Elements of Strategy

Introduction

• The foundation of Shoppers' Stop was laid on October 27, 1991 by the K. Raheja group of companies

• 36 retail outlets in 18 cities across the country and is planning to spread its wings with futuristic expansion plans to meet the challenges of the retail industry

• With a Gross Retail Turnover of Rs. 1570.9 crores, Shopper's Stop has become the highest benchmark for the Indian Retail Industry.

• Has progressed from a single brand shop to a Fashion & Lifestyle store for the families.

Corporate Profile

• Vision: – To be a global retailer in India & maintain no.1

position in Indian market in Department Store Category

• Mission: – “Nothing but the best” – To strive & achieve nothing but the best in

terms of processes, practices & deliverables

Business Partners

• Crossword• MAC- Makeup-Art Cosmetics• Mothercare• Home Stop• Brio, Desi Café, Café Coffee Day• Timezone• Arcelia• Hyper City

• The unorganized market for apparel in India is huge. Typically, the smaller players are able to offer better pricing partly because of lower overheads and lower taxes. However, customers lack trust in the quality and price of these players due to a lack of transparency.

• Shoppers Stop has been able to successfully capitalize on this need for trust and has built strong brand equity with loyal customers. However, this USP may have to be reinvented quickly once SS sees competition in its own format.

USP

Competency

• During the last retail boom that peaked a couple of years ago Shoppers Stop experimented with different types of retail, including the Argos catalog business as well as food and beverage outlets.

• It has now decided to stick to its core competency of targeting the upper-middle-class consumer.All new formats came under tremendous pressure, so they are going back to basics.

• It is trying to boost its high-end profile by bringing in international brands like Mothercare, a U.K. brand of maternity wear.

Accomplishments

• Shoppers Stop Ltd has been awarded – “The Emerging Market Retailer of the Year Award“

• World Retail Congress at Barcelona, on April 10, 2008

– Shoppers Stop is listed on the BSE

– The only retailer from India to become a member of the prestigious Intercontinental Group of Departmental Stores (IGDS)

– "Most admired Fashion Retail Destination of the Year“• Images Fashion Forum - Jan 2009

Accomplishments

– Most Admired Retailer of the Year (Customer Relations).

• IRF 2009 - Sep 2009

– "Best Visual Merchandising"• VMRD Retail Design Award – July 2009

– "Retailer of the Year - Fashion & Lifestyle" • Asia Retail Congress - Feb 2009

Strategies

Strong Focus on Systems and Processes

• They have been able to capture their learnings over the years and use them to create Standard Operating Procedures (‘SOPs’) for each of their activities, right from planning and setting up of new stores to their day to day operations.

• Their SOPs are available on their Intranet, which helps their employees to access them whenever required helping them achieve consistency in their decision making process across the chain.

Extensive use of Information Technology (IT) Systems

• Most of their processes are linked online, and utilize some of the leading technologies available to deliver overall control and efficiency.

• With changing customer aspirations and requirements, immediate monitoring of information on sales trends is critical.

• They have received the IT user award from NASSCOM for Best IT Practice in Retail Category in 2003

Strong Distribution and Logistics Network and Supply

Chain• They have created a strong distribution and logistics network, with

their four Distribution Centers covering 303,382.20 square feet handling over 400,000 SKUs per year, and working 24x7.

• The distribution and logistics setup is networked and on line allowing them to deliver merchandise to the store within 48 hours of receipt / generation of auto replenishment order, which has helped them optimize in store availability of merchandise.

• The Distribution Center management is outsourced to service providers such as Toll (India) Logistics Private Limited.

Their Growth Strategy is based on:

1. Increasing their penetration in existing cities and expanding our reach across the country

2. Furthering Shoppers’ Stop as an experiential retail brand through differential service and unique national and international promotions

3. Getting enhanced share of the organized retail market through multiple formats and retailing channels

4. Enhancing their merchandise width by adding product categories

Their Growth Strategy is based on:

5. Introducing new brands and developing private labels to offer a better depth in each category

6. Increasing their First Citizen base

7. Utilising economies of scale as they grow in size and expand our reach

8. Enhancing their operational efficiencies

9. Enhancing their human capital

Guerrilla Marketing

• Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, Shoppers’ Stop’s guerrilla marketing tactics are unexpected and unconventional; consumers are targeted in unexpected places, which can make the idea that's being marketed memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally.

Interactive Marketing

• The concept that has already made a debut at Shoppers‘ Stop outlets in Mumbai, allows customers — who are referred to as guests — to go through various stages of activity in creating their own teddy bear (or other stuffed toy), including choosing a stuffed animal, stuffing it, giving it a heart, stitching, fluffing, naming and dressing it.

Re-Positioning

On April 24, 2008, one of India's oldest retail chains Shopper's Stop Ltd unveiled its new logo as a part of its re-branding strategy.

Re-Positioning

NOWEARLIER

• Retail chain Shoppers‘ Stop Ltd, is eyeing over 50 per cent sales this year from its customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. The company has also lined up an aggressive expansion plan targeting smaller towns and cities in the country.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management

• Shoppers‘ Stop claims that it has taken its CRM initiatives to a new height and now calls it‘s loyalty programmes Customer Experience Management. ―If they find from the data that a customer had bought a pair of trousers, they tell him about a new range of shirts that they have just brought into our store.

Enterprise Resource Planning

• Shoppers‘ Stop was the first few retailers to use scanners and barcodes and completely computerise its operations. Today it is one of the few stores in India to have retail ERP in place, which is the best retail planning system in the world.

E-Commerce

• As a result of the collaboration between Novator and Shopper's Stop, shoppersstop.com has been able to deliver a growing selection of products from the Shopper’s Stop department store, as well as specialty spin-off stores – such as Crossword and Mother Care – to the doorsteps of customers in 150 cities across India. And with exceptional conversation rates, repeat traffic growth, and ever-increasing revenue generation, shoppersstop.com has been recognized as a leading Indian ecommerce site.

E-Commerce For the first time, residents in India’s smaller cities and towns can now

purchase Lee’s jeans, CK, Crossword books, and countless other international and branded products, without having to travel to a major urban center. The webstore also gives its customers access to exclusive promotions, discounted items and the Shopper’s Stop loyalty program. Furthermore, the online store also caters to the vast community of Indians living abroad, allowing them to send gifts and food to relatives and friends with just the touch of a mouse.

7S Model

SWOT Analysis

Shoppers Stop

Strengths

• Pioneer in departmental format

• Loyal customer base• Low risk and sturdy

business model• Healthy financial position,

low gearing• Presence across retail

segments, lifestyle, value and specialty retailing

• Variety, range, loyal customers, low risk

• Good financial position• Presence in various sectors

Weakness• Competition from

standalone specialty stores

• Late foray into value retailing with 51% stake in promoter owned company

• High spend on store makeovers and interiors to ensure a pleasant shopping experience

• Store makeover expenses 

Opportunities

• Entry into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities

• Collaboration with foreign players because of a national brand

• Quality• Youngsters• Enter new consumer

good segments• Higher disposable income

Threats

• Employee shortage and attrition due to rapid growth in retailing

• Impact of slowdown in consumer spend to be felt on department stores/lesser consumer spending

• Opening up of economy for free entry of foreign players/new entrants

• Unorganised sector• Government policies 

SWOT of Westside

Future

• Shoppers’ Stop plans to add 1 million sq ft over the next three years. This would mean 18 new department stores by 2013, the highest addition in the company’s history. Currently it has 29 department stores and five Hypercity outlets, apart from Crossword bookstore, and specialty store MAC, among others.

• “From being steady, they are increasing the pace now. They are focusing on rolling their formats faster than earlier,” Shoppers’ Stop Chief Executive Govind Shrikhande said.

• The company will invest Rs 250-300 crore. It plans to raise Rs 350 crore through the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route and other means by March 2011 to fund its expansion. “The fall in rents is helping them. The delivery of properties is (also) much faster as any delay is creating problems for developers, too,” said Shrikhande.

Suggestions

• They should introduce Low rate Brands which will attract the middle class customers also or brands for masses.

• The stores becomes a bit messy because of a large footfall & small size of stores so they should have larger outlets

• Shoppers stop‘s competitors used aggressive medium of advertisement like television commercial ads, thus to gain a competitive advantage over the competitors Shoppers Stop should also use such medium of marketing.

Conclusion

Presented By

• Siddhart Shah-81• Lavin Mirchandani- 82• Sammohana Malik-93• Shanawaz Patel-96• Smriti Gupta-115