The auction site at www.trade2gain.com, which was operational from October23 to November 1, 2000, will be followed by another round of auctions in thenext few months.

Says Shoppers' Stop Ltd senior manager (marketing services) Mr Ajay Kelkar:"Shoppers' Stop is in a way expanding its marketing strategy by planning tocontinue with the second private auction marketplace in a month or two. Withthe initiative, Trade2Gain will get two per cent of the revenue generated.

Currently, there are 703 opportunities to advertise on in-store spacesacross six stores in major cities."

As part of the strategy, Shoppers' Stop is also setting up its second retailstore in Mumbai at Ghatkopar by mid-December 2000.

Adds Mr Kelkar: "The tie-up with Trade2Gain is meant to provide a securee-commerce platform for buyers and sellers to trade in a competitiveenvironment enabling better realisation and savings on time and costs. Inthe comfort of a company's own office, it can know online what space each ofits competitors are booking in each of the units. This enables companies totake decisions and react accordingly."

Says Mr Kelkar: "We recognise the potential and value of in-storeadvertising. We also know the importance a cost-effective medium has forvarious brands to speak to their target audience as compared to outdooradvertising. Which is why, Shoppers' Stop decided to create in-storeadvertising space."

"It helps in creating top-of-the-mind recall at the time of purchase toinduce impulse buying. For example, the cost of reaching 1,000 customersthrough a 30-second commercial on TV works out to $4-$7.75, whereas throughan in-store signage it works out to only 3 to 37 cents," according to MrKelkar.

In fact, Shoppers' Stop plans to kick off the next round of advertisement byNovember-end. For the purpose of auctions, special value-added packages havebeen developed by the Shoppers' Stop team to give the bidder maximumbenefit. In fact, there is a ceiling to the maximum number of packages thatwill be allotted to the brand according to the category it belongs to, suchas: * Mens - 3 packages; * Ladies - 3 packages; * Children - 3 packages; *Non-apparels - 1 package; * Neutral - 2 packages.

There are two sets of packages: First, 51 number of packages with acombination of spaces for the store at Ghatkopar and secondly, 54 numbersfor other stores.

Mr Kelkar adds: "For the first auction, brands will be allowed to bid forpackages which will consist of a combination of space at Ghatkopar as wellas other outlets across the cities which have not yet been sold. All thespace at Ghatkopar would be booked from December 2000 to March 2001 and thatat other stores from November 2000 to March 2001."

According to Mr Kelkar: "Most packages would include two space which arecharged and one free. Brands of a specific category would have access to bidfor packages in that category and neutral space only." The price for thepackages ranges from Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000.

To effectively utilise the potential of in-store advertising, Shoppers' Stophas devised two parameters such as the Space Attractiveness Index (SAI) andthe Share of Voice (SOV).

Says Mr Kelkar: "The SAI is a way by which Shoppers' Stop grades the visualmerchandising space across the store judged by three key parameters such asthe relevance to the category, the levels of exposure and the type of visualspace."

He adds: "Each one of these parameters indicates the levels of influence ithas in making the space attractive to the brands. About 40 per cent ofdepartment store purchases are impulse purchases. For a consumer who comesto the store, 95 per cent of the consumer's mind is already made up as towhat he/she wants to purchase. In the retail environment, this last five percent manifests itself at the point-of-sale."

"The Shoppers' Stop marketing team constantly monitors the progress of thevarious brands through the concept of Share of Voice (SOV). Every monthcompanies generate the SOV report for every product category and compare thesame with the brands' sale for the month. This is then compared with thecompetitor's sale and their SOVs. This helps the Shoppers' Stop brands sellbetter."

According to Mr Kelkar: "Against booking on a first-come-first-serve basis,this method allows each brand to have an equal choice in selecting placeswhich benefit them the most. Shoppers' Stop would let the market decide therates for these packages."

The company expects its overall sales turnover to grow from Rs 300 crore inthe current year to Rs 500 crore by the endof 2001.