"Customers expect to save at hypermarkets"

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

Gold the most preferred investment

: customers from the immediate catchment area walk in more than once a month, while the ones from the extended catchment area walk in at least once a month. That doesn’t mean that we are idle because people come back to our store often. As I mentioned, we ensure that people get something new whenever they walk in. For instance, we’ve added categories such as pet food to our list of products on offer.

This has got an excellent response. We have private labels apart from national brands to choose from. I am not saying that others don’t do it, but our range is incredible. We encourage in-store activation via sampling of new products, demonstations etc. For example, we have cooking shows at our live kitchen, wide aisles and a number of check-out counters. This makes the experience exciting for people who walk in.

Is retail about scale and size?

Scale is critical for a number of reasons. It helps to improve the buying power of a retailer. When buying power is good, a retailer can negotiate procurement of products at an attractive price. The cost advantage he gets on account of this can be passed on to the consumer. This helps in customer retention. Secondly, systems such as supply chain, IT and technology have become critical for a retailer. When the scale of operations is huge, investment in these systems is justified. Otherwise it’s too expensive.

But is size imperative in retail? You haven’t responded to that.

To us size does matter. We would ideally not look at anything below what we currently are. But everything depends on how much area we are able to get in the cities we are planning to take the format.

What has been the response to Argos? Are Indians ready for catalogue shopping?

Yes they are. That is why the response has been good to Argos. Eleven product categories are catered to by Argos including furniture, home furnishings, kitchen ware, home maintenance, entertainment, technology phones and accessories, sports and leisure, personal care, toys and nursery, jewellery and watches. A customer can either call in, browse the web, look up the mail order book or visit an Argos store to place an order.

What is the performance of private labels vis-à-vis established brands at HyperCity and Argos? Please highlight in terms of sales.