Neighbourhood CDIT store

Digiworld, CDIT retailer has marked its presence with more than 400 stores in the next five years. With a target of becoming a Rs 10,000 crore company in coming five years, Digiworld is now stepping up on its marketing strategies, beginning with the change in the logo which will be DW. Jaideep Rathore, COO, Digiworld throws gives an insight of company's plan in an interaction with Ankur Gaurav. 

Ankur Gaurav (AG): How is Digiworld’s business doing?

Jaideep Rathore (JR): We are a silent player. Till date we have been able to open more than 428 stores in a span of three and half years.  By the end of this year, we plan to cross the 700 mark. 90 per cent of the stores will be based on the franchise model.  

AG: What led you to transform from being a Videocon’s exclusive store to become a multi brand electronic goods retailer?

JR: We started with Videocon’s exclusive stores but soon we realised that it cannot survive without becoming a multi brand store. And that is the reason why we have expanded our business. Last year we registered Rs 350 crore in terms of revenue, we are planning to make an average turnover of Rs 30-40 crore per month.

AG: What is your sales target in the coming years?

JR: Looking at the growing demand, we are eyeing to cross Rs 700 crore this year. And since we are aggressively expanding in terms of number of stores we hope to cross the Rs 1200 crore next year.

AG: What kind of products are being showcased in your store?

JR: We have all the major brands. You can find mobile phones to Air conditioners. We have a huge range of products. We also have Japanese, Korean and other smaller appliances brands.

AG: What is the average store size?

JR: The company owned store size ranges from 3,000 sq ft to 12,000 sq. ft, whereas franchised stores can start from 1,500 sq. ft also.

AG: Which part of India, can we find a prominent presence of Digiworld?

JR: You can find a prominent presence in Northern India followed by Western locations. We are expanding in the south and the least is in the eastern part of India.

AG: What is the investment incurred in opening a store? And how is it divided between the company and the franchisee?

JR: The company owned stores cost around Rs 1,000 per sq. ft, whereas in a franchised store it is Rs 350 per sq. ft. Franchisee is the one who invests in the franchised stores, we pay him in installments.

AG: What is your marketing strategy after making a physical presence across India?

JR: We have decided to change the logo. Our new logo is reads DW, Which denotes ‘digitally wow’. Sooner or later, we will phase out Digiworld and will be known as DW. Digitally wow means, wow on experience, selling and buying. The letter ‘W’ has three colours: red, blue and orange. Each has a reference. Red color denotes electronic goods. Blue denotes appliances like AC washing machines,etc. and orange for smaller home appliances, microwave. These are the three colors around which the store branding is done.

AG: How are you competing with other multi brand CDIT players in the market?

JR: We have surpassed our competitors in terms of numbers and reach. We are the neighbourhood store for our customers. We are not limiting to tier I cities and we have our presence in tier- II and tier III cities as well.  

AG: Please tell about the franchise model adopted by you.

JR: In the franchise model adopted by us, the investor pays for the store and merchandise while designing and sales are controlled by DW. Certain margin is assigned to DW.

AG: Would you like to talk about your e-retail presence?

JR: We have our online portal but we sell all the products at the same price as our physical stores. At times we do get specific deals from brands for the online portal and these deals can be availed by both consumers and franchisees.

AG: Where do you see DW in the future, call it five years down the line?

JR: We are already visible in 400 locations pan India. Now we are working extensively on brand building activities. We aim to open 1,000th store as early as possible. This year we have a target of crossing Rs 1,200 crore in revenues and Rs 2,000 crore next year . Five years down the line DW will be a Rs 10,000 crore company.

AG: What is the secret behind such confidence and success?

JR: Our cost of operations is very low so it has an impact on the prices of the products. Products in our stores are relatively cheaper if compared to our competitors. In retail, the marketing is very different. We as a retailer have adopted BTL activities as the method of communication and marketing. BTL activities involve interaction with the customers and hence they are more effective.