per our survey and based on past experiences of sales representatives, the age
group that get most attracted towards these sale periods are mainly between 25 - 45
years of age which comprises of working group people in their early jobs whereas
only 5% of teenagers get attracted to these discount and sales.

Percentage of Customers Attracted Towards Discount Sales

45 Years and Above; 5% Younger than 18 Years; 5%
Between 18 - 25 Years; 40%
Between 25 - 45 Years; 50%

While conducting this live project we went around the store observing various
activities going on around us. One particular thing came to our notice that the sales
executives are allotted specific brands and segments to which they cater and keep
knowledge about. We saw that when some customers enquired to a particular
executive about a brand for which he was not responsible, he seemed to be clueless
and couldn't guide them properly as he had no idea about that particular brand. So, the
customer got disappointed and left the store without enquiring any further. It came as
a big surprise to us when we found out that the brand for which the earlier customer
was looking for is actually available in the store in a different section. So, lack of
information and improper communication lead to the loss of a customer.

6
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted

CONCLUSIONS According to our survey on discount sale activities in Pantaloons, Hazratganj we came across
the following strengths and weaknesses of various communication strategies that were
implemented by the store manager and his subordinates.
Strengths :
o The sales representatives were able to communicate both verbally and nonverbally about the multiple discount offers to customers and grab their
complete attention.
o The ambience and atmosphere of the store was such that it automatically
attracts customers.
o The big hoardings and print media also did a great a job of communicating
about the sale to people.
o The store manager, sales representatives and executives were very well
dressed which is pleasing to the eyes of the customers and gave a wellorganized look to the store.
o The store manager had very good English communication skills, confident
body language and was well informed.
Weaknesses :
o Due to discount sales in Pataloons there is huge footfall, and in this scenario
sales representatives were sometimes unable to handle customers. They started
showing signs of nervousness and faltered while communicating with some
customers which leaves a bad impression.
o At times, the store executives display rude behavior especially at billing
counters when they are unable to manage the rush at these counters. It leads to
chaos and a bad customer experience.
o There was some lack of coordination as well. It was quite evident as we saw
that any sales executive assigned to a particular brand or segment seemed to
have little knowledge about other brands or segments. These executives were
unable to guide shoppers about any additional discount schemes that were
being given by a few brands in particular.
o Lack of proper training could be easily seen as some of the representatives
were even unable to communicate in proper English and rather used more of
Hindi words. This does not go well with the brand image of Pantaloons.
We feel that the earlier mentioned communication problems and weaknesses can well be
sorted out with through a proper training programme in English communication skills for all
7
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted

the executives and representatives. Also, they should be constantly shifted from one
brand/segment to another which will help them gain detailed knowledge about the entire store
and all its brands. Moreover, they should be tested for patience as 'Patience is a Virtue'.
According to us, various simulated activities should be conducted by the store manager for all
employees to make them learn how to work under pressure during discount sale periods.
They should avoid making the customers wait for too long even if there's huge rush.
Whenever any particular item which is in high demand as well as carries a huge discount
gets out of stock and a lot of angry customers need to be handled. In such a scenario, the
executives should use smart strategies like assuring return of same merchandise with higher
discounts, offering higher discounts for a different item of the same product type or persuade
them towards a different brand altogether. It is more efficient than avoiding them or arguing
with them as he/she may or may not create a new sale, but will surely be able to create a
positive relation with the customer for future prospects. Most customers face issues during
billing and that is where the store should work to improve and provide impeccable services to
their clients. Our team felt that Pantaloons should avoid using cover up techniques for
discount sales in form of non-verbal communication like advertisements, hoardings and
posters. It leaves a negative impression on the customers as when they come for shopping of
discounted items and realize that even fresh stocks are being sold. Being truthful and honest
would create a long term customer business relationship. It is because of these cover up
discount sales that many apparel retailers like Pantaloons are losing out hordes of customers
to e-retailers like Flipkart and Myntra.

8
Submitted By: Learning Team-LTC06
To: Dr. Hyma Apparaju

Submitted