Gandhi all the way

The retail scenario in the country is very fast changing and to be able to sustain in this cutting edge market, one needs to go extra mile to woo the consumers. It becomes very important to grab every opportunity that’s thrown in front. And, that is what retailers in India are doing this time around Mahatma Gandhi  Jayanti, which is just a few days away.

Offerings this Gandhi Jayanti

Delhi Duty Free Services Pvt. Ltd (DDFS), India’s largest duty free retail space at T3 at IGI Airport in Delhi, in association with Eternal Gandhi and Gandhi Smriti Museum, are celebrating Gandhi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Even Khadi Gram Udyog Vikas Samiti (KGVS), has its own way of celebrating Gandhi Jayanti, i.e by giving discounts to the patrons.

“We have this huge Mahatma Gandhi statue at our Discover India section. We also have a special area for Mahatma Gandhi branded products, having tied up with Eternal Gandhi, an Aditya Birla initiative, and we are offering special Mahatma Gandhi souvenirs. Our other offerings are special short movies talking about the Father of the Nation, his philosophies, his way of living that are being played at the LCD screens within the Duty Free area. Delhi Duty Free has also launched a promotional offer for the travellers on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti that entitles any international traveller spending USD 20 or more to get a complimentary Mahatma Gandhi souvenir”, said Nicholas J Goddard-Palmer, CEO, Delhi Duty Free.  The souvenir could be anything ranging from an Eternal Gandhi paper stand with watch (Crystal Cube with the meaningful and relevant message of non-violence), 50 years calendar, Eternal Gandhi Crystal Cube MARK IV, Eternal Gandhi Key ring and much more. Dr. Naresh Pal, Director, Khadi Gram Udyog Samiti says, “We have discounts on the khadi products during this period, which generally goes upto 60-90 days, where we offer around 15% off to the patrons”.

The CWG factor

Although commonwealth games have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, retailers are hopeful that the international event is surely going to help their cause. Tourists from across the globe are expected in the country and since Mahatma Gandhi is still a global phenomenon, people would like to have a piece of his wisdom. “As the Gandhi Jayanti is approaching and so is commonwealth games, we thought it as a perfect idea to celebrate Bapu’s birth anniversary and introduce his ideas and things symbolic to him to the tourists. With large no. of international travellers coming to India for the games, we want to spread his ideas among more and more people, as much as we can. Airport being the first interface of the country for the tourists, there couldn’t be more fitting place”, opined Mr. Palmer, CEO DDFS. “Although, we do these kinds of promotions often during this time, but this time we are also looking for higher sales because of all the number of tourists who are coming to our country, thanks to CWG", said Mr.Pal.

The Target Audience

According to Mr. Palmer, “We have received an overwhelming response for our initiative. Our customers have shown a lot of appreciation for this. Mahatma Gandhi and his ideas are universally accepted so there can be no specific audience. This is for every one irrespective of money, race and age. But, it is the young guns who are the main audience for the products from KGVS, confirms Dr.Pal. He further adds that there has been a sales increase of 55 per cent in the last six months after the introduction of readymade garments for youth. Though he didn’t comment on what will be the expected sale during the time around Gandhi Jayanti, but he is very hopeful of good sales and the majority of them will have to be through the youth.

The response

Due to common wealth games and almost onset of festive season footfalls (international travellers) are already on higher side. Mr. Palmer says, “He expects at least 30 per cent additional footfall to experience eternal Gandhi product and take back memories of Mahatma Gandhi with them. Since it has been 3 months, we have started operations; we can’t really comment on incremental sales but definitely the whole idea was to support initiative of eternal Gandhi trust and by initiating this activity, we expect upsurge in sale of eternal Gandhi products”.