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: not changing their clothes as often as their counterparts in similar markets. “So we want to ensure that they are more aware of the design possibilities of what they are wearing, and become more up to date with current trends,” says Malhotra. “And we thought Big Bazaar was very well positioned to do this.”

Enter cricket star Mahinder Singh Dhoni in Big Bazaar’s new campaign. Together with this, Big Bazaar is spending a lot on upgrading its labels into brands. At the same time, it is not giving up its pricing edge, even though there may be some overlap between Big Bazaar’s higher end with Pantaloons’ low end.

For Sheikhawat, at the bottom of the pyramid are the kirana stores. Above that is the entry level modern trade, basically the likes of Big Bazaar, Subhiksha and Reliance, all discounters. At the top end are the luxury retailers.

“In between, there is a space which no one is utilising, where, it is not just about price, but about product range, assortment, quality, differentiation, customer satisfaction, the décor, music and everything,” he says.

A stray incident gave Spencer’s a chance to stress its move up the value chain in fashion at least—when hawkers in Kolkata’s busy Gariahat area protested the opening of Spencer’s second large-format store last week, their main demand was that big players should not be allowed to sell cut-price stuff.

Spencer’s fashioned its reply carefully: “…our merchandise, range and assortment and price point are distinctly different from theirs. So is our target segment which is SEC-A, upper middle class and affluent….”