Store positioning strategy

Retail positioning is the fight for a place in the consumers mind. Different retailers work to
secure a place in the mind of the target consumer. Retailers need to create an image in the
consumer’s mind relative to their competitors so that consumers shop at their retail shop.

Positioning has to be more specific to create an impression on the consumer’s mind. The
strategies followed needs to be well defined whether a retail store is a specialised store or a
general store.

For example, consider three stores:

1. 1. A supermarket which includes footwear department

2. 2. A store specially dedicated to footwear
3. 3. A store specially dedicated to women’s footwear

In this situation, the positioning of retailer in consumer’s mind drives them to the store.
Women/men looking for footwear along with their monthly general household needs will opt
for the supermarket. The second scenario attracts both men and women who are on look out
for footwear only. The third scenario attracts only women looking for footwear.

Consider another example of three different stores selling apparels:

1. 1. A retail store selling high price high quality apparels

2. 2. A retail store selling med price medium quality apparels
3. 3. A retail store selling low price low quality apparels

Here, a woman/man looking out for apparels for an occasion or a festival might tend to opt for
the first scenario. The second scenario might attract a woman/man who is looking out for
normal wear and which is also durable for some period of time. The third scenario might
attract a woman/man who does not want to spend too much money on clothes.

If retailers follow strategies which are defined clearly in positioning the store then it would
improve in driving traffic more towards the store.

Many strategies on quality, cost and shopping experience of customer can be designed
specifically to create an image and position itself in target customer’s mind.

These tactics can be measured, quantified and can be integrated into analytical model. The
models developed can be utilised to forecast sales with accepted level of risk associated in the
market.

Introduction
Retailing involves all activities incidental to selling to ultimate consumer for their personnel
family and household use. It does this by organizing their availability on a relatively large
scale and supplying them to a customers on arelatively smallscale. Retailer is any
person/organization instrumental in reaching the goods or merchandise oer services to the
end users.Retailer is a must and cannot be eliminated.
The Indian retailing industry is becoming intensely competitive, as more and more payers are
Vying for the same set of customers. The major retail players are Pantaloon Retail, Shoppers
Stop, Reliance,etc..,
Retailing is one of the biggest sectors and it is witnessing revolution in India. The new entrant
in retailing in India signifies the beginning of retail revolution. India's retail market is expected
to grow tremendously in next few years. According to AT Kearney, The Windows of
Opportunity shows that Retailing in India was at opening stage in 1995 and now it is in
peaking stage in 2006. India's retail market is expected to grow tremendously in next few
years. India shows US$330 billion retail market that is expected to grow 10% a year, with
modern retailing just beginning. India ranks first in 2005. In fact, in 2005 and 2006, India is
the most compelling opportunity for retailers, because now India is in peaking stage.
This window of opportunity is useful for executives who plan their market-specific strategies;
the four stages or the lifecycle of this industry is as as follows:
Introduction:
An introduction is the opening phase of a market and is one that is just entering the GRDI,
Global Retail Development Index This index is based on more than 25 macro-economic and
retail –specific variables.for instance ,the country risk includes parameters like political
risk,economic performance,debt indicators,credit ratings,access bank finance and business
risk.The market attractiveness covers reail sales per capita ,urban population ,laws and
regulations and business efficiency.
Iin this stage all, which are outside the top 30 markets, falls in this stage. At this stage,
retailers should monitor and performing high-level assessments, they should plan for their
entry strategies. India in the late 1990's is a good example in the opening stage, while in
2006, Kazakhstan is the country in introduction stage.
Stategy suggested:A rapid penetration strategy is suggested at this stage i>e low price and
high promotion.
Growth:
In growth stage, the market is developing quickly and also ready for modern retailing.
Countries, which are in Peaking stage, are India, Ukraine and Vietnam. Retailers entering this
stage have the best chance for long-term success. Retailers at this stage should enter through
local representations, sourcing offices and new stores. Wal-Mart success in china in the late
1990's and early 2000's gives us the importance of committing to a promising high-growth
market at right time.
Strategy suggested: The strategy of adopting quality and styled products with new models
and shift of advertising from product awareness to product preference Eg the big bazaar advt
says surf exel is cheaper than the market price.The idea behind adopting strategy is to
strengthen against competitors.

Maturity:
In this stage the market is still big and growing, but the space for new entrants will become
tighter and retailers should act quickly at this stage because retailers at this stage have
limited time to explore, and also their margin for error is thin. In general , they should act
according to the established rules and should be open to face the competition from
international retailers. This stage generally lasts longer than the previous two stages.
Strategy suggested: Enter new market segments that is either enter new geographic areas eg
vishal megha mart has opened stores in smaller cities tier II and III cities

Decline:
The window of opportunity is closing fast and modern retail share is reaching 40 to 60 percent.
Though the opportunity is closing the existing retailers can enter with new formats such as
discount models or non-food formats such as consumer electronics and apparel.
Window of opportunity ends for about 5 to 10years before a market enters the closing phase
and reaches saturation level. India for example, was in the opening stage in 1995 and entered
peaking stage in the year 2003 and reached number 1 rank in2005.
Strategy suggested: Identifying weak segments, maintaining investment level selectively.
Unorganized retailing in India
In India, the most of the retail sector is unorganized. In India, the retail business contributes
around 11 percent of GDP. Of this, the organized retail sector accounts only for about 3
percent share, and the remaining share is contributed by the unorganized sector. The main
challenge facing the organized sector is the competition from unorganized sector. Unorganized
retailing has been there in India for centuries, theses are named as mom-pop stores. The
main advantage in unorganized retailing is consumer familiarity that runs from generation to
generation. It is a low cost structure, they are mostly operated by owners, has very low real
estate and labor costs and has low taxes to pay.
Organized retailing in India
In late 1990's the retail sector has witnessed a level of transformation. Retailing is being
perceived as a beginner and as an attractive commercial business for organized business i.e.
the pure retailer is starting to emerge now. Organized retail business in India is very small but
has tremendous scope. The total in 2005 stood at $225 billion, accounting for about 11% of
GDP. In this total market, the organized retail accounts for only $8 billion of total revenue.
According to A T Kearney, the organized retailing is expected to be more than $23 billion
revenue by 2010.
In organized retailing will grow faster than unorganized sector and the growth speed will be
responsible for its high market share, which is expected to be $ 17 billion by 2010-11.
Retailing will show good prospects in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, kolkata, Banglore and
Kanpur. After Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong, In India Delhi will be the next big retail
destination, According to Confederation of Indian Industries whose findings have shown that
Delhi has the good resources and good conditions for the retail sector. Out of the total
earnings of the Government of Delhi Rs 11,000 crore, Rs 6,500 crore is achieved from the
retail sector.
- Share of Organised Retail

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indiachallenges-opportunties-and-strategies-158550.html#ixzz124PAukOk
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Kolkata, May 15: Raymond Ltd, the textile and apparel major owning brands like Color
Plus, Park Avenue, Parx, Manzoni, Be, and Zapp children wear, is aiming to increase its
retail top line to Rs 1100 crore by 2010 from Rs 700 crore at present.

Aniruddha Deshmukh, Raymond's president for retail strategy will lead to growth. The
plan is to increase the number of retail stores to 950 by 2010 from 430 at present across
the globe, he said.

Of the 430 retail stores, comprising The Raymond Shop and exclusive brand outlets,
across 170 cities on on 10 lakh sqft, 355 are The Raymond Shop, of which 328 are in India and
27 abroad.

Deshmukh said the company has all along been stressing on the franchisee model with 90% of
The Raymond Shop being franchised out as it attains a quicker breakeven. Thus, the expansion
plan would also put emphasis on the model. Exclusive brand outlets are all Raymond-owned.

Generally, these exclusive brand outlets and The Raymond Shop in the malls take longer in
breaking even. Since expansion would involve a huge investment, late breakeven would put
pressure on the company's bottom line, Deshmukh said.

Although he did not disclose the expansion investment, Deshmukh said Raymond would be
covering 20 lakh sqft retail space by 2010.

He said to further strengthen its retail presence, Raymond will focus on tier-II, III, IV and V cities.
At present, it has 76 stores in small towns, which contribute around 12-13% to its total turnover.

For West Bengal, Raymond is planning to double the number of stores and take it up to 50 by
2010, Deshmukh said
 Questionnaire for retailers

Q1. What attracts the customer to your store?

1. location
2. brand
3. product range & quality
4. discounts & offers
5. services

Q2. Is the positioning of the store rightly done after market survey?
1. agree
2. disagree

Q3. Which retail format does you store follows?

1. specialty store
2. supermarket/ hypermarket
3. category killers
4. conveners
5. departmental store

Q4. Does your store look or retail layout correct?

1. agree
2. disagree
3. needs improvement

Q5. Which type of layout is your store based upon?

1. Grid layout
2. Race track / loop layout
3. Free form / boutique layout

Q6. Does the position of your store is attracting competitors?

1. agree
2. disagree

Q7. What are your target customers?

1. infants
2. kids (8- 12yrs)
3. teenager
4. adults
5. senior citizens

Q8. Does your store layout and position creating brand loyal customers?
1. agree
2. disagree
3. don’t know
Q9. Do you think that your merchandise planning has helped in increasing your store
sales?
1. agree
2. disagree
3. improvement needed

Questionnaire for customers

Q1. What attracts you to shop in a store?

1. product range & quality
2. ambience
3. services
4. display
5. offers & discounts

Q2. In which type of retail form would you shop?

1. malls
2. super market / hypermarkets
3. specialty store
4. e- tailing
5. kirana store

Q3. Which of the factors affect your shopping?

1. location
2. grapics & signages
3. health & safety standards
4. parking area
5. atmospherics

Q4. Which type of customer you are?

1. loyal customer
2. discount customer
3. impluse customer
4. need based customer
5. wandering customer

Q5. Does availability of stock affects your store preference?

1. yes
2. no
3. depends on need
 Q6. Your age group?
1. 13- 20
2. 21 – 29
3. 30 – 39
4. 40 – 50
5. 50 and above

Q7. Which store will you prefer for formal cloths?

1. raymonds
2. big bazar
3. van heusen
4. wills lifestyle

Q8. How frequently do you go for shopping?

1. weekly
2. monthly
3. once in six months
4. annually
5. only at the time of sale

Any suggestions you would like to see in the stores while shopping
The Raymond Group (BSE: 500330) is one of India's largest clothing and apparel
companies, with over 60% market share in India. Established in 1925 it has a net earnings
of Rs. 2,100 crores. It sells textiles, readymade garments, engineering tools, prophylactics
and toiletries. Vijaypat Singhania is the chairman emeritus of the company and Gautam
Singhania the Managing Director.

Contents
[edit] Company Divisions
[hide]
• 1.Textile
• 1 Company Divisions
• 2 Brands
With a capacity of 35 million meters in wool &
• 3 Raymond's Joint Ventures
wool-blended fabrics, Raymond commands over
• 4 Beyond Business
60% market share in worsted suiting in India and
• 5 External links
ranks amongst the first three fully integrated
manufacturers of worsted suiting in the world.[1].
• 6 References
• 2.Engineering

J.K. Files & Tools and Ring Plus Aqua Ltd. are the group companies that are engaged in
the manufacture of precision engineering products such as steel files, cutting tools, hand
tools, agri tools and auto components.

• 3.Aviation

Raymond Ltd. is one of the first Corporate House in India to launch Air Charter Services
in India in 1996.[2].

[edit] Brands
• Raymond

Raymond manufactures worsted suiting fabric in fine grade wool. Raymond's domestic
distribution is spread with more than 30,000 outlets that stock and sell Raymond's range
of fabrics.

• Manzoni

Manzoni is a luxury lifestyle brand offering a range of formal wear and sportswear
including shirts, suits, trousers, jackets, ties and leather accessories.

• ColorPlus
ColorPlus is one of India's premium casual wear brands offering shirts, trousers, knits and
survival gear. Some of the technological innovations it is well known for; include
thermo-fused buttons, golf balls, rough jeans, wrinkle technology, stain-free fabric, and
the cone dyed technique.[3].

• Zapp!

Raymond's range of kids wear. The brand brings to 4–12 years a wide range of clothes,
accessories, bed and bath linen and more. The first Zapp! store has been launched in
Ahmedabad with ten more on their way.

• Be: HOME

Be: HOME is a specialty multi brand Home Retail Chain that present soft home
furnishings & accessories which are sourced from across the globe (private &
International). Spanning from a mid to premium pricing range, Be: HOME provides an
assortment of quilts, blankets, robes, apparels, wall décor, vases, candles, gourmet
cooking range.

• Park Avenue

Launched in 1986, Park Avenue is premium formal wear brand. The brand has received
the 'Most Admired Menswear Brand' for the year 2009.[4]

• Parx

Parx is a 'premium casual lifestyle' brand bringing semi-formal and casual clothes for 22-
30 year olds. Parx was launched in 1999.

• Notting Hill

This brand caters to popular price segment offering affordable choice to people
transitioning from tailored clothing to readymade[5].The brand collection features men's
lifestyle products comprising suits, shirts, trousers, jeans, t-shirts and also accessories like
ties, handkerchiefs and socks.

• The Raymond Shop

The Raymond Shop is a retail store offering complete wardrobe solutions for men.[6].

[edit] Raymond's Joint Ventures

Raymond UCO Denim Pvt. Ltd. The manufacturers and marketers of denim fabrics.

Raymond Zambaiti Pvt. Ltd. A Greenfield facility manufacturing cotton shirting.

J.K. Ansell Ltd. The manufacturers and marketers of KamaSutra condoms and surgical
gloves.

J.K. Talabot Ltd. Joint venture with MOB Outillage SA, manufacturing files and rasps
for international markets.

[edit] Beyond Business

• Raymond Embryo Research Centre for cattle and J. K. Trust Gram Vikas
Yojana

Along with manufacturing and brand building, retail is one of the strongest pillars of our
growth.

The Raymond Retail Shops are premium retail stores offering men
complete wardrobe solutions. There are over 500 exclusive 'The Raymond Shop' (TRS)
stores in India and 39 outlets overseas in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh. More »

Retail analysts say Raymond has now adopted a holistic approach of organizing and
exploring its brands unlike some other retailers who have stopped at tweaking prices,
switching formats and closing outlets.

Over the past few months, retailers such as Indus-League Clothing Ltd, Celebrity
Fashions Pvt. Ltd and Madura Garments, owner of the the premium Van Heusen and
Allen Solly brands, have fine-tuned prices, offered more options at lower prices and
revamped their womenswear line to stem sliding revenue.

As a large retailer, Raymond has not yet fully explored the potential of all its its brands,
said Prashant Agarwal, associate vice-president at Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd, a
management consultancy. “It should take this opportunity to first organize its portfolio,
look at segments that have growth potential and then decide on expansion plans.”

Better supply chain management, relating primarily to sourcing costs and inventory
control, has already fetched good results for companies such as Marks and Spencer
Group Plc, which has started buying material locally wherever sales have picked up, he
added.
Rachna Aggarwal, chief executive of Indus League, a part of Future Group that sells
brands such as Scullers, Indigo Nation, Urbana and Urban Yoga, told Mint earlier in
September that sales had improved after the firm cut prices, but it was too early to predict
the quarterly trend.

While retailers have promoted value brands during the downturn, higher-priced labels,
too, have fared well. Indus League, for instance, says it has received good feedback for
the just launched Daniel Hechter, a premium French lifestyle brand with an entry price of
Rs1,999 for its shirts.

Raymond will retain its premium positioning for ColorPlus, which contributed to about
25% of the firm’s Rs569 crore apparel revenue in 2008-09, because of a niche, loyal
clientele for the brand.

Similarly, Raymond will keep intact its womenswear line, which it sells through Park
Avenue.

As it scales down other brands, Raymond, which runs 548 stores, wants an efficient
franchise network to keep investment in check while expanding quickly, said Joshi,
pointing to a shift in the firm’s thrust on high streets. The new format calls for smaller,
500 sq. ft stores costing not more than Rs2,000 per sq. ft each. Currently, the outlets are
typically larger, at 1,200-1,500 sq. ft and above.

The aim is also to expand the new formats such as Neckties & More and Shirts & More,
which sell accessories such as ties and cufflinks along with shirts, through a franchise
model, Joshi said

Raymond’s association with animal husbandry dates back to three decades when
Raymond Limited established a sheep breeding farm at Dhule in Maharashtra for
research in various aspects of sheep management and reproduction in 1970. Raymond
was the first organization in India to introduce Embryo Transfer in Sheep (1977)[7].

Raymond Ltd, the textile and apparel major owning brands like Color Plus, Park Avenue,
Parx, Manzoni, Be, and Zapp children wear, is aiming to increase its retail top line to Rs
1100 crore by 2010 from Rs 700 crore at present.

Aniruddha Deshmukh, Raymond's president for retail and FMCG, said the company's
retail expansion strategy will lead to growth. The plan is to increase the number of retail
stores to 950 by 2010 from 430 at present across the globe, he said.

Of the 430 retail stores, comprising The Raymond Shop and exclusive brand outlets,
across 170 cities on 10 lakh sqft, 355 are The Raymond Shop, of which 328 are in India
and 27 abroad.
Deshmukh said the company has all along been stressing on the franchisee model with
90% of The Raymond Shop being franchised out as it attains a quicker breakeven. Thus,
the expansion plan would also put emphasis on the model. Exclusive brand outlets are all
Raymond-owned.

Generally, these exclusive brand outlets and The Raymond Shop in the malls take longer
in breaking even. Since expansion would involve a huge investment, late breakeven
would put pressure on the company's bottom line, Deshmukh said.

Although he did not disclose the expansion investment, Deshmukh said Raymond would
be covering 20 lakh sqft retail space by 2010.

He said to further strengthen its retail presence, Raymond will focus on tier-II, III, IV and
V cities. At present, it has 76 stores in small towns, which contribute around 12-13% to
its total turnover.

For West Bengal, Raymond is planning to double the number of stores and take it up to
50 by 2010, Deshmukh said

Big Bazar , is the chain of retail stores of the big banner Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd.,
which in turn is a segment of Kishore Biyani, regulated Future Group of Companies.
Moreover the customer friendly ambiance and the organized retailing of products also
makes Big Bazar one of the successful retail companies in India. The chain was inspired
by Saravana Stores, a hugely popular shop in Chennai which made huge profits by selling
everything under the sun at prices much less than other shops.

Big Bazar Overview: Big Bazar, a part of the Pantaloon Group, is a hypermarket
offering a huge array of goods of good quality for all at affordable prices. Big Bazar with
over 50 outlets in different parts of India, is present in both the metro cities as well as in
the small towns. Big Bazar has no doubt made a big name in the retail industry of india,
moreover shopping here is further made a memorable experience with the varied rates of
discounts on products as well as discount vouchers available in a variety of amounts, like
INR 2000, INR 3000, INR 4000, INR 5000 and INR 10000 on all Big Bazar products and
accessories.

The variety of product range in Big Bazar: This large format store comprise of almost
everything required by people from different income groups. It varies from clothing and
accessories for all genders like men, women and children, playthings, stationary and toys,
footwear, plastics, home utility products,cosmetics, crockery,home textiles, luggage gift
items, other novelties, and also food products and grocery. The added advantage for the
customers shopping in Big Bazar is that there are all time discounts and promotional
offers going on in the Big Bazar on its salable products.
The Big Bazaar market at Hiland Park, Kolkata.

The significant features of Big Bazar: Shopping in the Big Bazar is a great experience as
one can find almost everything under the same roof. It has different features which caters
all the needs of the shoppers. Some of the significant features of Big Bazar are: The Food
Bazar or the grocery store with the department selling fruits and vegetables There is a
zone specially meant for the amusement of the kids. Furniture Bazar or a large section
dealing with furnitures. Electronics Bazar or the section concerned with electronic goods
and cellular phones. [FutureBazaar.com] or the online shopping portal which makes
shopping easier as one can shop many products of Big Bazar at the same price from home
Well regulated customer care telecalling services

The following are few of the sections at Big Bazar: 1. Books 2. Cameras 3. Computers &
Peripherals 4. Electronics 5. Gift Vouchers 6. Health and Fitness 7. Home & Kitchen 8.
Jewelery 9. Memory & Storage 10. Mobiles & Phones 11. Movies & Videos 12. Watches
13. Women’s wear 14. Men’s wear 15. Children’s wear 16