Project Report

On

Marketing Strategies Adopted By

Reliance Mart & Vishal Mega Mart

Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the degree of

Master of Business Administration (2008-10)

Submitted To: - Submitted By:-

Controller of Examination Vivek Gupta

M.D. University, Semester-4th

Rohtak Inst. Roll No-08/MBA/29

B.S.Anangpuria Institute of Technology & Management

Alampur, Faridabad.

1

PREFACE

Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programme is one of the most reputed

professional courses in the field of management. This course includes both theory & its

applications as its content of Curriculum. The Research Project is an integral part of the

curriculum and its purpose is to provide the practical exposure of business world in the

changing scenario. In this way it helps the student in development of practical skills and

analytical thinking process. It makes more aware about the perceptions and tastes of the

people of the corporate world. Thus it helps in moulding the students according to the

requirements of the market

Each student is required to complete a project in his or her field of interest after the

completion of his or her second semester examination. The purpose of this project is to

expose the students on practical and research front of his or her area of interest. The project

gives a unique experience to aspirants who can visualize things what they have been taught in

classroom.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do a research project on “MARKETING

STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY RELIANCE MART & VISHAL MEGA MART”. As a

complementary to Project, every student has to prepare and submit a report. It is an attempt to

present practical knowledge & observation gathered during the project.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my sincere esteemed thanks to our institution, which provided me this most

awaited opportunity of undergoing training in the corporate world.

Along with the institution I also want to express my gratitude to my faculty members who

help me with their immense knowledge and their experience.

Last but not least I want to express my immense heartly thanks to all the personalities who

have been instrumental in making this project on “MARKETING STRATEGIES OF

RELIANCE MART & VISHAL MEGA MART “possible and successful.

Vivek Gupta

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INDEX

CONTENT PAGE NO.

CHAPTER-1

Introduction of the Project 1

CHAPTER-2 Objective, Scope & Limitations of the Study 29

CHAPTER-3 Research Methodology 37

CHAPTER-4 Data collection & Analysis 42

CHAPTER-5 Findings of the study 66

CHAPTER-6

Conclusion 71

Suggestion 72

Appendix

Bibliography 73

Questionnaire 76

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Introduction of the Project

5

6

Introduction to Retailing sector

Retailing sector of India can be split into two segments. They are the informal and the formal

retailing sector. The informal retailing sector is comprised of small retailers. For this sector, it

is very difficult to implement the tax laws. There is widespread tax evasion. It is also

cumbersome to regulate the labor laws in this sector. As far as the formal retailing sector is

concerned, it is comprised of large retailers. Stringent tax and labor laws are implemented in

this sector.

If the retail industry is divided on the basis of retail formats then it can be split into the

modern format retailers and the traditional format retailers. The modern format retailers

comprise of the supermarkets, Hypermarkets, Departmental Stores, Specialty Chains and

company owned and operated retail stores

The traditional format retailers comprise of Kiranas, Kiosks, Street Markets and the multiple

brand outlets. The retail industry can also be subdivided into the organized and the

unorganized sector. The organized retail sector occupies about 3% of the aggregate retail

industry in India.

Size and contribution of the retail industry in India

In terms of value, the Indian Retail industry is worth $300 billion. India retail industry is the

largest industry in India, with an employment of around 8%. Its contribution to the Gross

Domestic Product is about 10%, the highest compared to all other Indian Industries. The

retail sector has also contributed to 8% of the employment of the country. The organized

retail sector is expected to triple its size by 2010. The food and grocery retail sector is

expected to multiply five times in the same time frame. The major reason behind the low

participation in the Indian retail sector is the need for lumpy investments that cannot match

up their break even points. The government policies are being revised from time to time to

attract investments in this sector.

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The Indian Retail Industry — Sky is the limit

In terms of the retail development index India ranks fifth. In Asia it occupies the second

position, next to China. Among all the global markets, the Indian retail market is the most

expanding. This is owing to absence in restriction at the entry level. So the large foreign

companies can reap the benefits of economies scale by entering the green retail fields of

India. There are many reasons why the retail industry in India can reach the zenith.

Firstly the organized retail sector in India has a very low contribution to the entire retail

sector in the country. Hence there is ample scope for the new players to achieve success in

the backdrop of soaring disposable income of the upcoming generation. Secondly, not only

have the incomes increased but there has been a sea change in the preferences of the

consumers. These factors have acted as a stimulus for the ushering of foreign players retailing

in apparels, accessories, electronic appliances etc. Large shopping malls have already

mushroomed in the metropolitan cities. There still lies untapped potential in the Indian Retail

Market.

The size of retail industry in an economy depends on many factors and the level of consumer

spending is the most important among these factors. The retail sector in India has grown by

leaps and bounds in the last five years. The reason behind this growth has been the synergy of

many propellants. However the growth is not always genuine as there are exaggerations as

well. But these exaggerations also have benefits since they given a feel of growing

competition all around. Secondly the present situation is just a depiction of nascent stage. The

future of the trajectory may not be as steep as it is now or may be even slope downward.

'What will be the future size of the retail industry' is the mind boggling question. Another

moot point that will gain importance in due time concerns the future of the unorganized retail

market which constitute a significant proportion of the whole industry. The retail stores have

proved to be a vantage point for the customers. This implies that the small farmers who used

to sell their product in the sabji-mandis and on roadsides are going to lose a significant

market share as they can't employ the two profit maximizers-economies of scale and

economies of scope.

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Retailing in India: the present scenario

The present value of the Indian retail market is estimated by the India Retail Report to be

around Rs. 12,00,000 crore($270 billion) and the annual growth rate is 5.7 percent. Retail

market for food and grocery with a worth of Rs. 7, 43,900 crore is the largest of the different

types of retail industries present in India. Furthermore around 15 million retail outlets help

India win the crown of having the highest retail outlet density in the world. The contribution

of retail sector to GDP has been manifested below:

Country Retail Sector's share

in GDP (in %)

India 10

USA 10

China 8

Brazil 6

As can be clearly seen, retailing in India is superior to those of its contenders. Retail sector is

a sunrise industry in India and the prospect for growth is simply huge. There are many factors

that have stimulated the rise of the shopping centers and multiplex-malls in a jiffy. Some of

them can be listed as follows:

Rise in the purchasing power of Indians- the rise in the per capita income in the last

few years has been magnificent. This has led to the generation of insatiable wants of

the upper and middle class. The demand of new as well as second hand durables has

risen throughout the country thus providing the incentive for taking up retailing.

Favorable to farmers- retailing has helped in removing the middlemen and has thus

enhanced the remuneration to farmers. This is a new revolution in the agricultural

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sector in India and will go a long way in amending the condition of agriculture, a

major concern among policy makers.

Use of credit- a typical Indian is most conversant with using credit cards than carrying

money. These have led to a shift of the consumer base towards supermarkets and

make the payments in the form of credit.

Comfortable Atmosphere- a visit to a retail store appears to be more soothing for the

generation-Y. People and kids prefer to shop in an air conditioned a tech savvy

manner.

The retail industry is the second largest employer in India. It currently employs about

7 percent of the total labor force in India. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's recent

statement “salaries ought not to be legislated” is a welcome move as most of the

organized retail is in private hands. However only about 4.6% of the total retail trade

is in organized sector. It generates about Rs.55, 000 crore ($12.4 billion). The major

and minor players desperately need to work hard in this direction so that next time the

figures look more decent. The government must also make an attempt to ameliorate

the situation as political instability and infrastructure namely power and roads are the

major roadblocks in the path of smooth functioning of the market.

Retail sectors in neighboring countries:

China - The total sales from retail market in China reached US$755 billion in 2005. However

organized retailing in China accounts for only 20% of it. Also the fragmentation of China's

retail market is so high that top 100 retailers make up for only 10.5% of the total market. The

registered sales of department stores grew by 25.7% and that of convenience stores grew by

36.5% in 2005. The Chinese retail market is expected to reach new highs as the population of

strong middle class is expected to double by 2020 and mergers and acquisitions among

retailers are3 going in great guns. The WTO restrictions are also expected to have a favorable

impact on its retail sector.

Japan - total annual sales for the Japanese retail industry for 2003 amounted to JPY 133,273

billion. Japan had 1.2 million retail establishments in June 2004 and there were 42,738

specialty superstores. Between 2002 and 2004 annual sales per store increased by 3.8%. The

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growth was mainly driven by the grocery superstores but the number of superstores

specializing in clothes gradually came down. The organized retail sector in Japan couldn't

perform at its full efficiency because of collapse of the 'bubble economy' in the early 90s.

Retail Distribution in India

The distribution sector bridges the gap between the producer and consumer and thus forms

a crucial link. Distribution of retail in India has multiple dimensions. Its uniformity is

difficult to decide and easy to argue. Distribution in any sector is usually measured by the

reach of its products to people. But in case of the retail sector in India it also implies the

dispersion among the organized and unorganized spheres. The question of distribution

hovers mainly around the intentions of private players to reach out to the less rich people.

But the point that has caught the public eye recently is the ambiguous mood of the

beneficiaries and the chauvinist government that produces civil service.

Propagation of the retail sector:

The expansion of the retailing in India has been magnificent especially after the advent of

liberalization and the abolition of licensing. A comparative study with other developed

countries indicates that the retail sector has achieved a fantastic breakthrough in the Indian

economy. India topped the A.T. Kearney's Global Retail Index in both 2005 and 2006as

can be seen below:

The GRDI Score as calculated by A.T. Kearney is a weighted average of market

attractiveness, market saturation, country risk and time pressure. India had a GRDI score of

100 in both 2005 and 2006.implying market potential and attractiveness. As the graph

clearly depicts, India's contenders like Russia and China are nowhere in competition. This

result has been obtained mainly because of a higher APC (Average Propensity to consume)

of the Indian people.

According to IMF, India has a APC of more than 60% while the corresponding figure for

Japan is 57% and China is 39%. Also Indians tend to exhaust 40% of their consumer

spending on groceries (foodstuffs). These figures are intensified by the fact that Indians

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have special preference for lifestyle products and they feel comfortable in buying against

credit as the credit card and mortgage market has been growing by more than 30%.

We present the results from another survey below in order to strengthen our findings.

Availability of Retail Stores

Country Number of stores

per 1,000 people

India 22

Japan 10

USA 3.8

The above table reinforces our view that India has done a great job in retailing. One

noteworthy point here is that Japan in spite of being one of the most densely populated

countries has fared poorly than India. But this euphoria loses its charm if we compare the

percentage of organized retail in the total value generated by the retailing sector.

According to international standards, a

retail store is nominated as organized

only when it features more than 10

employees. The above chart clearly

portrays the miserable condition of

India's organized retail A forecast of

40% annual growth in the organized

retail sector seems sound. The number

of shopping malls in India has grown

from 1 in 2001 to 100 in 2005 but still

more effort is needed to turn the predictions into reality.

Studies have further showed that non-urban areas account for only about 15% of organized

retailing So it is high time that the retail industries pay importance to diversification and

reach out to non-urban markets. If they remain confined to the metropolis then they will

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soon hit a ceiling and will be able to grow no more. But at the same time they must realize

that the rustic people are sceptic about the urbane lifestyle habits. The mega retail players

will have to drop their policy of full extraction of consumer surplus and will have to

employ the local people to overcome the myth that entry of a branded retail will displace

the millions of traders, shopkeepers and hawkers. Protests must be welcomed and meetings

encouraged making life saner.

Retail markets in Germany, South Africa and many other countries allow 100% foreign

investment in retail. This has helped in setting up of cash and in creating wholesale

markets. However, in India, only 51% FDI is allowed in single-brand retail and that too

with prior approval. In case of multi-brand retail, FDI is completely prohibited. This is a

perfect beginning but foreign investment should be gradually liberalized to modernize

farming and help farmers scale up. Moreover, restricting FDI for protecting mom-and-pop

stores seems unjustifiable since Tata, Reliance and Bharti have already made a foray in the

sector.

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Components of Retail Sector

The major components of the retail sector are:

Food and Grocery, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs),  Consumer Durables, Apparel,

Footwear and leather, Watches, Jewellery, and Health and Beauty

The anatomy of the retail market has shown that the clothing and textiles constitutes 39 per

cent of the organised retail pie, followed by food and grocery, which accounts for 11 percent

of the total retail market. 

However, according to the survey conducted by KPMG for Federation of Indian Chamber of

Commerce and Industry (FICCI), among these, the food and grocery is expected to witness

the fastest growth followed by clothing as the second-fastest growing segment.

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Marketing Strategies

Marketing strategy is a method of focusing an organization's energies and resources on a

course of action which can lead to increased sales and dominance of a targeted market niche.

A marketing strategy combines product development, promotion, distribution, pricing,

relationship management and other elements; identifies the firm's marketing goals, and

explains how they will be achieved, ideally within a stated timeframe. Marketing strategy

determines the choice of target market segments, positioning, marketing mix, and allocation

of resources. It is most effective when it is an integral component of overall firm strategy,

defining how the organization will successfully engage customers, prospects, and competitors

in the market arena. Corporate strategies, corporate missions, and corporate goals. As the

customer constitutes the source of a company's revenue, marketing strategy is closely linked

with sales.

Types of strategies

Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual business.

However there are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies. A brief

description of the most common categorizing schemes is presented below:

Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme, firms are classified based on

their market share or dominance of an industry. Typically there are four types of

market dominance strategies:

o Leader

o Challenger

o Follower

o Nicher

Porter generic strategies - strategy on the dimensions of strategic scope and strategic

strength. Strategic scope refers to the market penetration while strategic strength

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refers to the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage. The generic strategy

framework (porter 1984) comprises two alternatives each with two alternative scopes.

These are Differentiation and low-cost leadership each with a dimension of Focus-

broad or narrow.

o Product differentiation

o Market segmentation

Innovation strategies - This deals with the firm's rate of the new product development

and business model innovation. It asks whether the company is on the cutting edge of

technology and business innovation. There are three types:

o Pioneers

o Close followers

o Late followers

Growth strategies - In this scheme we ask the question, “How should the firm grow?”.

There are a number of different ways of answering that question, but the most

common gives four answers:

o Horizontal integration

o Vertical integration

o Diversification

o Intensification

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DIVISION OF RETAILERS IN INDIA

The retail sector in India can be divided into two major categories:

1) Organized

2) Unorganized

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Marketing Strategies of RELIANCE MART

RELIANCE RETAIL LTD has launched its much-awaited hypermarket format (which also

happens to be India’s largest hypermarket) called “Reliance Mart” at Iscon Mall, SG

Highway, Ahmadabad on August 15. After the successful launch of the supermarket format

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”Reliance Fresh” and the consumer electronics concept mega store “Reliance Digital”, the

hypermarket is the third retail format launched by Reliance  Retail.

 

Spread across 165,000 square feet of shopping area, Reliance Mart will provide the shoppers

a never-before-experienced shopping delight. The hypermarket will carry a range of over

95,000 products catering to the entire family. Shoppers will have the option to choose from a

wide array of products in every category ranging from fresh produce, food & grocery, home

care products, apparel and accessories, non-food FMCG products, consumer durables and IT,

automotive accessories, lifestyle products, footwear and much more.

 

Commenting on the launch, Shri. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director,

Reliance Industries Ltd, said: “Organized retail has the potential to trigger socio-economic

transformation on an unprecedented scale in our country and will bring about enormous spin-

off benefits to the Indian economy and its various constituents”.

 

“The launch of Reliance Mart is yet another step by Reliance Retail towards providing

international shopping experience to all our customers at unmatched affordability, guaranteed

quality and choice of products and services. Reliance Mart marks the achievement of another

milestone in our effort to unleash a retail revolution in India.” Shri Ambani added. 

 

Reliance Mart offers some unique services to the shoppers like tailoring, shoe repair, watch

repair, a photo shop, gift services and laundry services, all within the store. The store also

houses its own fresh bakery, serving “hot, off-the-oven” bread and bread products throughout

the day and local savouries, an ice-cream train for the kids, a chakki, ready-made batter and

loose tea and pickle for the housewives.    Reliance Mart will also sell fine jewellery and

fashion jewellery as part of its lifestyle section. 

 

Reliance Mart will also house a health and wellness store providing pharmaceutical drugs and

other wellness products. For the shopper’s convenience, the store has a cafeteria providing

quality food and beverages for ready consumption, an ATM machine and a consumer

service / membership desk to provide the customer a truly international shopping experience. 

 

The hypermarket also launched a host of Reliance’s own brands in select categories with

superior quality and affordable prices like “First Class”, “Network, Netplay, Team Spirit”

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and Sparsh in Men’s and Women’s Formal / Casual and Ethnic wear, “DNM- X” in the jeans

category for men and women, “Panda” for kids clothing and “ Grip” in the luggage section.

The footwear category will carry “Zig” in formal wear. “Hi Attitude” for semi -formal,

“Tosco” for party wear and “Monza” for the sports enthusiast. There are many products that

will be exclusively available in Reliance Mart stores only.  

 

Reliance Mart, with 61 check-out counters has for the first time in India introduced the

Mobile POS system for faster check outs. This is aimed at reducing customer wait-time. The

store planning, atmospherics and layout has been designed specifically to provide “a

complete solution” to the customer.  Reliance Mart will remain open from 10:00 a.m. to

10:00 p.m., seven days a week. The store has over 400 highly skilled and trained customer

sales representatives.  Reliance Mart will continue to offer all its customers Reliance One, a

common membership and loyalty program across all its formats, which follows the

philosophy of ‘Earn Anywhere, Spend Anywhere’. Reliance Mart will also provide easy and

attractive finance options, including 0% financing for your purchases on select products. 

Reliance Retail plans to have a pan-India presence by opening over 30 Reliance Mart

hypermarkets this year and over 500 by the end of 2010.

Services Offered

It offers some unique services to the shoppers like tailoring, shoe repair, watch repair, a photo

shop, gifting services and laundry services all within the store under one roof and also it has

its own bakery shop.

Reliance Mart will also provide easy and attractive finance options, including zero per cent

financing for the purchases on select products. Reliance Mart will continue to offer all its

customers Reliance One, a common membership and loyalty programme across all its

formats, which follows the philosophy of 'Earn Anywhere, Spend Anywhere'.

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Future Plans

The next two hypermarkets are to be opened in Jamnagar in Gujarat and in the NCR by next

month with plans to open 30 such marts by the year. Raghu Pillai, President and CEO

(operations and strategy), Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) said the company is planning to

set up 500 hypermarkets across 784 towns by 2010.

Strategy

The hypermarket would be selling the products on EDLP (every day low price) basis at prices

15-20 percent lower than market prices.

In order to grow faster and better in local markets with higher margins, it has focused largely

on local brands instead of national brands or private labels. Local brands include Induben

Khakrawala’s Namkeens, Lijjat Papad, Wagh Bakri and Madhur (spices brand). This is

in addition to 100 private labels that Reliance plans to display. Company’s Sources says that

the share of regional brands in the hyper marts would be over 10%.

Strengths

Keeping local brands at the outlets is more profitable and also makes the supply chain more

efficient. Being a bulk purchaser, Reliance Mart can offer products at very low prices. Also

taking into consideration the local brands, the products at the outlets would be easily

acceptable by the customers. And there would be comparatively less efforts needed by the

marketer to explain the product to the consumers.

Weaknesses

In some cases, few regional brands strongly liked by the consumers offer lower margins than

that offered by the national brands. It has to face a tough competition by big shopping malls

i.e. Big Bazaar, Spencer Hyper, Vishal Mega Mart and the upcoming Wall Mart.

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Popular Brands of Reliance Mart are:

Zeppelin : Mens Shirts & Trousers Fizzy Babe : Ladies & Kids Girls

Kitaan Studio : Mens Shirts & Trousers Jasmine : Ladies & Kids Girls

Blues & Khakis : Mens Trousers Zero Degree : Kids Boys

Paranoia : Mens Shirts & T-Shirts Soil : Mens Shirts

Chlorine : Mens Shirts Massa Bay : Mens Trousers &

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Bermudas

Marketing Strategies of Vishal Mega Mart

Product

Vishal Mega Mart offers a wide range of products which starts from apparels to food items,

footwear to home furnishing, crockery to sport items, child care products to toys, watches,

drinks etc. There are many in house brands promoted by Vishal Mega Mart. In pursuance of

their business plan to diversify their portfolio of offerings, FMCG products play a key role.

Price

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Vishal Mega Mart promises its consumers the lowest available price. The concept of

psychological discounting (Rs. 99, Rs. 49, etc.) is used as promotional tool. Vishal Mega

Mart also caters on Special Event Pricing (Close to Diwali, Christmas, New Year etc.).

Selling combo-packs and offering discount to customers. The combo-packs add value to

customer. Through Bundling, they also reduced the price of the products. In addition to

VRPL’s strategy to continue procurement of goods from small and medium size vendors and

manufacturers which leads to cost efficiencies, VRPL intend to procure FMCG and apparels

from low-cost production centers located outside India. Towards this objective, VRPL’s

propose to increase their procurement of finished and semi-finished goods from China and

thereby realize economies of scale and pass on the benefits so accrued to their customers.

Place

Vishal Mega Mart stores are located in 110 cities with more than 180 outlets. Vishal Mega

Mart has presence in almost all the major Indian cities. They are aggressive on their

expansion plans. VRPL intend to increase their penetration in the country by setting up new

stores in cities where they already have presence, as also entering into new areas in the

country. In particular, they intend to focus on expansion in Tier II and Tier III cities. VRPL

target locations with good infrastructural facilities such as easy accessibility, provision for

water, electricity, parking, security and other basic amenities.

Promotion

Advertising has played a crucial role in building of the brand. Vishal Mega Mart

advertisements are mainly seen in print media i.e. newspapers, Television with Tina Parekh

as there in advertisement, and sometime road-side bill-boards. VRPL’s category management

system is used to plan promotional schemes. They launch promotional schemes weekly.

Apart from general sales promotion, the category manager formulates promotional plans for

‘slow movers’. In addition, to promote sales, they focus on layout of the stores and

positioning, presentation and display of merchandise, in order to appeal to the customer. In

addition, VRPL have introduced, in association with SBI Cards & Payment Services Private

Limited, a co-branded credit card. VRPL’s propose to continuously undertake such initiatives

to increase the satisfaction of their customers. Some of the features of the co-branded card

include Rs 250 discount voucher on signing up for the card and a process by which the

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cardholder earns five reward points on every Rs 100 spent. A cardholder accumulates points

on the basis of purchases made and the points accumulated can be redeemed for gifts or

purchases. In September 2005, VRPL entered into a long term advertising agreement with

Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited (“BCCL”). Under the agreement, they are entitled to

fixed discounts for their advertisement in print publications of BCCL for a period of five

years from the date of the agreement. As a part consideration, VRPL had issued 1,670,605

Equity Shares of Rs. 10 each and 384,190 Preference Shares of Rs. 146 each amounting to an

aggregate of Rs. 300 million.

Strong understanding of the ‘value retail’ segment

VRPL’s business plan involves implementation of the concept of the ‘value retailing’,

targeting the middle and lower middle income groups, which constitute majority of the

population in India. VRPL intend to provide quality products at competitive prices. VRPL

sell a vast range of merchandise across apparels and accessories, FMCG products, food

products and consumer durables. VRPL’s emphasis has been to maximize the value that the

customers derive in spending on goods bought in their stores. VRPL endeavor to

continuously reduce their costs through a variety of measures, such as, in-house production of

apparels, procurement of goods directly from the small and medium size vendors and

manufacturers, efficient logistics and distribution systems along with customized product mix

at their stores depending on the regional customer behavior and preferences. Central to their

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value retail strategy is to pass on the benefits of cost reduction measures to their customers.

VISHAL MEGA MART

“Future is thinking beyond horizon” & in order to keep its pace with the modern retail,

Vishal Retail Limited is spreading its wings. Instead of resting on its laurels the Group are

busy identifying new avenues of growth by venturing in other formats like cash & carry,

convenios as well as specialty stores and inspiring local retailers to grow along with the big

names. The group has tied up with HPCL to open corner stores at their petrol pumps and in

addition to the above Vishal has come up with an institute to train manpower for the service

industry.

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Today Vishal Retail Limited, Flagship Company of Vishal Group, engaged in Hyper Market

stores with an average area of 25,000 to 30,000 sq. ft. through an impressive chain of more

than 100 fully integrated stores in spread of more than the area of around 22, 00,000 sq. ft. in

69 cities across India & has a plan to cross total retail area of 35 lakh sq. ft. in tier II and tier

III cities by the end of 2009

.

According to Mr. Ram Chandra Agarwal, CMD, Vishal Retail Limited, the group owes its

origin to a small 50 sq ft shop in Kolkata's Lal Bazaar that started selling readymade

garments. In tune with the pulse of the market, he envisioned a mega store that would sell

garments at prices none other could match. . The first big store opened in Calcutta's

Esplanade area in 1997, under the banner of Vishal Garments. He was involved in all the

aspects of the business: right from sourcing the garments to interacting with customers. And

this led to his greatest finding “The Vishal Group.”

After identifying the immense market in fashion garment for the masses, He moved to Delhi

in 2001 and opened his first store in Delhi’s Rajouri Garden by the name of Vishal Mega

Mart (The jewel in Vishal Group’s crown) and then there was no looking back for Mr. Ram

Chandra Agarwal. At present, in addition to garments, Vishal Mega Mart stores retail the

entire range of household products, FMCG and electronic goods. Vishal's prices are roughly

15 to 20 per cent less than other mass market garment labels.

Mr. Ram Chandra Agarwal, CMD, Vishal Retail Limited believes that the shopping habits of

Indians are changing due to their growing disposable income, higher aspirations, relative

increase in the younger population, and the change in attitudes towards shopping. The

emphasis has changed from price consideration to design, quality and trendy. Age is also a

major factor that affects the spending decisions of an individual. Consumer spending is an

important factor that affects the economic growth and development in a country. As a trend,

consumer is more educated. He has access to all reforms taking place through various arrays

of communication. He is becoming a “value shopper” everyday.

Keeping this in mind, the group is now looking for franchisees to join hands with Vishal and

grow under common banner. This partnership will help small retailers to survive the

onslaught of organized retail as it will enhance their competitiveness. Small stores can avail

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of the benefits on account of the economies of scale, a key advantage for big retailers. As per

the plans, Vishal Retail will completely take over the supply chain of its franchisees and

provide them with technology, new practices, visual merchandising skill and special

promotional schemes, besides its brand and costumer base.

Some of the Franchisee exclusive business categories are

Mens Fashion

Ladies and Kids

Footwear

Toys and Games

Home – General

Convenience (FMCG)

CDIT

Watches

Mobile

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The Group also has a plan to raise around Rs 200 crore through preferential issue in the next

few months to fund the company’s expansion plan. Mr. R C Agarwal said “Rs 100 crore

corpus raised through the initial public offering had already been utilized and more money

was required to push the expansion plans further.”

The group has registered a consistent growth over the years. It recorded a whopping

turnover of more than Rs.700 crores in 2008-09 as opposed to a turnover of Rs 550

Crore for 2007- 2008. This ascent has inspired the Group to chalk out an ambitious

expansion program, with expansion and growth plans being implemented on different

dimensions.

“Retailing is an engine for taking merchandise to the end-users. There is a lot of opportunity in this

sector for us since demand of the potential consumers are not being met under the existing facilities.

Therein lies the road to success.” says Mr. R C Agarwal

Product Categories

- HOME FURNISHING

Drawing Room Bedroom

Door Mat Bed Sheet

Carpet Pillows

Curtains Pillow Cover

Kitchen Bathroom

29

Apron Bath Mats

Kitchen Napkin Towel Gift Sets

FOOTWEAR

BOYS GIRLS

Shoes Slippers

Sandals Sandals

LADIES MENS

Shoes Shoes

Slippers Slippers

MENS

Upper Lower

Shirt Casual Jeans(MP)

Shirt Formal Cotton Trouser(MPC)

Ethnic & Sports Winter Wear

Night Suits Suit(WMC)

T-Shirts Blazer(WMB)

Dupatta Windcheater(WMW)

Sherwani Jacket

LADIES ACCESSORIES

Upper Lower

Kurta Pants Jeans

Skirt Top Capri

Ethnic Winter Wear

Nighty Jackets

Lancha Stawl

Sharara Blazer

Salwar Suit Track Suit

30

INFANTS

Garments Accessories

Hot Pant Bed Sheet

Frock Under Garments

Baba Suit Socks

WOMEN

Sarees Personal Items

Fancy(SRF) Cap(LCA)

Synthetics Socks(Las)

Banarsi

Jewellery Cosmetics

Necklace LIp Gloss

Ring Nail Polish

KIDS BOYS

Lower Sets Winter Wear

Jeans Night Suit Suit

Bermudas Baba Suit Blazer

Dungries Jacket

Upper Ethnic

Shirt Formal Kurta- Pyjama

T-Shirt Sherwani

KIDS GIRLS

Lower Sets Winter Wear

Hot Pant Night Suit Hipster Set

Skirt Capri Set Blazer

Dungries Jacket

Upper Ethnic

Tops(GWT) Sharara

Frock(GFK) Lancha

31

HOUSEHOLD

Dinner Set Jug Cake Server

Home Aids Pressure Cooker Non Stick

Floor Wiper Cooker Handi

Sanitary Brush Pressure Pan Dosa Tawa

General Plastic Goods Electrical App. Bone China

Coffee Mug Chopper Soup Set

Bucket Microwave Oven Dessert Set

Glass Ware Thermo Ware Porcelain

Cup Tiffin Cup & Saucer

L$emon Set Container

LIFESTYLE

Time Zone Opticals Gifts & Novelties

Ladies Wrist Watch Ladies Sun Glass Flower Vase

Mens Wrist Watch Mens Sun Glass Key Chain

Mens Accessories Electric & Electronics

Items

Perfume/Deo

Belts Battery(ABT) Spray

Wallets Calculator(EEC) Deo

TOYS & GAMES

Soft Toys Dolls Cycles & Scooters

Musical Toys Barbie Doll Cycles

Non-Musical Other Dolls Scooters

Board Games Infant Toys Video Games

Wooden Blocks Teether T.V. Video Game

Puzzles Swing Hand Video Game

32

FOOD MART

FOOD & BEVERAGES

Snacks

Drinks

33

OBJECTIVE

34

Objectives of Study

1. To Study the promotional strategies of RELIANCE MART & VISHAL MEGA MART.

2. To study the challenges and future prospects of RELIANCE MART & VISHAL MEGA

MART.

3. To study the different Brand offerings by RELIANCE MART & VISHAL MEGA

MART.

4. To study the distribution strategies of RELIANCE MART & VISHAL MEGA MART.

35

36

Scope

Scope of study

This project gave us great exposure to the customer’s perception to the marketing strategies

adopted by the Reliance mart & Vishal mega mart because it includes the service offered by

them. The study also identifies the attitudes and preference of the consumers. The study also

focused on Media through which the product reaches the consumers This project helped us in

knowing the market practically.

37

38

LIMITATION OF THE

STUDY

LIMITATION

Although it would have been nice to conduct a perfect research study, but this study is

conducted under certain limitations, which were faced while doing this research. So it is

highly recommended to consider these limitations while going through the project study.

These limitations are as follows

39

1. LIMITATION OF DATA

The statistical data regarding the city was not available to us on secondary source of

data and to generate such data on the primary source was a task, which cannot be

achieved in such a short time.

2. LIMITATION OF TIME

The limitation of time was another constraint in the study as the study had to be

conducted in few months therefore many aspects have been left unexplored.

Research period is not just much enough to know fully about the strategies &

consumers perception

3. INHIBITIONS OF THE RESPONDENTS

The respondents did not reply the question with precision as they were busy with their

own work or they were not interested in taking part in such a research. Employees

sometimes feel hesitated while telling about their view about their marketing

strategies.

4. RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED IN A LIMITED AREA

The research has been conducted for the Vishal mega mart(sec-31.fbd) & reliance

mart(Crown Interiors Mall, Faridabad) but not all their retail outlet have been covered

therefore it has been mentioned that the research has been conducted in a limited area.

5. THE SAMPLE SIZE IS LARGE

The sample size taken of the respondents is large therefore a very rough picture of

their marketing strategies has been generated therefore this limitation has to be

considered in the study.

40

These limitations were very common and yet we came across these with a positive note and

the subsequent chapters in this report shall explain the rationality behind the structural

compilation.    

41

RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

42

Research Methodology

43

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. When we talk

to research methodology we not only talk of research methods but also consider the logic

behind the method we use in the context of our research results are capable of being

evaluated either by researcher himself or by other.

The purpose of this section is to describe the methodology carried out to complete the work.

The methodology plays a dominant role in any research work. The effectiveness of any

research work depends upon the correctness and effectiveness of the research methodology.

This section deals with research design used, data collection, methods used and sampling

methods used.

Research design

A research design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a particular research.

According to Ker linger “Research design is a plan, structure and strategy of investigation

conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and have to control variance.”

My research design

I have chosen descriptive research design for my study because I am interested in knowing

the marketing strategies adopted by Reliance Mart & Vishal mega mart

To accomplish the predefined objectives of the research, descriptive research design is used

to collect the require information from the sources. It’s a fact finding approach generalizing a

cross sectional study of the present situation.

Designing the questionnaire

Structured questionnaires and observation method have been used to conduct the research.

44

Sampling method

Specific sampling method was used to collect the data from the respondents because sample

size is large. Customers & employees of Reliance Mart & Vishal mega mart were selected for

the survey.

Sampling unit

The data was collected from the Customers & employees by questionnaire and observation

method in the Reliance Mart (Crown Interiors Mall) & Vishal mega mart (sec-31.faridabad)

Sample size

The data were collected from:

50 customers

50 employees

Data collection:

There are two major methods of data collection:

Primary data

Secondary data

Primary data collection is used when there is need for collecting first hand data. In such

cases, no adequate and usable data is available to the researcher.

Secondary data collection is used where adequate and usable data is available to researcher.

Primary data collection by one person may become secondary data for another.

In my research study I have used both primary as well as secondary data collection method.

For primary data observation method is used, and for secondary data the sources used are

books, journals, magazines and Internet.

Data analysis

45

All the recommendations in this project have been suggested keeping in mind the thorough

analysis of all the steps in recruitment process.

Data collection methods

The method used for the survey process is through questionnaire.

46

Data Collection

And

Analysis

CRM POLICY OF RELIANCE MART

47

CRM policy of reliance mart can be divided into four major parts, namely;

1) Customer loyalty

2) Customer retention

3) Customer communication

4) Customer gratification

There exists a blanket customer relationship programme called the reliance one membership

programme for the purpose of maintaining customer loyalty. The membership programme is

a very simple one where a willing customer is required to fill a form giving personal

information and he gets a temporary card which will be made permanent after six months.

On each purchase of rs. 100 the customer gets one redeemable point on the production of

card at billing counter. The collected points can be redeemed in form of discounts on future

purchases on demand of the customer.

The customers also get the opportunity of availing four different kinds of insurance on the

payment of a nominal fee. For example a customer can get an accidental death insurance of rs

six lacs on the payment of rs. 400 only.

Other forms of insurances are disability, hospitalization and home insurances.

The members of reliance one get the opportunity of taking part and winning prizes by the

way of lucky draws on regular intervals.

Customer retention policy implementation is at the zonal level. Generally each state is

regarded as a zone and the offers and discounts in a zone are not available in other zones.

Such policy helps reliance retail to understand and capture the local markets better.

The products which show improvement due to offers and discounts on them are repeated with

these offers again so as to retain the sales of the customers who bought it the last time.

Also such the day’s best offers are constantly announced in the store making the regular

customers aware about them.

Maintaining a good store ambiance is also a part of customer retention policy of reliance

retail. Clean and hygienic environment with properly and well spaced products along with a

uniform color theme attracts the existing customers to the store again and again.

A fast billing system and good and easy grievance handling system which can be accessed

thru customer service desk and company website, ensures that customers feel satisfied with

the store management. Less harassment to customers means better customer retention.

48

Communication to existing customers takes the form of sms and e-mails, generally sent to

reliance one members. They get information about ongoing offers and also information and

latest news about their nearest stores and the company in general.

Another source of customer database is the information collected during the organizing of

special events in the stores. Customers participating in such events provide their contact

information which are also used in form of database for communication purposes.

Thank you and festive cards on special occasions are an innovative way of communicating

with the customers.

Trained salespersons make customer gratification very easy. A simple thank you with a smile

goes a long way for the store to keep the customers happy.

The special events organized by the stores across india are also a way to gratify the customers

by allowing them to play and win prizes.

Gift vouchers and discount coupons are an attraction for the customers and give them the feel

that the store cares about them and their money.

Local customers many a times make limited personal contacts with the store staff just like

that made at a kirana store and help the store to some extent to maintain a relationship with

the customers.

The implementation of the policies brings out certain limitations in them. Few major ones are

as follows

The personal contact numbers of reliance one members are open to tele marketing calls from

various marketers as they leak out of the reliance retail’s database, causing unnecessary

harassment to customers.

The customer communication policy is less followed in small towns and cities and is more

concentrated towards the metro cities.

There is a common crm policy for both reliance fresh and mart. This should not be the case as

both the stores offer different kinds of merchandize and generally attract different kinds of

customers.

Reliance retail generally delays the processing of permanent membership cards to those

customers who have not paid for such a card. Customers have been waiting for over three

months for their card. Those who have paid the nominal fee of rs. 50 get their permanent card

49

within 15 days but the rest who have optioned not to pay the fees do not receive the card until

too late.

Unmanned billing counters create long queues at the open counters. This creates impatiens in

the customers as they expect faster billing at the stores and do not want to stand with too

much of goods held in their hands while billing.

CRM @ Vishal mega mart

50

Customer profitability analysis (CPA) is done on the basis of transactions made

through the future cards.

o Platinum customers (most profitable).

o Gold customers (profitable).

o Iron customers (low profitability but desirable).

o Lead customers (unprofitable and undesirable).

Differentiate customers in terms of: (1) their needs and (2) their value to company.

Interact with individual customers to improve the knowledge about individual needs

and to build stronger relationships.

There are four type of analysis done for analysis of CRM

o Periodic Surveys: It’s done on quarterly, its an overall survey done by the

future group authorities and CRM is a part of it.

o Customer Loss Rate :

o Mystery Shoppers: They pose as normal customers perform specific tasks—

such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or

behaving in a certain way – and then provide detailed reports or

feedback about their experiences

o Monitor Competitive Performance

Complaint Handling Procedures :

Screening And Logging -- The type of product or service; manufacturer/brand

name; model name/number; date of purchase/contract; warranty expiration date;

salesperson; cost of product/service; date problem occurred; and a description of

the problem is listed. This allows organization to exercise control, and assure

proper follow-through.

Investigating -- customer's explanation of a problem provides much information.

Nevertheless, to assure they have all the information needed for a thorough review

of the facts involved, by:

o Researching in-house records on the customer;

51

o Requesting receipts, or other records;

o Inspecting the product, or service performed; and

o Following-up with the customer for any necessary additional information.

Acknowledging -- When Vishal mega mart cannot resolve an issue immediately,

it is important to let customer know that the matter is receiving attention.

Customer is given information about how long it will take to complete action on

the complaint. If there is further delay, it’s made sure to advise customer why and

when Big Bazaar expects to have an answer.

Formulating A Solution -- solution is made to be consistent with established

customer relations policy and important criteria are taken into account:

o Contractual and/or warranty obligations;

o The customer's expectations;

o expectations of the customer;

o The cost/benefit of alternative solutions;

o The probability and cost of customer seeking redress in some other way;

o The comprehensiveness and fairness of solution;

o ability to perform the solution; and

o What to do if the customer rejects solution.

Responding -- The response is made clear and appropriate. The customer must

understand the response, and the response must address the issues raised in the

customer's original complaint.

An explanation of decision preserves the goodwill of customer, even if the decision

itself is adverse

Following-Up – Customer is contacted following response to verify whether or

not the matter has been resolved satisfactorily. If customer is unhappy with

response, organization refers the matter to a third party dispute resolution

mechanism for assistance.

52

Steps Involved in customer Satisfaction through Service:

o Seeing problems from the customer’s perspective

o Managing customers' "moments of truth"

o Communicating effectively through better listening

o Analyzing how customer perceptions are formed

o Managing anger and other service behaviours

o Dealing with long-term consequences of service breakdowns

o Negotiating solutions

o Generating an action plan for improved on-the-job effectiveness

SWOT ANALYSIS

53

VISHAL MEGA MART

54

Strength :

High Brand Equity in evolving retails markets

State-of-art infrastructure of Big Bazaar outlets

POP to increase the purchase

One stop shop for variety of products, increasing customer time and available choices

Weakness :

Unable to meet store opening target so far

Falling revenue per square feet

Opportunity :

Organized retail is just 4.15%of total pie of Indian retail market

Evolving Customer preferences in recent years.

Threat :

Competitors, global big players planning to foray into market

Government policies are not well-defined in India

Unorganized retail market of India

RELIANCE MART

55

Strengths:

High quality,

latest in-style products,

international shopping experience

value for money pricing

loyal following

Own brand of merchandise, which is both trendy and individualistic.

new introductions every week

variety of designs and styles

exciting mix with a range extending from stylized clothes, footwear and accessories

for men, women and children to well-co-coordinated table linens, artefacts, home

accessories and furnishings.

Well-designed interiors, sprawling space, prime locations, lovely coffee shops add to

the customers’ shopping experience.

Weakness:

Needs to expand faster to maintain market share

Size of the stores should be increased to stock more products.

Targets the middle-class segment. Higher class customers do not prefer west side.

Trent limited may not be able operate west side efficiently due to its other operations.

OPPORTUNITIES:

56

To survive in today’s world globalization is important. Reliance mart have a wide

opportunity to go more global to improve and expand its business.

They also have the opportunity to consider more overseas supplier which will actually

give them cost advantage, rather than suppliers available on a local level.

They also have the opportunity to maximize the use of available technology to

improve their functioning and to gain competitive advantage.

Threats:

– If the unorganized retailers are put together, they are parallel to a large supermarket

with no or little overheads, high degree of flexibility in merchandise, display, prices

and turnover.

– Shopping Culture: Shopping culture has not developed in India as yet. Even now

malls are just a place to hang around with family and friends and largely confined to

Window-shopping.

– Cultural Variation leads to variation in merchandise in India at different geographical

locations.

– Competition from future group and various other retail stores which are growing

rapidly.

INDIAN CONSUMERISM

57

The lifestyle and profile of the Indian consumer is going through a rapid transformation. The

population of India is young, energetic and full of enthusiasm. 50% of the Indian population

is under the age of 25. There has been a transition from price consideration to quality and

design, as the focus of the customer has changed. The upper and middle- class population of

today needs a feel good experience even if they have to spend a little more for that. People

are moving towards luxury and want to experiment with fashion and technology. There is an

increasing need of better apparels, cars, mobile phones and consumer durables.

The food & grocery, clothing, consumer durables and books & music sectors are the major

retail sectors. However, unorganized small outlets largely control the sector. Hence there is

58

tremendous potential for the organized sector in various formats, such as hypermarkets,

supermarkets, specialty stores, category killers and discount chains.

ANALYSIS59

Q1) What Retail chain do you usually go to?

Reliance mart

Vishal mega mart

Any other

The observation shows that 44 % of people out of 100 person surveyed prefer to go to Vishal

mega mart and only 38 % & 18% prefer to go reliance mart & any other retail outlet

respectively.

60

Q2) How often do you visit a Coffee Shop?

Once in a month

Twice in a month

Thrice in a month

The observation shows that 42 % of people out of 100 person surveyed visits retail stores

once in a month and only 38 % & 20% visits the retail stores twice & thrice in a month

respectively.

Q3) How much money do you usually spend on shopping in a month?

0-2500 Rupees

2500-7500 Rupees

61

7500-12500 Rupees

Over 12500 Rupees

The observation shows that 52 % of people out of 100 people surveyed spend Rs 2500-7500

on shopping in a month. There are only 5% people who spend more then 12500 on shopping

out of 100 people surveyed.

Q4) How much time do you usually spend at a Shopping mart?

Less than 1/2 hour

1/2- 1 hour

62

1-2 hours

Over 2 hours

The observation shows that 49 % of people out of 100 people surveyed spend 1-2 hours in

shopping mart and 30 % people spend ½-1 hour on shopping at retail store. There are only 9

% people who spend more than 2 hours at shopping mart.

Q5) How many people do you usually go with?

Alone

With 1 person

2-4 people

63

More than 4 people

The observation shows that 51 % of people out of 100 people surveyed goes along with 2-4

person for shopping & there are only 4 % people who goes for shopping along with more

than four persons...

Q6) Please rate the following, according to your personal choice, for both Reliance mart &

Vishal mega mart….

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

1. Quality of products: (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

64

Accessories 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Household

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Lifestyle

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

2. Prices of products: (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Accessories

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Household

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

65

Lifestyle

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

3. Staff: (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Behaviour

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Manners

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

66

Helpfulness

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Service

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

4. What excite you most? : (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Promotional offers

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Variety of products

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

67

Price of the products 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

5. Do you ever face any problem?(Yes/No)

Billing Problems

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Heavy Rush

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Personnel’s lack of

knowledge

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

68

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

6. Overall experience? : (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Products

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

People

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

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Ambience

70

Findings

Findings

1. The choice of a store location has a profound effect on the entire business life of a

retail operation. A bad choice may all but guarantee failure, a good choice, and

success.

2. Choosing a retail location is, at best, a risky undertaking. Considering the

consequences of choosing a location that proves to be unsuitable, it pays to get as

much assistance as possible. According to a survey more than 60% of the customer

prefers to shop in a retail store which is easily accessible to them.

71

3. Advertising plays a very important role in achieving growth for any retail company.

This is evident from the fact that Advertising by Retail Industry registered a rise of 14

percent during January - May 2009 over January - May 2008.

4. The right location, trained manpower, software assistance, product with a distinct

differentiation, a strong value proposition, efficient supply chain management - these

are the factors that influence the success of a retail outlet. With competition in this

segment increasing, differentiation and a strong value proposition assume

significance. Retail chains are realizing that they cannot be another ‘me-too’ store.

The differentiation today among the 5-6 retail chains has come through private labels,

which in some cases account for as much as 70 per cent of the total merchandise in

the outlet.

5. Variety offered by any retail store is of very much important to attract all type of

customers in the stores. A large variety of products caters to each segment of

customers.

6. Shopping experience within a store also has a great impact on selecting a product

from a particular retail store. Overall ambience includes infrastructure facilities

provided by the store such as air conditioners, lighting etc.

7. Pricing is in fact a dramatic controller of at least 3 key strategic elements to any

company's success: Company’s image, the product and services company sells and

consumer behavior. The Importance of Pricing their Products' will give them an

insight into developing appropriate costing methods and the impact of getting it

wrong in today's competitive creative market. This topic should be of interest to

anyone who is unsure if they are getting it right. Remember the difference between

over or under-pricing their work can mean a very short future for any business.

Approximately 60% customers think that Price is the most important factor while they

go for shopping in a retail stores

8. Quality in everyday life and business, engineering and manufacturing has a pragmatic

interpretation as the non-inferiority, superiority or usefulness of something. This is the

most common interpretation of the term. The quality of a product or service refers to

the perception of the degree to which the product or service meets the customer's

expectations. Quality has no specific meaning unless related to a specific function

and/or object. Quality is a perceptual, conditional and somewhat subjective attribute.

And in addition to that, more than 90% of customers place quality as the most

important factor than anything else in the list to shop in a retail store.

72

9. More than 70% of customers place variety as an important factor to shop in a

particular retail store.

10. Brands name bears an important role while shopping of any type of goods. So

building a brand for a retail store is important as 80% of customer still prefer to buy

branded clothes in the retail store instead of local or unbranded clothes.

Conclusion 73

&

Suggestions

74

Conclusion

Given the developments and prospects, the Indian retail sector is in its nascent stage of

evolution. While there are obstacles, there are clear opportunities in modern retailing in India.

There are many lessons that India can take from other countries, which have moved along the

path of retail evolution. The retail sector has proved to be of immense significant from

macro-economic point of view. The sector’s capability to give strong growth momentum by

creating multiplier effects on other sectors is not in dispute. It is now necessary to cautiously

expand and develop the sector, as the government, at present, has done by permitting partial

FDI in the sector. Given the scope, the retail sector is certainly expected to fetch the long-

term economic benefits for the country.

75

The convenience and personalized service offered by the unorganized sector holds its future

in good stead for the future. Organized retail of late has seen a tremendous boom and is

attracting more people to the malls.

What is to be seen is how organized retail can duplicate the same level of personalized

customer service levels offered by the unorganized sector to have a higher conversion ratio.

The target audience for both the organized and unorganized retail formats remains relatively

the same. When shopping in malls, people value the experience related to the trip the most

and return most frequently for the same. Besides, while enjoying the experience they seem to

buy high ticket and items of conspicuous consumption most frequently.

Gaining and maintaining consumer preference is a battle that is never really won.

Continued and consistent branding initiatives that reinforce the consumer’s purchase decision

will, over time, land the product in consumer preference sets. Attaining and sustaining

preference is an important step on the road to gaining brand loyalty

Suggestions

1. Include more trained sales person to help customers in the store while shopping.

2. Improve quality of the products especially clothes.

3. Play good songs or soothing music in the store rather than cheap filmy songs.

4. Customer care service can be introduced

5. More branded products can be displayed in the store as people still prefer branded

clothes than offered by local vendors.

6. Constant reminder of discounts through pamphlets, speakers inside the store for

inducing consumers for impulse buying.

7. Add more cosmetic products as its having a huge market of consumers attached to it.

8. Display of product should be improved so that the product is easily visible to the

76

consumers.

9. Proper advertisement in press and outdoor to make Vishal Mega Mart should be

visible in the eyes of consumers.

10. Should have parking spaces in front of every store.

11. Hire more salesgirls as in ladies section its very difficult for both the consumers and

salesman to interact with each other.

12. Regular training to sales person to improve there overall performance.

13. Customization of clothing should be given an important consideration.

14. Proper packaging and provide contrast labelling in displays of product.

15. Should apply electronic supply chain management for better inventory management.

16. Proper power back up as air conditioners are not working to their full capacity at

many stores.

17. Proper placements of Gondola in the stores as space between them are very less.

18. Proper display in the gondola and top most rack of the gondola should be used for

storing of inventory rather than display of product.

19. Should provide more festival schemes and at proper time.

20. Should use psychological pricing-more discounts by increasing the price

21. Proper display of cutlery items

22. Clothes should be in sync with fashion.

77

Bibliography

78

BIBILIOGRAPHY

Books referred:

Retailing ManagementPradhan, Swapna

79

Retail Management – A Strategic ApproachBerman, Barry & Evans, Joel R.

The Art Of Retailing Lamba, A.J.

Websites:

www.google.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.vishalmegamart.com

www.reliancemart.com

www.indianretailindustry.com

80

QUESTIONNAIRE

81

QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madam,

I Vivek gupta student of MBA of Bhawani Shankar Anangpuria institute of technology & management, Faridabad. I am doing my project on “Marketing Strategies of Reliance Mart and Vishal Mega Mart”. Please give your precious time for filling these details.

Name:

Age:

Profession:

Sex:

Q1) What Retail chain do you usually go to?

Reliance mart

Vishal mega mart

Any other

Q2) How often do you visit a Coffee Shop?

Once in a month

Twice in a month

Thrice in a month

Q3) How much money do you usually spend on shopping in a month?

0-2500 Rupees

2500-7500 Rupees

7500-12500 Rupees

Over 12500 Rupees

82

Q4) How much time do you usually spend at a Shopping mart?

Less than 1/2 hour

1/2- 1 hour

1-2 hours

Over 2 hours

Q5) How many people do you usually go with?

Alone

With 1 person

2-4 people

More than 4 people

Q6) Please rate the following, according to your personal choice, for both Reliance mart &

Vishal mega mart….

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

1. Quality of products: (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Accessories

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Household

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Lifestyle

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

83

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

2. Prices of products: (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Accessories

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Household

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Lifestyle

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

3. Staff: (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Behaviour

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Manners

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Helpfulness

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Service

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

84

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

4. What excite you most? : (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)

Promotional offers

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Variety of products

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Price of the products

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

5. Do you ever face any problem?(Yes/No)

Billing Problems

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Heavy Rush

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Personnel’s lack of

knowledge

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

85

Questions Reliance mart Vishal mega mart

6. Overall experience? : (1=Bad and 5= Excellent)Products

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

People

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Ambience

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

86